Plot Location

The plot location can make or break a story.

So, some people say.

There are different viewpoints on whether detailed locations add or distract from a book. Get into too much detail that it takes away from the actual story trying to be presented.

My humble opinion? I believe it all depends on you, the writer, and what you want to come across for your readers. Dive in and sell it so they feel like they are right there. Or, tease the descriptions with enough to paint an outline they can fill in themselves.

Whatever you decide to do, ensure that you make it believable. Find a common ground that a reader can grasp.

Well, what exactly do I mean?

Take as an example a fiction novel of the suspense/thriller genre that uses as a backdrop Seattle, which happens to be the setting of three of my unreleased books. To really make my readers feel like they are part of the book, I use real places around Seattle to draw people in. If they have ever been there or happen to live in the surrounding area, they can make a connection and say, “Hey! I know that shop. I know that street.” I also have used Scotland as a backdrop with places I have been. Castles, towns, even a favorite chocolate shop on the Isle of Skye. Relatable areas for a reader adds to the ability to grasp the story and believe what your convey as a storyteller. Put themselves smack in the middle of your story location.

Sure. So says the writer guy.

Now, having something take place in space on a planet that doesn’t exist does not mean the plot or location cannot be grasped and accepted by a reader. Not at all. Fantasy and adventure are wonderful genres to let the mind wander and go for a journey. In fact, they provide exceptional leeway in your creative imagination to build and construct scenes that a reader can dive right into and get lost. As the writer you can weave your work with past experiences your reader can relate to from other books, movies, or television as reference points.

Not to say plagiarize, oh no.

Say in your own words. You spin your tale anew with vivid pictures your audience can say, “That reminds me of that one movie I watched. Oh, that book I just read, this one takes that idea of starship life to a different level.”

How do you then go about developing the location and scene without going overboard in details? That is the conundrum faced by writers! It is a delicate balance, one that takes some finesse and an eye for descriptions.

The plot to a story, the locale as you might say, it integral to a book. That is not to say it is for every genre it is a required piece of the puzzle.

Not at all.

In some cases, many in fact, the plot location doesn’t mean much. The dialog and prose of the words are the critical components. The “place” it takes place, for lack of a better qualifier, is just noise.

What was that again?

I said the location of the plot for some stories doesn’t mean much.

Hold on there Mister!

No, think about it. Beyond the initial description or being told about the location where the story takes place, did you pay attention to the journey of the character or characters as they travelled? Can you say something about each place? If not, then what was it that kept you glued to the pages?

That is the nagging thing to ponder.

As a reader you might have been totally engrossed in the dialog between characters and their interactions. Been mesmerized with how they relate, good or bad, and followed along as they discussed, yelled, even loved, things that drew you in and it didn’t matter where they were physically. Drop them anywhere and the dialog is what captivated you, the reader.

Now, for books where the plot and locations play key to what you are reading, then it makes absolute sense as a writer to lay the foundation. Describe the scenery. Tell your readers what it is like to be there. Paint that canvas for them and drop your readers right smack in the middle of it. Drive their attention to the dialog and the action by not having them wonder about filling in location details.

Um, why?

Well, some locations are key to the actual plot. The characters are interacting and describing pieces and tidbits of information that are relevant to where they are at in relation to a place. If you as a writer are weaving a tale about Medieval castles during the 12th Century and your characters are running around one, if you don’t offer some details about what that type of castle looked like, even felt like, then as they are trying to evade captors your reader may get lost. If a reader has no clue what a turret is or resembles, have no concept of what a keep is, battlements, the list goes on, you might very well lose a reader if they can’t picture the escape route your rescuers journey as they free the captured princess.

Makes some sense.

I am not saying to detail every surface, every stone, or colors they encounter.

I am saying that in order to present an environment your reader, who may have no clue about castles and what they look like within, paint a rudimentary canvas to allow them to grasp the nature of where that particular part of the story takes place.

OK. I think I understand.

Now, take a love story. The focus may be the relationship of the two people. How they talk to one another. The words they speak. An interaction that develops into something. The focus for a story like this may absolutely be just these two people. Where it takes place may have little meaning. Details about a room they are in, the city they reside, the park they are walking through, may have no significance.

In fact, the details may erode the plot.

Did he just say that?

I did. That book is about something bigger than a plot location. Drop those people anywhere and the story is the same. The place means little. It is all about them and the words they share with one another. What makes it compelling is you as a writer focusing on these people in the book. Painting the masterpiece that makes a reader relate to them as people, lovers, friends. Writing the words they speak that show their love, hate, distrust, loyalty, those words are what presents to the reader the plot and allows them to fill in the details about where it all happens.

That is not to say as a writer you skimp on saying anything about the town. Fail to say they are in a room with a picture window overlooking the ocean.

Not at all.

I am simply stating that the focus is not on those details where you need to draw all of the lines. You put down some scribbles and let the imagination of the reader fill in the gaps.

Readers are a varied bunch. Writers too. We all have likes and dislikes, loves and hates for what we read. The same for what we write. There is no formula to what you do as far as plot location and drawing the map to bring your reader along for the ride. You must always do what works for you and the tale you want to write and for people to read. Give as much as you want, tamper it down and go skeleton framework so they fill in the gaps on their own.

I could give you a list of bestselling authors who provide so much detail in their books that you know all the fine details of every scene, to the minuteness of a glass seeping condensation in the back corner. Give you another bestseller list that you know the book and all the characters and what happens, but would be hard-pressed to tell anyone where it took place.

True for all genres and across fiction and non-fiction alike.

As a writer, you need to find your comfort zone. What feels right for your story. It is the never-ending dilemma faced, what to do. As a writer, you will find your voice, your path to follow. You may write some books steeped in plot details. Write others less so. Whatever you do, and this is the part to pay attention to, is you must always be true.

True to what?

True to you. Write what you feel. How you feel it. Ask a friend to read your book and what are their thoughts. At the end of the day, what do you want your readers to take away from your book? Is it the plot locations and all the details along with the story? Or, is it the story itself, the relationships and dialog?

You can only answer that yourself.