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Sociologist, geographers,
historians, writers, artists, and anthropologists have all been interested in
the idea of ‘A Sense of Place’ for a long time. Why? Because this gives a place
it’s character and identity, it gives people a sense of belonging in a place
and an affinity with the locality. Some places can also feel uncomfortable.
So why does this matter with
our writing? A good book can often give the reader a strong sense of why the
characters feel attached to a place or a dislike of a location. When you can
understand a person’s connection to a place, it is easier to understand how
they respond and behave.
Wordsworth described places
in his poetry in a way that was almost magical. I am reading Orpan Pamuk’s
‘Istanbul – Memories of a City.’ He received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature
for ‘Snow,’ and his descriptions are vivid and inspirational. I love to travel
and this fuels a need to write about a particular setting and get ‘under the
skin’ of a place, to think about what makes a location so appealing.
A few tips on building a Sense of Place into you
Writing:
Description
- describe the buildings, the feel of the air, what you see on the streets.
Detail
- use images to add detail into your scenes – from photographs, online images,
or go there and make some notes.
Geography
– find maps and use Google Earth to look at the area. Is it wooded, on a cliff,
on a river, compacted or isolated?
Character
– think about why your character might feel an attachment to a place – do they
have family there or did they spend a childhood in a particular place? To find
out what makes your character tick, it is important to look at how they react
in a particular setting.
Identity
– The connection a child has with a place has been described as a ‘primal
landscape,’ and psychologists say that this affects the decisions a person will
make later in life. If you feed this into your characters it will add kick to
your story.
How have you created a Sense
of Place with you writing?
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| F.C. Malby |
F.C. Malby is a short story
author and a novelist. Her debut novel, ‘Take Me to the Castle,’ is released
this week on Amazon in paperback and on kindle. The book is set in Prague and
Letovice, in the Czech Republic, during the fall of communism.
You can find F.C.Malby on: