Where the Writer is

It’s something I’ve always struggled with.

Anyone who’s read anything of mine will agree.

And I’m the first to admit that it isn’t one of my strengths as a writer, and that it is something I should do better.

When I’m reading books, however, it is so often the descriptive sections that will put me off reading either the section itself, or if it's really too much, the book as a whole.

I suppose it's like anything.

Good, evocative description will create a sense of place, and even create that place into a character in its own right, making you want to know more.

Whereas if you find yourself in the midst of a bad and lengthy description, it can make you lose the will to read.

I try to keep my descriptions short.

Therefore if they are not particularly good ones, at least the reader only has short way to traverse before they can be returned to the action and dialogue.

It’s worked so far to good effect.

But there is more.

To one of the events in Harrogate came a panel of writers who all use their home as the setting for their writing, and create those places to very successful and evocative effect.

I wanted to know more.

As they talked I realised it wasn’t about depicting every detail from the place, it was about evoking an atmosphere that communicated what it felt like to be there.

Particularly when seen through the eyes of the main character.

And how it feels to them.

Because how they feel about their surroundings directly mirrors how they are feeling about themselves, and brings out additional aspects of their character.

It’s their relationship with the place they are in.

And for them to have a relationship with the place they are in, they must be able to relate to it in a similar way to another character.

So every place is a character.

And in order to evoke it properly, you have to know how it feels.

Therefore, a writer using their home as a setting is a good choice because you know that place better than any other, and how it feels to be there.

All of the writers on the panel no longer lived in the home setting they were using as their location, saying it gave them a certain amount of distance, to look at the place with a little perspective.

I realised that I too no longer live in the place I still call home, as I moved away a number of years ago.

And that having moved house a lot during that period, it affected the way I depict a sense of place in my writing.

As in, there really isn’t one.

All of the locations are temporary, and all the main characters in the undercover team move around a lot, never staying anywhere for more than a year, much the same as it has been for me.

When I stood up to present my pitch to the Dragon’s Pen, I was terrified that they were going to ask me where the book was set because I had no answer to that question. 

If I’d said they were set in numerous locations, or ‘here and there’ it would have sounded so vague.

Of course, they said no anyway, but at least I didn’t have to explain the lack of a solid location in my work.

But it was another thing that made me think about a sense of place.

And my avoidance of it as a writer.

So as I am visiting my ‘home’ for a couple of weeks, perhaps now is the time to reacquaint myself with this old friend, and see what kind of relationship we have.

And how I feel about it. 
So I can evoke it.