Oh, am I EXCITED about my new Writers Helping Writers post. 😀
This week, as part of the site’s Resident Writing Coach Program, I share some insights about using real-world locations in our stories, either faithfully for historical or contemporary genres or as inspiration for fictional worlds. And since one of the reasons why I attended the Iceland Writers Retreat was to do hands-on research for my story’s setting, guess which country I used as an example? 😉
Click here to read “Using Real-World Locations to Ground Your Story’s Setting.” The post also includes a couple photos from my trip, as well as several setting-related facts you may or may not know about Iceland.
By the way, for some reason I thought “Using Real-World Settings…” wasn’t going live until next week. So imagine how silly I felt Tuesday morning when I opened my email and discovered I’d mixed up my dates.
As always feel free to share your comments at WHW or here at the blog. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Sara Letourneau 
Great post, Sara. I particularly liked the advice on the sensory detail, which has been on my mind a lot lately as I try including more senses into my writing. I think visiting a new place you’re writing about has the added benefit of everything being unfamiliar, so you notice more than if you try to go somewhere in your own town. I find that I’m used to most things where I live, so I really have to struggle to notice things like sounds and smells. I do that more for an exercise. I don’t think any of my stories take place where I live.
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Thanks, Mandie! And you’re right about noticing those sensory differences when visiting unfamiliar places. During my first day in Iceland, I took a deep inhale outside – and realized how different the air is there than at home. It’s so fresh and clean, like breathing in the air equivalent of spring water. It’s sort of like visiting another person’s house and picking up on all its scents, then realizing you’re “numb” (for lack of a better word) to the smells of your own home because you’re so used to them.
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I already commented on the post but I just wanted to say here again that it was a really inspiring article. Gives me that sense of wanderlust 🙂
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I just responded to your comment there. 😉 Thanks so much, Faith!
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Congrats on your post, and don’t worry, mixed up dates happen to everyone. 🙂
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Thanks, Joanna. 🙂
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