How To Write Novels Set On An Unfamiliar Territory

By Alta Alexander


One of the most favorite recreation by a lot of people across different ages is reading. May it be fiction or non fiction, there is something about the activity that edifies the mind and helps us relax. Good thing about reading is the variety of selection that you have. There are many areas or genres that you will surely love.

The publishing industry is a prolific one. And we see every now and then different authors independently publishing their books online or through hard copy. If you are working on things like those novels set on Pacific Coast Highway and are not that familiar with the area, then you have to do a lot of preparation.

Veteran or not, if you do not have any idea on how it looks or feels like, you will end up guessing and doubting the quality of your work. This is why knowing the area where you choose to bring your story is very important. If you are writing about something and want to know the area better, then take a look at these following things that you can do on your end.

Read relevant information. This is the primary thing that you can do to learn about anything. You can either go online or secure books about the place that you are writing. It could be about the culture, religion, and the geography of the site. All of these can be useful in visualizing its appearance.

Visit the site. Now if you do not mind taking some qualit time off, and enjoying a stroll at a new place while working on your novel at the same time, then visiting the place can be a good thing to start. Aside from the authentic feel that you will get from here, it will be easier for you to identify differences in appearance from one place to another.

Talk with the locals. You can call this data gathering or interview or even friendly chat. Talking with the locals and asking them questions whose answers are vital to your work can reveal a lot. There may be stories and facts which are not found online and that you can only get straight from the people living there.

Check its historical significance and most notable areas. Any site, no matter how remote, has its own story to tell. Some of these things can be found online. And then there are those which you will only see and understand once you take time to visit the place.

Be observant. The most important of all, practice the art of observation. Looking and enjoying the scenes is one. Observing is a unique way of looking at things. You do not just randomly savor the sight of something. You see it, take its wholeness and remember the most important details that they have. You may then use these details in your story. The more vivid, the more sense of reality will it have.

Writing can be exhausting. Add it up to an unfamiliar topic and you will surely start to question why you are doing it in the first place. Always settle for excellence on the write ups that you have. Know every detail that it will need to contain.




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