This is going to sound like an odd question but here goes - do I need to specify the time period of my novel and the state where my fictionalized town is located?
Here's why I'm asking - I want my novel to have a "timeless" quality. I don't want to talk about cell phones or texting or specific politicians or actors or natural disasters - things that could "date" the story. Now, it would be different if any of those things were integral to the story but they really aren't, or at least not that I can see at this point in the writing. (And this could change in the future, I suppose.)
I also don't feel any pull toward putting the story in a particular state. It doesn't feel like it belongs in State A or State B. If it did, it would go there and I would make sure all the necessary details (flora, fauna, slang, etc.) were added. The story takes place in a fictionalized town that becomes almost like a character itself but I want that town to be Anywhere, USA, to exist anywhere the reader's mind wants to put it. [Side note: I just read in Robert McKee's STORY that "There is no such thing as a portable story." Agh!!!]
Is it enough to show a passage of time? Is it enough to describe a town so it feels real?
I'm not sure it's possible to do this. I would love feedback not only from my writer friends, but also from those book lovers out there. How much does it matter to you, as a reader, to not be able to fix a specific time and place on a story?
I generally like to know the time period unless the clothing and culture make that obvious. The exact location is not necessary.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sally. Good point about whether the clothing and culture are obvious.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have to if it's imaginative fiction (vs. historical) -- create your setting and make it real enough for the reader, and we won't care!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Milo! Hopefully, I can pull it off. :)
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I think too specific can work against a novel's story, unless, as you say, the setting's part of the story.
ReplyDeleteGive what the reader needs to add to the story. As a reader, I skip a lot of the descriptive stuff. Just sayiin'. ;-)
Thanks, Cathy - interesting point about it possibly working against the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the previous posts. If it doesn't matter to the heart of the story, it doesn't need to be there. As long as the setting is describe so that I can picture it, it can happen anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Theresa - you're right, the heart of the story is what matters most.
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