tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post2677636919353693754..comments2024-02-17T17:59:25.010+10:00Comments on Christian Writers Downunder: SettingsJeanette O'Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-80950160481239887752012-05-23T14:33:40.837+10:002012-05-23T14:33:40.837+10:00That would have been cool. Good old Blue Heelers.That would have been cool. Good old Blue Heelers.Adam David Collingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18072000680990534407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-51810003681618403232012-05-23T12:46:22.481+10:002012-05-23T12:46:22.481+10:00I have used real places like Parramatta and Granv...I have used real places like Parramatta and Granville as I knew them well and lived in Western Sydney for many years. Howver when I wrote Streets on a Map, although it was set in the Central West of NSW, I chose to make up a fictional town in that area. This was so it would not be too closely allied with any one place and have people looking at the village where we used to live, speculating about which person was a certain character when that was not the case.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-1419085364923385292012-05-22T21:58:09.212+10:002012-05-22T21:58:09.212+10:00Hello Melanie, I agree with you, I like to know th...Hello Melanie, I agree with you, I like to know the places I write about. Americans love to learn about Australia because they know very little...and there are not enough world wide books with the story line situated here. Thats what inspired me to write in the first place. I wanted to get out country our there. Blessings to you.Sr Crystal Mary Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03509227559164880311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-84347850979610867312012-05-22T07:51:26.479+10:002012-05-22T07:51:26.479+10:00Some great thoughts here Melanie. I usually start ...Some great thoughts here Melanie. I usually start with something I know and fictionalize it. It is easier to describe something you've experienced <br />XxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-59721666238846662132012-05-21T13:24:09.011+10:002012-05-21T13:24:09.011+10:00you are so fortunate to travel...we are still in t...you are so fortunate to travel...we are still in the dreaming about the stage...same place i am with my writing.momto8https://www.blogger.com/profile/13964950285763339907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-82625924430493946602012-05-21T12:14:18.995+10:002012-05-21T12:14:18.995+10:00I had to invent a town for my first novel, but it ...I had to invent a town for my first novel, but it was really a pastiche of extant places, none of which quite had all the attributes my story required of it. I still researched those towns just so my hypothetical one would seem credible. I still felt vulnerable because I was writing about a coastal region whereas I've never lived near the coast. It was tempting to write off some holidays to the beach as research-related tax deductions.Peter McLennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07446729346706052416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-39473994049610641182012-05-21T11:08:19.494+10:002012-05-21T11:08:19.494+10:00As a writer of historical novels, I have to depend...As a writer of historical novels, I have to depend on heavy research and word of mouth from old timers. Even so, I still like to visit these places if possible. But if you're a contemporary writer, maybe we've got a lot of people on this blog who could really help out if you're stuck.Rita Galiehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586506137798711397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-3154405156123705062012-05-20T13:37:06.119+10:002012-05-20T13:37:06.119+10:00I prefer to walk a place, live it and breath it if...I prefer to walk a place, live it and breath it if I'm to write about a real location. But sometimes that isn't possible. I once wrote about a third world red light district, but had never been there personally - I used video footage and my imagination to write the setting. <br />Fantasy is lovely though, or fictional places based on but not exactly like real life towns, you have the luxury of making up all the details. It's important though to keep the details recorded so it is consistent throughout the story! To do this I draw maps of my made up lands and keep details recorded on file etc.Penny Reevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673959533876970193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-20728325499455128282012-05-18T15:23:33.098+10:002012-05-18T15:23:33.098+10:00I used to watch Blue Heelers and so many of the lo...I used to watch Blue Heelers and so many of the locations were only an hour away from where we lived. And we would say "we know that"Melanie Carter Winklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08011605544837222792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-17731117054029756672012-05-18T13:47:26.138+10:002012-05-18T13:47:26.138+10:00This is an interesting one that I sometimes wrestl...This is an interesting one that I sometimes wrestle with. In the story I am writing, I use several settings around Australia.<br /><br />One of these is Quirindi NSW. I have visited this town - in fact I got married there, so I had a reasonable picture of the place in my head. Another location was Cobar NSW. I used Google Earth to research this town. In each location I referred to real buildings.<br /><br />Later in the story, the characters go into the outback, toward a top-secret facility. From here on it was all fictional.<br /><br />Google Earth gives you a brilliant tool for researching places that you could never visit - the only problem is building interiors. I've used some artistic license for this. I hope that's okay.<br /><br />Using real places can give extra realism if you get it right, but then it can totally break realism if you get it wrong, so it's a hard one. I remember watching the Beaconsfield movie recently. They had a brief scene in the Launceston General Hospital (obviously filmed somewhere in Melbourne). Suddenly my immersion in the story was broken because I knew that's not what the LGH looks like.Adam David Collingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18072000680990534407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-48010370856924065132012-05-18T11:22:45.176+10:002012-05-18T11:22:45.176+10:00Hi Mel, I've heard readers are quick to contac...Hi Mel, I've heard readers are quick to contact authors to point out setting and historical detail errors. I agree it's wise to know your setting well, do your research and maybe have someone who lives there check your story to make sure the details are correct. I've set stories in Sydney (where I grew up) and a fictitious country town in regional NSW in an area I've visited many times to see my husband's family. My current story is set in Canberra, making research very easy :)Narellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07665380446283721576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-34389867572298014982012-05-18T10:09:27.984+10:002012-05-18T10:09:27.984+10:00I like to make up places, that way they can be exa...I like to make up places, that way they can be exactly how I desire them to be. <br /><br />However, in doing so, I do tend to incorporate snippets from towns I've visited, it makes them that touch more real. :)These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-23345651939260126612012-05-18T08:28:04.173+10:002012-05-18T08:28:04.173+10:00I agree Melanie. I think it lends authenticity to ...I agree Melanie. I think it lends authenticity to your writing if you've actually been there. Even with a lot of research, you can't get the same kind of intimate details of a place as well as actually being there. Thanks for sharing. :)Amanda Deedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02430837640142332983noreply@blogger.com