Settings & worlds · Tip 42 of 82 · 4 min read
Put Real Places in Your Stories
Your street, your town or a place you've visited can make the perfect setting for an adventure.
You know some places better than any author in the world: your home, your street, your school, the corner shop. Setting a story somewhere real gives you a head start, because you already know how it looks, sounds and feels.
Use the details only you know
Anyone can say a park has trees and swings. But you know that the third swing squeaks, that the big oak has a hole the shape of a heart, and that the ducks chase anyone holding crisps. Those are the details that make a real place come alive.
Everyone on Dorrington Road knew the rules. Don't step on the wobbly paving stone outside number twelve. Wave at Mr Okafor's cat in the window. And never, ever kick your ball into Mrs Bell's hedge.
Add one thing that isn't true
Here's where the fun starts. Take your real place and add one made-up thing. A door that wasn't there yesterday. A statue that moves when nobody is looking. Because everything else is so real, the strange thing feels even stranger.
Okay 😐
There was a magic library in a magic city.
Wow! 🤩
The library on Station Street had always had three floors. So why did the lift have a button marked 4?
Places you've visited
Holidays and day trips are full of settings too. A museum, a beach, a busy airport or a farm can all become the stage for your story. Try to remember the small things: the smells, the noises and how you felt being there.