Ever wonder how different James Joyce's work might have been if he hadn't come from Dublin or Virginia Woolf's without her longing to return to London? Didn't Faulkner set most of his novels in the state of Mississippi where he grew up? How many favorite authors of yours include tidbits of their hometowns in their published fiction?
I always wonder how locality inspires an author, and when I think of my own home in the San Francisco Bay area it gets me thinking about other authors that lived and wrote here, like Jack London or Frank Norris. The picture I posted is a satellite image of San Francisco (I live in the lower right-hand corner near a patch of green). Needless to say, the hubbub of the city certainly provides ample inspiration, but beyond this picture a lot of idyllic forests and mountains also add a natural touch alongside the blue ocean waters that also get my imagination going.
So where do you live now and how does that influence your writing, if at all? Everywhere from India to Australia to “Small-town” U.S.A. can produce the most unexpected results in an author's work. How does your hometown inspire you?
I live in a town in the North of England. I hate to say this but it's an ugly, depressing town with high unemployment, crime and general malaise.
ReplyDeleteIt was a perfect setting for the YA novel I wrote :-)
I live in Utah, and I feel like there is a lot of stigma attached to this state, though it is more beautiful than most people know. I'm not writing a modern book, so it doesn't apply, but if I was I would probably steer clear of Utah just becasue of the butts of jokes that come with the state. Then again, I could change people's minds...
ReplyDeleteWhere we live isn't so great; but it's not terrible, either, so it would make for a fairly bland setting. I have thought about writing a historical fiction novel on a flood that happened back in the 1900s, but I haven't looked into the local history yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Michigan now, but I lived in Portland, Oregon in my young adult years and find myself drawn to setting stories there. it was the city I really knew... my current life phase is work and family. My Portland phase was my 'becoming myself'--a lot more exploration into surroundings and what I wanted to make of myself, so I love setting stories there. The vast majority of my books will at least be in the Pacific Northwest. it's where my sensibilities lie.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live now does influence me and my writing. So does where I grew up and where I went to college. It all makes a difference. I live where Ernest Hemingway was born. So I consider it a brush with greatness.
ReplyDeleteI live in Portland, Oregon and have definitely written stories that take place here. The influence mostly comes out in my characters. I write about the eccentric people who are common in these parts.
ReplyDeleteI've lived all over and been exposed to many cultures. Although since I write science fiction, anything I've taken from those places has been adjusted.
ReplyDeleteI live in Colorado. My first novel was set in the mountains. I think I had to get that one out of my system. The novel I'm querying now is set in post-apocalyptic Wales. Only been there virtually. :)
ReplyDeleteGettysburg inspired two of my novels.
ReplyDeleteI do feel a calling to write a story about the town I grew up in. It's a small town with lots of secrets.
Tehee, I'm north bay, in the tiny college hick town of Rohnert Park. I think all the day trips to SF are starting to play a heavy role in shaping the huge city I put in my manuscript. Except I didn't include how much of a nightmare it is to find parking. The scars linger.
ReplyDeleteI live in Sacramento, and the city has gotten into two of my books: One the fantasy in my current giveaway contest at my blog (The Fourth Wish); the other an MG novel set in 1919, involving a ghost (my current WIP). But we travel to India, since my husband is from Chennai, and that gets into some of my stories too. How can you not be influenced by places so meaningful to you?
ReplyDeleteHello Mark:
ReplyDeleteCertainly where an author lives, or perhaps the place in which he or she grew up, is bound, we feel, to be a major influence on his or her work even if indirectly. The truth, or otherwise of this, might be fun to ascertain and if one were to start with Jane Austen and George Eliot, or even Mrs. Gaskhill, then most likely the point could be proved. But how widely does it apply?
I live in Utah, USA: and it does inspire me a little... the mountains often play a part in my scenes.
ReplyDeleteI live in Colorado Springs and absolutely love the scenery around here. The politics, not so much. So far, the scenery always makes a teeny bit of an appearance in my books. I've lived a few places, all beautiful outdoors, so I wouldn't doubt they will also be found in future stories.
ReplyDeleteSarah – Well, malaise is never good, but there are some great parts of the English countryside in the North, I love traveling all of England and Scotland for that matter:)
ReplyDeleteJ.A. – I was just in Utah recently, yes it is a diverse and often misunderstood state, but so is California, and so are all places truthfully. So long as you find beauty and inspiration there you can put it in writing for other to see:)
Eagle – Wow, floods are pretty intense. Sounds book-worthy.
