Inventing geography is a ton of fun! Right up there with finding character inspiration photos and house floor plans and music that matches the mood or theme of the story.
My characters need places to hang out, which means they need a town with a few amenities even if they live out on a ranch or farm. They need a church, a coffee shop, a bookstore, a veterinarian’s office, a school, a park/playground… the list goes on and on!
I also need to know if the town is on a major highway near a large city or a one-stop-sign town miles from anywhere. Is it along a river or a lake? In the mountains or on the flatlands?
Oh, and then I need to keep all that information straight. I can’t have them driving east on Main Street to get to the grocery store in Chapter 4 and south to get there in Chapter 12. Readers will notice, even if I’m too immersed to see it.
All of which means, I need a map. I could draw one from scratch. I used to do this when I was a kid, sometimes with stories attached. I remember one with Rainbow Ridge and Pansytown and Sunflower River. Sadly (?) it did not pass the test of time and is lost in the murky past.
These days I’m more likely to find a town that’s similar in size and layout to what I’m envisioning, find the online map for it, and start adapting it to my needs. It may or may not actually exist in the region I’m putting it. That part doesn’t matter so much.
When I started dreaming about the Saddle Springs Romance series a year and a half ago, I knew I wanted to place it in NW Montana. It’s not that far from my home in SE British Columbia, and I’ve been through the area multiple times on various highways at different times of year. It’s beautiful. The hills roll, the rivers flow, and it’s ranching country. Sounded like a win to me.
Welcome to Plains, Montana… with a twist.
There are ways to add your own points-of-interest to existing maps in Google Maps. The problem is that you can’t remove the existing points-of-interest. Where they’ve got an Esso gas station or an ice cream shop, you do, too, whether you want one or not. More to the point, they are already named when you zoom in on a town map. What if, instead of McGowan Grocery, I want Manahan’s Grocery? What if, instead of Mountain High Espresso, I want Java Springs?
I want the places of business to look like I imagine them, whether that’s plank tables and log walls instead of contemporary. And, what if something bad happens in the motel? I’d better not keep the name Dew Duck Inn — yes, that exists in Plains! Better if I can call it the Hats Off Motel. Then no one will get offended if someone slips on a wet floor and breaks a bone. Not that it’s happened — yet — but it could.
When writing, I keep the Google Map up with my additions and tweaks, but because of the underlying reality, it’s not ideal for sharing with readers. So here’s a more presentable version!
I’m nearly done writing The Cowboy’s Belated Discovery, the fifth Saddle Springs Romance, which takes place partly at Canyon Crossing Stables (Garret’s home) and partly at the Flying Horseshoe Guest Ranch (Tori’s home). And there’s a whole lot of hanging out in the rustic, laidback town of Saddle Springs, too.
He can’t take one more chance on love. All she asks is one shot at winning his heart.
Tori Carmichael has been in a holding pattern since her dad’s debilitating accident. Now that the family’s ranch resort is on stable footing again, she’s ready for her future, but her plan to become a teacher dims in the glow of her dreams about the newest cowboy in Saddle Springs. Too bad there seems little sign Garret will ever return her interest.
Garret Morrison had planned to resume his music career after taking time to regroup from a shattered relationship, but his aging parents need his help with their riding stable. He pours himself into worship ministry at the local church, avoiding starry-eyed Tori for her own good. Every woman he’s loved has left him, one way or another, and he can’t face the possibility one more time.
What will it take for Garret to discover that love is worth the risk? And will that realization come too late to save what might have been?
Pre-order The Cowboy’s Belated Discovery today!
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
Hi Valerie, thank you for such an informative post. I think I have taken for granted how much effort goes into planning and keeping track of settings! Thank you:)
I love that with technology- google maps, internet searches etc. you can create/tweak your story world- and use it to write such great books to read:)
Blessings:)
Hi Valerie! As a traveler and avid reader, I am intrigued with how an author portrays a book setting. Setting influences people and characters. As a literature teacher, I enjoyed teaching setting – students drew Harper Lee’s town in To Kill a Mockingbird. For Lord of the Flies students invented their own utopia, where everything was chocolate. Visualizing setting from the author’s description if fun. Best wishes on your new book.
Very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing. Blessings
I love the thought and imagination that goes into every one of your stories and towns…it’s what makes me want to live in them!
It’s a great time to be a writer with all the available tools! :)
YES! Setting influences the story. It’s like another character in many ways… but at least it’s a constant one with somewhat fewer moods than the people have!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Maybe I should add a guest house to every community and map LOL.
Yes, please! Then I could simply make the rounds!!
I never realized the importance of having an accurate map of the town but it makes sense that it would help keep things straight and help to avoid location errors.
I have a few books that have maps drawn in them of the “town” the story takes place in. Now I know why!! Lol!! Not so much to help me as to help the author!! I have been known to go back and look at the map a few times, too! I love the cover!! His eyes!!
I knew you must have some sort of way to keep things straight in a town figuring it may be a spreadsheet or lots of sticky notes. I hadn’t thought of using a google map and moderating it.
I guess I may have thought there was a program that you could make a map one.
Its true we readers do pick up inconstancies although I don’t pick them all up. I am more likely to pick up a name change.
I think our town must be one of the few without a bookstore. The local newsagency has a few books but we don’t have a large selection of books.
LOL that would be fun.
I’m a very visual person. I need All The Visual Helps!
Thanks for loving the cover! And yep, a lot of times the map is for the author first, readers second :)
Fictional towns probably always have a bookstore! Though it occurs to me that in Saddle Springs, no one has visited it yet. LOL.
There are map programs, but I haven’t bought and learned one. What I’ve seen doesn’t seem intuitive to me. Part of it is just time, though.
I have always loved geography and inventing it would be fun.
to bad there isn’t a free one.
Looks like you need to have a character associated with a bookstore now
It does look like that, but there’s only one story left to write in that series, and I’m not sure how that will fit in with a bookstore!
That’s how I felt :D
I’m horrible at geography so I probably wouldn’t notice those mistakes. I think I have a very basic idea of them so in my head wen I’m reading. I do notice real life geography and travel times of places I’ve lived, like the Washington,DC area. I sympathized with a reader living near DC who had to go to BWI airport. It seems close but is a good hour or more away with traffic.
I do notice if names and relationships don’t make sense.
Thanks for writing and researching and plotting and planning.
Thank you for reading :D
I enjoyed learning about how you come up with a “new” town. Looking forward to reading this one.
Thanks, Priscila! Coming soon… :)