"real life" settings in fiction

[ProfessorAlan]

I know we have gone over this topic before, but I thought this was helpful. This is a quote from an article in January's The Writer, by detective novelist William G. Tapply.
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"If you write about real places, do your homework. Don't move that Dunkin' Donuts shop or make Part a two-way street if it isn't.

If you fictionalize a village, city ot region, don't be generic. Make it unique with plausible, specific details."

[jacks girl]

I love writing about real places, i will drag out the map and find streets and towns, I get this habit from Mr. Louis Lamour. i have traveled over 48 states and Canada and I have seen many towns, and use them when i can in my stories.

I also try to not make things up if I can find the true facts. In a story about a family that makes wine, i studied up and used real terms and learned the process for making wine. I think not only should I entertain people but teach them something in the process.

I love this thread all ready

[Lookin^Up]

Contrary to Jack's Girl, I love making up places. I'll reference a real place if it becomes necessary, but it's usually a generic reference. My captain's family, for instance, is from Flagstaff, Arizona, and their parent company is in Houston where NASA used to be. But I've avoided putting in details of either place.

[kerrig]

I haven't been sure how to do this in mine. I am in the research part right now and have wondered if I should research an area or make my own. My dd loves the show "Gilmore Girls" and Amy Sherman-Paladino actually made Stars Hollow from a little town in Connecticut that she had visited.

[righter1]

I think you have to find what works for you. I personally like to use real places--I love my hometown of Kansas City, and would gladly place a story just about anywhere in Kansas or Missouri.

But, I also have no problem making up places, either. A story that's on the back burner takes place on board a space station about 60 years in the future, so I have nothing to base anything on--just my own imagination, and maybe, a bit of Star Trek... ;)

[pajarita_deDios]

I'm writing a story which takes place in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. Because this is such a big city, which is built partially on a mountain, I am taking liberties. I have been there, but I can't go back anytime soon, and I can't remember everything I saw either. I think I'll try and see if there is a map with any details at all, as jacksgirl likes to do. There are photos but...It really is a winding and intricate place. I think if the place is big enough, as it Guanajuato, it's okay to take a few liberties, as long as you stay within a logical and believable frame.

[smokey the dog]

I don't know about using real places in a story. I bought a book a while back because it featured the hospital, and the city where I work. It really got under my skin when he got some details wrong.

[Lookin^Up]

One of the Left Behind books had characters in Denver driving from the old Stapleton Airport to Littleton in a matter of ten minutes, or so it seemed, and over rough terrain (after the earthquake). On a good day with moderate traffic, you can't make it in less than 40 minutes.

[ProfessorAlan]

I think there is a little room for creative license -- if Jack Bauer and CTU had to get around Los Angeles in the actual time required, the show would need to be 72 or 96. 24 hours would never be enough.