Hart – Portland has some great character, and it’s good that you keep it in your heart wherever you go so that no matter what you can write about it.
Christa – “A brush with greatness,” I like that:)
McKenzie – Once again, Portland is a pretty nice place. Can’t go wrong with inspiration there:)
Alex – For SciFi definitely. I think that travel and living abroad is useful for all kinds of writing for sure.
L.G. – Well, you certainly won’t be short of mountains in Colorado. Just out of curiosity, for post-apocalyptic…why Wales?
Loree – Gettysburg for sure! I went there as a kid and it still gives me the shivers of inspiration to this day. Small towns with secrets are also intriguing.
Steph – Rohnert Park is cool! My brother-in-law went to college there. You’ve definitely got some beautiful scenery there:)
Elizabeth – Yay, Sacramento! That’s where my wife’s family comes from. Plenty of California sunshine there, although a bit hot for me in the summer;)
Jane/Lance – I like your idea of an experiment regarding Austen and Eliot, but how to best go about it? I’m eagerly interested:)
Jeff – Utah has some great mountains and national parks. I just hiked the narrows in Zion there last month on vacation.
Shannon – Good scenery is well worth the politics;) People change, but the majesty of nature keeps trucking along:)
Nice, thought-provoking post! Most of my stories are not set in the place where I live. But I have to admit that whenever I write a story set in my town, I feel a lot more relaxed. Maybe because I don't have to do as much research. I already know the place!
ReplyDeleteMark - It is a lovely place. Sometimes I also take bits from cities I've visited. It would get boring to only write in one location. I can understand the appeal of world-building.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. I live in South Florida, and my scenes are usually set in tropical locations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog.
I love your city - one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI've often thought of this, too, and have decided that locality has absolutely been in factor in my writing. I constantly find inspiration in my surroundings...though, since I've moved to AZ, everything turns up brown... :-/
I do add bits of the city I live in, into my books. It constantly inspires me.
ReplyDelete*shrugs* It doesn't, really. But I know someone who can write a TON if she just sees pictures of Newport. :)
ReplyDeleteI actually prefer to write about locations where I'd like to go...like England or Scotland or even places in the US where I've been but never lived (my current WIP is set in AZ...a place I've driven through but never spent any significant time).
ReplyDeleteCertain places are based on my past - like the high school in my WIP (based it on my own school). But writing is one of the ways I get to explore the world. I love researching new places and experiencing them through my books :)
Trisha – True, researching your hometown (so long as the story is contemporary) doesn’t necessarily require as much in depth work.
ReplyDeleteMiranda – No prob:) South Florida is a great setting with lots of history to boot.
Barbara – Thanks:) Az is groovy too, although it’s funny that “brown” has crept into your writing as a result;)
Rachna – Bits of your hometown definitely counts, always spices up any story.
Leigh Ann – Which Newport? Only Rhode Island comes to mind, which is definitely a nice place:)
Michelle – I often fell the same way, so I usually travel to the places I wish to write about if at all possible. Nonetheless, some things (particularly era from the past) only exist in books.
Hi Mark, great blog! You know, you actually kind of read my mind with this post. I have a blog post scheduled for Friday on inspiration and what particular places or scenes inspire us. Love this post.
ReplyDeleteI get inspiration from places I visit, but I have used my home state of Utah as a setting for two books. There's a lot of great history here that lends itself well to stories in the old west.
ReplyDeleteI left you an award on my blog.
We always have strange things happening hereabouts that provide good fodder for a writer's mind. Also, I finally woke up to the fact that people consider Jamaica an exotic place, so I try to remember to make the island a character in my writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent discussion!
ReplyDeleteI live in Ohio, and the look of the heartland inevitably shows up (the freeways with green fields in my poem today, actually). Also, my neighborhood is often in my writing (there is a white dog down the street who I see all the time--he has the happiest expression and bounces with glee as he walks, and he keeps coming back in my poems).
Thanks so much for your comment on my poem today--happy to meet you!
Moving to Oregon then Central Oregon has influenced the places I write about. Even if set on another planet, the landscape is often taken from what's outside my door.
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