Using Real Places in Plots

[J.J. Oxendine]

The setting for my novella takes place in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, in a real town. However, everything including the names of the places where the characters go is purely fictional. The name of the town is also the title, "Deception in Mills River". It is still going through the editing stage. Has anyone ever had a problem using real towns in the story or title? Or had any negative feedback from readers because of this? I live in NC and it is a place I have visited.

[Millard]

The setting for my novella takes place in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, in a real town. However, everything including the names of the places where the characters go is purely fictional. The name of the town is also the title, "Deception in Mills River". It is still going through the editing stage. Has anyone ever had a problem using real towns in the story or title? Or had any negative feedback from readers because of this? I live in NC and it is a place I have visited.

I've never had a problem, but I have done the "real town, fictional place in said town" thing before. I think if people even notice, they know it's artistic license.

[bluetiger1941]

I put this disclaimer in In Search of the Yellow Dog. I'm sure some people are still going to complain that such and such building within that town doesn't exist:

Disclaimer: In Search of the Yellow Dog is a work of fiction. Names of characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Although Bogalusa, Washington Parish and other cities and towns referred to in this work exist, I have taken a number of liberties in describing these areas and incidents occurring therein. There is no Yellow Dog Prospect in Washington Parish or anywhere else to the best of this writer’s knowledge. Any resemblance to actual events at any of the locales depicted in this work is coincidental. Any similarity or resemblance to actual persons living or dead is not intended and should not be inferred.

[J.J. Oxendine]

Thank you both and I like the disclaimer. I think I'll put some kind of disclaimer about the town of Mills River in the disclaimer I already have.

[CraigInTwinCities]

My Disclaimer:

SHADA takes place in Hope, Wisconsin, which is a fictional town, but let's be real for a moment: of course I'm writing about YOU, you idiot. I used your first name and we kinda met in passing once, right? And that last name? It belongs to your best friend, so I can claim to be all fictional and all... but dang, girl, we all know you were the one starting fires with your mind and such. Oh, and YOU... yeah, the Sheriff of Veritas County really IS based on you, you old gasbag. I mean, I'll say it's a work of fiction to please the lawyers and prevent you from stealing my tens of dollars I make from this book, but yeah, it's YOU. Whatcha gonna do about it? I'm a WRITER! And I live half a country away now, ya freak... that's right. Boo-yah and git'er done! Just try and STOP me, you...

---

We interrupt this rant to report to you that SHADA author Craig Hansen was killed by an enraged fan who somehow read this post while it was being written, popped out of existence in Wisconsin, popped into existence in Oregon, beat the living crud out of Mr. Hansen, and then incinerated him with her mind. In lieu of memorials, please by a copy of SHADA for everyone you've ever met.

[William Woodall]

The main problem with using real places in your fiction is that you will inevitably have at least a few readers who live in those places, and if you describe something incorrectly then those people will inevitably notice the fact, and many of them are not shy about emailing to tell you so.  But even if they don't tell you so, they'll still notice, and it can diminish the reality of the story for them. . . a not-good outcome.

It's true that you probably won't have all that many readers who know (or care) that your facts aren't quite right, but I think it's worth trying to be as realistic as possible, whenever you can.  Whenever I'm describing a particular house or location where a lot of action takes place, even if it's located in a real town, I'll make up a street name (and then check MapQuest to make darned sure said street doesn't really exist in the town I'm using).  That gets me off the hook as far as making factual errors.  Yes, the street doesn't really exist, but that's easier to gloss over than a whole handful of inconsistencies if I tried to use a real street.

That said, there are times when you simply can't avoid using artistic license.  For example, in one story I found it necessary to describe the bus station in Sulphur Springs, Texas.  Problem is, there isn't one.  So I had to invent one and hope for the best, keeping deliberately vague about where it was located.  Situations like that you sometimes can't avoid.  But whenever possible, do your homework.  Visit the place, explore it on foot, talk to people, get a really solid feel for what it's like.  That way you'll sound a lot more authentic when you write about the place.  When talking about Sulphur Springs, for example, even though I had to make up the bus station, I was careful to put the Taco Bell in the correct real-world location and describe some unusual landscaping that it really happens to have, and I went on to describe a few other locales I knew of.  I'm not from there, myself, but I did take the time to make a visit and explore the place and take notes before I wrote about it.

   

[Rachel Forde]

I'm not from there, myself, but I did take the time to make a visit and explore the place and take notes before I wrote about it.

And if visiting the place isn't an option, Google Streetview is a good way to get a ground-level perspective.  You just have to be comfortable with the risk that a building hasn't been torn down or an intersection re-done in the two years since the photo was taken.

