I have a confession.
Sometimes, when I write, I use a setting I haven’t visited yet.
Can you tell?
Don’t get me wrong. I do loads of research. I troll internet photos, read travel blogs, visit the website of the location. But it’s not the same as actually being there yourself, you know?
Well, when my book No Place Like Home released in December, I’d had all sorts of plans to go visit the Bass Pro shop at the Pyramid in Memphis, TN. Honestly? I’d wanted to go since the place opened because it sounded SO COOL!
But, it never happened despite us driving through Memphis a couple times a year over the last four years to visit family. We’d stop somewhere else or didn’t have the time needed to really experience the place. You understand, I’m sure.
So, I based the chapters in my book where my characters visit the Pyramid on research. And I did a fairly good job, I think, pairing past Bass Pro experiences at other locations and all my online reading, to give a fairly good idea of what it’s like.
But then, over Christmas break, we set up a date in Memphis to meet up with friends who had moved to Arkansas last year. And where did I recommend we meet? Can you guess?
If you guessed the Pyramid, you’re right. It wasn’t quite what I imagined, but it was still very neat in spite of the yucky rainy weather that weekend. The inside is laid out with paths through Cypress-looking trees all dripping with moss. Water features have ducks, fish, and even some alligators floating around down there. And then there are the stuffed animals–and I don’t mean teddy bears. Can you spy the real bear?
There are places to shop for all your outdoor needs, of course. As well as two restaurants and a motel, a bowling alley, and a place to learn about Ducks Unlimited. And that day they also had Santa Claus.
But near the middle was the part I really wanted to experience for myself. The elevator.
Why would an elevator be that exciting? Well, it’s the world’s tallest free-standing elevator. We’re talking 28 stories tall. And it’s glass, so you can look out and watch the world shrink below you. It takes you up to the top of the Pyramid where you can walk out onto an Observation deck. Out there, you get a great view of the Mississippi River and the bridge, several buildings in Downtown Memphis, and the parking lot. And it was COLD that day, but my kids thought it was great because they discovered they could run a couple steps and then slide on the glass floor. Nothing like giving their mama a heart-attack right before the holidays. And of course, I made my husband take a picture from up there. I’ll let you guess which one of us is more afraid of heights and which one was loving it. ;-)
Standing at the bottom of the elevator, looking up toward the roof. They had the fun lights on it all the way up.
My husband and me with the MS river bridge in the background.
It was a fun few hours, and I recommend stopping if you have the time. Get some yummy fudge, even.
And I’m so glad I got to experience an activity I had my characters doing, too.
Are you surprised authors sometimes write about locations they’ve never been? Have you suspected it all along? What do you think would make a fun location in a future novel?
Drop a comment below by February 12th to be entered to win a kindle copy of my latest book, No Place Like Home (US only).
Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher's kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.
I think the author’s skill and imagination makes the location,
whether real or imaginary. Research can often reveal things locals are unaware of and locals might know things research doesn’t reveal. Either way no way would I be going to the top of that elevator, lol, I prefer my feet on something solid that I can see when I look down. Thanks for a thought provoking post :)
Thanks for your reply. Honestly, the elevator wasn’t nearly as scary as I expected it to be. ;)
There are times you can tell an author is writing about something they’ve never experienced or know about, but most of the time, a good writer can write in experiences that make you feel as if you are there. That elevator sounds scary and I like my feet on solid ground.
My character feels the same way about the elevator. Even worse, you have to pay to ride it, so it’s like paying money to torture yourself. 😂
I love books set in the west (Colorado,
Texas, etc) and Scotland. 🤣 I think it’s awesome how authors can write such details about places they’ve never been, just by researching. It’s even more amazing when you think about those who wrote 50 years ago and couldn’t use the internet or Google Earth. Lol
I agree! I love those locations and England, too. I can’t imagine trying to write without help from the internet!
Wow!! So elaborate!
Very elaborate!
Thank you for sharing your experience. This looks so cool. I would love to read your book. The cover is great. The story sounds fantastic.
Thank you so much! It was a really fun experience. I hope I did it justice in my story. :)
I’d be surprised if author’s only wrote about places they’d actually been! I’d wonder how they could afford to go all of those different places, and how they ever got any work done!
