Okay, so Random.org helped me out, and the winner of the signed copy of Fancy White Trash is Rachel R, and the winner of the signed copy of Skin Hunger is Theresa Milstein! I wish I could have gotten more books and stuff to give away! Winners, please email me at lchardesty at yahoo dot com with your addresses.
Anyway, on to setting!
I’m on a family vacation.
I’m both excited and annoyed. I have three children, so it’s pretty
exhausting. Plus, the first stop
is my parents’ house.
I adore my parents, but my mom likes to go, go, go, and I’m
really more of a homebody. I don’t
really like to go on outings, just to go somewhere. Especially when I could be writing or something. Plus, my kids tend to realize that my
mom will be quicker to get them snacks or something they want, so they bug
her. If I do nothing but pay
attention to them, I can nip that in the bud before she gives in, but if I’m,
say, WRITING or READING and not paying attention, she will give in and then eventually get
annoyed that I’m not doing anything.
*shakes head* Needless to
say, I don’t think I’m going to get much writing time on this trip. *SIGH*
BUT, I am excited because I am visiting the places two of my
novels are set in! YAY! My current WIP, That Succs, is set in
and around Vegas, which is where my parents live (for two more weeks, and then
they’re moving—lol). Then we are
all going to South Dakota to visit my grandmothers. My completed novel, Lure, is set in Western South Dakota,
basically where my mom’s mom lives (the middle of nowhere-ish).
I plan to do posts when I get back, highlighting both
places, but I wanted some advice first.
What kinds of things do you think I should look for/at? If you have a novel or novel idea set
in either of these places, what information would you want about them?
Larissa :)
You've earned a vacation. As to Las Vegas you can't avoid seeing all the glitz and glam, but take a look at Pioneer Street. That's the original part of town and where all the action used to be. The last time I saw it was pretty rundown, ergo, a perfect place for a novelist to get ideas.
ReplyDeleteTell me what you see there.
Is your story set in the Black Hills? There's so many cool towns around there. Hill City comes to mind. I remember Deadwood being unique, too, 20 years ago before it became more commercialized. Similar to the last comment, it's fun to write about the popular places, but the little-known spots can really draw out many aspects of your characters and story. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI would imagine yourself as your character, and think about how the places would feel to her. Happy, depressing, good weather, bad, etc?
ReplyDeleteUgh, hope you can get some time to yourself!
Oooh! I cannot wait for the day when I can plan vacations based on story locations. Hope you have an awesome time--despite the crazy three. (I completely empathize.)
ReplyDeleteIf I were you I'd be taking my camera and about fifty flash cards. I'd snaps shots of EVERYTHING so I could pull my prose precisely from the images. (People and places.)
I was stuck in Vegas once for a couple weeks. (Poor car couldn't take the heat.) It's really interesting how small the strip is, and how run down the rest of Vegas is. Actually there's a HUGE population of Mormons or Latter Day Saints just off the strip. Watch for that. You'll see tonz of churches.
That's great that you are visiting the setting of your novels. Great research right there. I hope you find a lot of great material to use.
ReplyDelete