[Judi Coltman]

My last book was set in a real community with accurate description for the MOST part.  I had to make a few changes for plot purpose.  In the front I added a disclaimer acknowledging that the place is real but a bit of "geographical license" was employed to move the story forward.

[Rusty Bigfoot]

My friend writes mysteries and uses real towns but changes the names of the businesses and streets into parodies of the real ones. For example, a cafe called the Chow Hound is called the Chow Down, that kind of thing. People think they're funny, especially if they know the real town. But the geographic setting stays real.

[Seanathin23]

I'm setting my Thrillers is an alternate version of Richmond VA.  I didn't put a disclaimer in the first but will in the second because I mess with things that actually happened. I live here and feel comfortable writing about it, otherwise I think I would make up the location, but that is just me being scared.  

 Also street view was a wonderful help because there were times that I could see the street but really wanted to see the street for real. I kept it up in the background during a foot chase downtown that I was writing. Gave me so many ideas that I wouldn't have had without standing there, and clearly I couldn't run across roofs and such in real life.  

[Italiahaircolor]

I write about real places ... mostly the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.  I have visited the area and what I don't know, I research.  I use actual street names, real restaurants, and I make sure that those places existed if I'm writing, say, about 10 years ago.  I google buildings in images and describe them as they real appear.  If my characters are eating at a particular place, I research the menu for accuracy and they actually order off the menu.  If they're staying at hotel, it's a real hotel, and the rooms appear in my novels as they do in real life (thank you Tripadvisor).  I go to great lengths to assure that my fictional characters are living very non-fictional lives.  Why?  Because I do realize that some of my readers will be "townies" ... they'll walk the streets I write about, eat the meals I describe, shop in the stores I mention ... and it's sort of fun to pull on that thread.  

However, I should say, in my new novel, one of my characters owns a store ... and it's a totally fake store.  It's not real.  But, I placed it in the heart of Lincoln Street and gave it the typical ambience of the other local business so that it reads well.

For me ... it's easier.  I immerse myself into that world and let the actual landscape be my guide.  However, I too use a disclaimer -- exonerating myself from any likeness to real people, timely events and things of that nature.  You can never be too careful.  

And after that, it's fine.  But, I go in knowing that I have to be true to the area, to the opinions and attitudes of it's residents and the culture out there.  I have a healthy respect for the people in my "real fake" town ... and I want that to be strung throughout the novel.  

[TimFrost]

As a resident of Grenada, West Indies, I was so upset by the opening chapters of The Girl Who Played with Fire that I couldn't read on. If you haven't been to a place, don't make it up, or you will commit thirty or forty stupid errors, like Larsson does in that story. And in his case the mistakes are there for all eternity. We don't want that, do we?

[Judi Coltman]

And if visiting the place isn't an option, Google Streetview is a good way to get a ground-level perspective.  You just have to be comfortable with the risk that a building hasn't been torn down or an intersection re-done in the two years since the photo was taken.

Wow!  What a great idea!   said the middle aged woman who uses it all the time but never thought about using it for WRITING!  I learn something new every day.

[scslawin]

I know using real places incorrectly can lead to readers being disconnected from a story, but I would think that when it comes to fiction, most readers would allow for discrepancies when describing the features of real locations. I tend to view fictional stories as taking place in their own realms which are created by the writer. That's why the two-story tan building on the corner of Main and Elm in real life is a four-story red brick building in the story.

That said, I can also see readers who would be unable to view fictional stories in that light and would complain about inaccuracies. I'm not sure if that's due to a lack of imagination, differing expectations, or different perspectives on how true-to-life a fictional story must be.

[Sean Patrick Fox]

As others have stated, this isn't an issue. Just make sure to put in the disclaimer that everything is fictitious and the product of your imagination, and you'll be OK (or is it okay? Ok?).

[ToniD]

I set both my books in real places, Badwater in Death Valley and Volcano Watch in the Sierra town of Mammoth Lakes.

I've visited both sites many times, and so could incorporate the 'vibe' in the stories--and also had a couple of mild adventures that I used, which I wouldn't have thought to invent.

I also have altered street names, invented business names, invented canyons, roads, and mines. So I too included a disclaimer under the copyright notice, along the lines of this is fiction and I've taken dramatic license, so there!

[Morgan Gallagher]

Wow!  What a great idea!   said the middle aged woman who uses it all the time but never thought about using it for WRITING!  I learn something new every day.

Street view is great, but also combine it with travel/holiday reports.  Google for tourist/people reports, and try and track down the people who walked the streets.  Thus, I discovered that Cadiz had noisy fighting seagulls on every roof, and dog [crap] on every street corner!  

Street view is also good for getting travel times in cities.  As in, how long it takes to walk from point a, to point b.