So true! Although there’s several of us who would love to try going all the places. ;)
I absolutely loved that scene in your story!! Today we really need to rely on internet travel sites to crea6places we have never been to!
I’ve never expected authors to write only about location they’ve visited…
I admire how much research goes into the story, including the setting!
Need more stories set in California ;) so many beautiful places!
I’m not surprised as long as authors get obvious details right, I don’t pay too much attention to location—I’m there for the story.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Every time I read a story set in California, I think I want to visit. Someday!
Thanks for commenting. I agree. Sometimes the setting fades behind whatever happens in the scene.
Hi Amy! I enjoy reading books set in the Midwest or Europe, especially Germany. Doing Covid time, arm chair travel is fun for this retiree. If as a reader, I wonder about a location, I will do my own research; especially when reading historical fiction. Thanks for sharing your pictures about Bass Pro Shop. I have a similar experience for years on our way to Chicago from SW Michigan we passed the Bass Pro Shop in LaPorte, Indiana and never stopped. After we retired and we started taking backroad trips and often explored the Indiana Dunes and so we stopped. Such a cool experience with all the stuffed wild life. More intriguing than visiting the Field Museum in Chicago. The displays are awesome. No glass elevator though. Do enjoy visiting Tennessee, Kentucky and the Smoky Mountains. Last trip there was in 2015. Haven’t read your new release yet. Added to my wish list. Best wishes.
Bass Pro shops are always fun to visit. So much interesting stuff to see. I love the Smoky Mountains and have been blessed to go on retreat in Gatlinburg the last few years. So beautiful and definitely going to be a future story setting. ;) Thanks for putting me on your TBR!
Okay, you’d never get me to leave that place! :-D But I’d pass on the elevator, thanks.
I honestly can’t tell if an author has been to a place they write about. Most of the time, I’m just along for the ride (in the story) and don’t really care about the details. I’m assuming the writer has done enough homework (research) to make the setting as believable & real as possible.
One book I read, part of is set in the town I live in and I wonder if the author visited because everything was spot-on! From the sights to the restaurant the hero & heroine ate at was accurate. It was amazing. I love when an author can “fool” you that way :-)
Hi, that is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing with us . (not entering this giveaway, but thank you) Have a great week and stay safe.
It was a really neat place. Easy to forget it’s a store.
And I love it when I read about a place I have been and it’s perfect.
Thanks so much!
I can understand how hard it is for an author to explore all the areas they would like to use as settings. I believe that is one reason that author’s create their own towns so they do not have to worry about getting it wrong. I think a great location would be a small town/community in West Virginia. There are small towns and communities around Davis, Thomas, Canaan Valley. There are national parks as well as winter skiing. There could be a lot that could be written about in the area. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
I get to visit friends in West Virginia next year and am very much looking forward to it. Maybe a future book is in the works. ;)
I think they should put Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
I think Italy sounds nice but also Canada like the capital & it’s special Five Span Stone Bridge.
It’s been a long time since I was in Ontario, but I remember enjoying it. :)
That sounds really fun. We need more authors from Canada, eh? ;)
Most authors do such a great job with research that I usually can’t guess they haven’t been to a location their books. I love visiting places through books though.
I’m glad we do a good enough job to not be detected. ;)
And I love traveling through reading, too.
I like when authors write about places I’ve been. It kind of takes me back to those places. I live not too far from Springfield.Missouri – the Original Bass Pro and Headquarters. I visited years ago. My son got a job last year as head art director for Hunting. It is a fabulous place to work, he says. Johnnie Morris started out in his Dad’s store room with some fishing lures. Now he does soooo much! And is very generous. He owns several boat factories, which helps our local town’s economy.
But if the author can put me in the story with the setting, it doesn’t matter if they have been there or not. I think it adds to it though, especially if I have been there too.
So fun! Thanks for sharing that info. I always love revisiting places I have been, too.
I have to comment concerning Bass Pro Shops. I lived in Springfield, Missouri before the Pyramid was built, where you will find the first, and still the headquarters of, Bass Pro Shop. If you look it up, you will know how long ago that was! Giving my age here 😉!) <> I haven’t been to Tennessee since the Pyramid became Bass Pro Shops! I may have to go there just to say I have see it with my own eyes!
I haven’t been to the one in Springfield, but I have been to a couple of others. This one was definitely the biggest I have seen. :)