tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post3711752678961655407..comments2024-02-23T05:16:12.783-05:00Comments on VOICES FROM THE HEART: Setting Research: Working and PlayingMona Riskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14923883333893160794noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-90362383252258476932011-11-07T12:41:40.848-05:002011-11-07T12:41:40.848-05:00Josie,
Yes! Let's do that.Josie,<br />Yes! Let's do that.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-19802385524500180542011-10-28T21:06:13.285-04:002011-10-28T21:06:13.285-04:00Sheila,
What a beautiful setting to reconnect with...Sheila,<br />What a beautiful setting to reconnect with your family and your novel. Can you invite your FTH friends to join you next time? :)Josiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05930730661273079224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-54850044669635581682011-10-25T11:15:58.501-04:002011-10-25T11:15:58.501-04:00Sounds like a fun time, Sheila. Great pictures.Sounds like a fun time, Sheila. Great pictures.Dawn Marie Hamilronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01366244357545585183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-68424437167488493742011-10-24T12:28:08.657-04:002011-10-24T12:28:08.657-04:00Hi, Sheila, this looks like a fascinating place to...Hi, Sheila, this looks like a fascinating place to visit and share a wonderful time with your son. Just awesome.<br /><br />Setting--for now, most of my stories are set in a fictional town based on a place I know and love. And when I travel, I end up incorporating special places in my town. <br /><br />Good post! oxoxVicki Batman, sassy writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13846704675542248648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-12956839448302754542011-10-23T06:08:20.135-04:002011-10-23T06:08:20.135-04:00Great post. I think it's terrific how you comb...Great post. I think it's terrific how you combined work with pleasure. I tend to write about settings I know but not always. In a novella it's easier to go spare on certain place details. I think it's harder in a novel. In cases where I really have no experience and can't get it, I also ask people I trust to go through and check those parts of the story for accuracy.<br /><br />But, planning a vacation around your story's locations sounds like a wonderful idea.( :Gabriella Hewitthttp://www.gabriellahewitt.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-12860693742666463442011-10-22T22:51:03.350-04:002011-10-22T22:51:03.350-04:00Sheila, this is such a cool place and to think you...Sheila, this is such a cool place and to think you live so close to it. Being half Danish, I loved hearing about your wrangler. :)<br /><br />I live where I write about and love that all of the history is around me. In fact, I just had to start physical therapy and the office is in the Smith Flat House which is built over a gold mine tunnel I used in my fourth story. It is a very small world.Paisley Kirkpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06401039126457210324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-48044574121629173592011-10-22T13:22:52.270-04:002011-10-22T13:22:52.270-04:00Oh, how right you are, Jill. I know LA well, and H...Oh, how right you are, Jill. I know LA well, and Hollywood. Southern California encompasses a variety of remote small towns. Unfortunately, much of southern coastal Califonia is becoming greater LA as the sprawl continues. The only upside of the 2008 housing crash was a drop in new urban development.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-31471380593559215042011-10-22T13:14:54.162-04:002011-10-22T13:14:54.162-04:00When I was working on Tempting Adam it was really ...When I was working on Tempting Adam it was really hard to get the feel of Southern California. I live in Northern California and SoCal is like another country. Los Angeles is different than Southern California. And Hollywood is a world all its own. But I had visited enough that I felt I could have a taste of the flavor of down south.Jill Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754506629717417267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-36139063617574477542011-10-22T12:34:32.510-04:002011-10-22T12:34:32.510-04:00Hello Sheila, I'm glad you could stop by. And ...Hello Sheila, I'm glad you could stop by. And I'm glad I was a help re: boating : ) <br /><br />I usually stick to local settings too. However, I want to write a story about Lopez Island, Washington, a long way from California. Friends and writing colleagues can be good setting resources. Fortunately, I've visited Lopez before and can stay with a dear friend there.<br /><br />I wish I was close to the Rockies. We're stuck in fog here.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-71727143251825884642011-10-22T12:20:10.961-04:002011-10-22T12:20:10.961-04:00I generally stick to locales I'm familiar with...I generally stick to locales I'm familiar with or can travel to easily (I'm fairly close to the Rocky Mountains and the surrounding ranching area) but every once in a while, a story comes along that demands a different location. In those cases, I'll do a little online research but most of my research is done after I've written the first or second draft. <br /><br />And it also helps tremendously when a critique partner surprises you with their knowledge of boats and sailing. Yes, that would be you, Sheila. :)Sheila Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17365100511100802221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-41659438425781223672011-10-22T11:28:18.392-04:002011-10-22T11:28:18.392-04:00Hi, Vonnie! You did a terrific job with setting in...Hi, Vonnie! You did a terrific job with setting in Storm's Interlude. I felt like I was there. I have spent time in Texas hill country. <br /><br />In your Paris research you identified sounds, smells and attitudes, which are just as important as static environment to a writer. It's the little brushstrokes that create the big picture! Thanks for stopping by.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-85021022154501865862011-10-22T11:19:32.866-04:002011-10-22T11:19:32.866-04:00Great blog, Sheila. When I wrote "Storm's...Great blog, Sheila. When I wrote "Storm's Interlude," I did gobs of online research for I'd never been to Texas or a ranch or on a horse. One of my best resources was real estate listings in that area. Not only could I dtudy types of buildings, but see some great photos of landscapes and sunsets. A reviewer remarked that she loved my description of the hill country and its sunsets, so I knew I'd learend from research. Even so, I was leary writing about someplace and a lifestyle I've never lived.<br /><br />My current WIP is the second in a series set in Paris. I've been there so I can draw on our experiences and study the hundreds of photos I took. I feel more comfortable because I know the smells and sounds and attitudes of the city.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-76141522651251075722011-10-22T10:25:51.651-04:002011-10-22T10:25:51.651-04:00Terry, tapping that coworker's sister was a lu...Terry, tapping that coworker's sister was a lucky break, wasn't it? <br />Blogs are a great resource. It's exciting to access other people's experiences--right at our fingertips! <br />I have a character who lived in Buenos Aires for four years and I had to research like crazy online. <br />So far I haven't run across a person who lived there.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-79255128340765118162011-10-22T10:10:49.081-04:002011-10-22T10:10:49.081-04:00Friends can be a great resource. Ana, you're s...Friends can be a great resource. Ana, you're so right about life in a setting, especially period stories. <br />We visited Boston a few years ago and tramped through a very old cemetery there. I plan to write a historical that includes Boston. That cemetery fits nicely in the story.Sheila Tenoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549721256331896612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-44617173587194990522011-10-22T10:10:34.747-04:002011-10-22T10:10:34.747-04:00Love it Sheila! I research blogs that tell about p...Love it Sheila! I research blogs that tell about people's experiences in the actual location where I set the story. I haven't been to the Amazon, but I've set my first jaguar shifter story there. From actual accounts by a coworker's sister and numerous blog accounts, I've set the scene.Terry Spearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14788961423817944896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588376429247025873.post-31098687999803539062011-10-22T10:03:14.309-04:002011-10-22T10:03:14.309-04:00My WIP's setting is Boston. I've been aski...My WIP's setting is Boston. I've been asking friends who live, or have lived, there to tweak my descriptions. <br />Just as important as setting details, IMO, are action details. Unrealistic details about life in a setting I know really throw me out of a story.Ana Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12325215832587691886noreply@blogger.com