Major cities also have a lot on the history of their development, in travel pages.  A good source is to google 'walking tours' of cities.  You often get not just the iteninery, and photos, links to archive articles.

But beware falling down the research hole!  

I know waaaay more than is good for me, about Paris and its underground caverns!  

[Rachel Forde]

Street view is great, but also combine it with travel/holiday reports.  Google for tourist/people reports, and try and track down the people who walked the streets.  Thus, I discovered that Cadiz had noisy fighting seagulls on every roof, and dog [crap] on every street corner! 

A good point to add.  You can get visuals with Streetview, but not the smell of gasoline, food cooking, river mud, etc..., nor the sounds of traffic or church bells.  If you can get firsthand experience, go for it, as you'll get a more three-dimensional experience. 

[Kathleen Valentine]

The main problem with using real places in your fiction is that you will inevitably have at least a few readers who live in those places, and if you describe something incorrectly then those people will inevitably notice the fact, and many of them are not shy about emailing to tell you so.   

Exactly. The Old Mermaid's Tale is set in Erie, PA but I had to rearrange the town a little bit to make the story flow better so I changed the name to Port Presque Isle. Same thing with Each Angel Burns. I always imagined it as Lowell, MA but in the story I called it Ripley Mills. However, I do use the names of surrounding towns -- Lawrence, Gloucester, Marblehead -- to add authenticity.

I see no problem using a real place but it is inevitable that you will get emails telling you that the post office faces west on Chestnut Street, not north as you said in your book, etc.

[J.R.Tate]

The setting for my novella takes place in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, in a real town. However, everything including the names of the places where the characters go is purely fictional. The name of the town is also the title, "Deception in Mills River". It is still going through the editing stage. Has anyone ever had a problem using real towns in the story or title? Or had any negative feedback from readers because of this? I live in NC and it is a place I have visited.

In my novel, Through Smoke, I have it set in New York City.  I had a couple of readers review and say that some of my street names were inaccurate and how I had little to no knowledge of the city.  I do admit that a couple of the street names I included in the book were "wrong", but I feel it's my story and I should be able to name areas what I want. I understand how some people are sensitive to this fact, seeing as so many people live there and it does pull them out of the reality of the story, but I got one starred for getting a street name wrong. (I put 42nd Avenue instead of 42nd Street.)  I do realize that when you do choose a real setting in your story, it does open you up for more scrutiny if you're not 100% accurate, but I feel that movies get away with it too.  I know of movies not even filmed in the town where it says it takes place, and the landscape is nowhere near what it really looks like.  I don't feel that we should be completely shunned for getting a few street names wrong.

Good luck on your novella!

[JRTomlin]

Wow!  What a great idea!   said the middle aged woman who uses it all the time but never thought about using it for WRITING!  I learn something new every day.

It's great. Most of the places in Scotland that I write I about I have visited but not England so when one of my characters was dragged in chains to Chester Castle, I used online resourced that showed realtime views of remains of the castle. It was great.

[KayBratt]

I've used real places in my novels. Real people, too! As a matter of fact, we met a man living in a cave in Xi'an and he hosted us for lunch. He was really old and had a casket in his house. (cave) The translator told us that 15 years before, he was very sick and his doctor thought he would die. So he bought his casket in preparation. It has sat in the same spot right across from his bed for 15 years, waiting on his impending death. It was such an interesting person and story that I weaved it into my novel, Chasing China.

For me, if I use the real name of a town/city, I keep it very factual. Because so many of my readers have been to the cities I write about and I don't want them calling me out, "Hey Kay, there isn't really a cave dwelling community in Xi'an!"  (Um...yes, there is. I've been there)



Edit: For my memoir I made up a Chinese city in an attempt to keep the orphanage I exposed anonymous. I didn't want my book to cause the disruption of volunteer work being done there.

[Cliff Ball]

I set my newest novel in northwest Nebraska and made up the name of a town, mostly because it was easy to do with all of that empty land, and I really didn't want to offend someone in Lincoln or North Platte if I had set it there. Although, it starts off in Omaha, but I don't mention names of hospitals, stores, or churches. Otherwise, in most of my novels, they're set in real towns and cities.

[J.J. Oxendine]

I'm just now getting back to reading this. Such great responses and advice. Much appreciated!

[K. A. Jordan]

Since my old hometown has a tourist industry I decided to use it and name all the places. The only 'real' people names are those who ASKED to be in the book.

My disclaimer reads like this:

This is a work of fiction.

The City of Ashtabula and Ashtabula Harbor and some of the Bridge Street businesses mentioned are real places. However all the characters are products of the author's imagination, any resemblance to actual people is entirely coincidental.

That way, if someone ASKED to have their names used in the book I still have a disclaimer.