Storyteller's Journey

A Familiar Setting

It has been said to aspiring authors: "Write what you know." If that is true, then I am definitely on the right track...




The above photo of the historic hatchery just down our rural road is not only in my middle grade novel, but in my memory: I remember riding my bicycle to this destination in the fifth grade with my Camp Fire Group. (Since we here in the Pacific Northwest had some decent weather recently, I decided to take a few photos. The second book in my proposed MG series also takes place along this country lane!)

Down the road a bit is Mimsi Marsh. This murky marsh also found its way into my middle grade manuscript.  Including the setting descriptions of familiar places not only added texture to my story, but I'm hoping, believability.

My protagonist actually rides her bicycle down the road to visit the grave of her deceased mother, buried in this cemetery. It was established in 1852 and contains the remains of many prominent founding fathers of our town.

This is the school I attended in junior high. Back then its name was Shumway Junior High School; since then it has become a private school for the arts. In my novel, the school is called: Chilcott's Academy of Creativity.

It has been fun to use some local sites in my own hometown as a setting for my story. However, in my middle grade novel I did change the name of our city, for various reasons. And, like many writers, I took a bit of liberty with the accuracy of the details in regard to my setting.

How do you develop the settings for your stories? Any familiar sites?