Deciding the setting: real or invented?
I'm preparing some material because I have the intention of writing a book. I'd do this in every type of work, but considering that I'm writing Crime Fiction, this is even more important.
I've decided already some things: main characters, victim, murderer, even the motive.
But I've come to a great wall that is now blocking my work: the setting. I've checked around in many sites and there's who suggests to go with an invented town or get material on real cities.
I don't except you to suggest me what to do, but I'd like you to give me some tools to help me decide. There's the city layout, then the actual laws in force in that country (I don't want to set it in my country), etc. So, what should I be considering?
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Whatever works best for your story.
If you can make it work in a real setting and you know or can research the setting well enough to make it work, do that.
If your story requires something which doesn't exist, is or is not against a particular law, needs a river to be here rather than there, etc. then invent a place.
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You can do both. You can start from an existing city (maybe give it a new name) and change the areas which do not fit (GTA comes into mind).
If you have already an idea for the setting like "Oh, that should play in New Orleans" because of the (cliched) reputation of that city, then go with that. Your New Orleans does not need to be square inch by square inch like the real one. You want to set atmosphere in your book, not a geographical map.
Generally if you can't decide, make plans for both options, what you have to do to accomplish the goal. Then pick the more frightening. The bigger the road block in your mind, the more your subconscious wants to get over it.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6460. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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