Looking for some unique/interesting settings for a story idea. Anyone have a cool or favorite place that would be a good add to a generic story? Modern day story with some magic and all that.
Looking for some unique/interesting settings for a story idea. Anyone have a cool or favorite place that would be a good add to a generic story? Modern day story with some magic and all that.
The Philippines, there are several authors who write stories about people there. VeryWellAged has stories here, and his own site now that used to be on ASSTR. Can't post the newer ones because some of the girls are less than 14. He also likes to add footnotes and pictures or other data about some of the foreign items he writes about. I have corresponded with him, he is friendly even if you criticize something. He said something was colder than shit and I pointed out shit is typically body temperature, 98.6 F. (I tried to spell fahrenheit but had some difficulty doing so.)
https://history.com/news/caral-peru-norte-chico-oldest-civilization-western-hemisphere
Pyramids in Peru almost as old as those in Egypt.
ETA:Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Known for the Catatumba lightning. Prior to Venezuela coming apart, it drew a lot of Wiccan types.
Some of the old mining towns of central Colorado, like Leadville, Silverton, and Ouray, have interesting histories and settings. Some, like Aspen and Telluride (what a name that is), have successfully turned themselves into big names, but the lesser-known ones have a lot of character. I can easily see some magic happening in such a place.
(Hmph — auto-cucumber just tried to turn magic into magikarp. Nope, not the right habitat for a sea pokémon.)
Almost every setting I use is a place I know very well. Specifically most often it has been locations around California, Oregon, and Idaho.
But I also "fictionalize" a great many others. Where they are never actually named, but one was intended to imply it was in the Midwest, and another along the Mississippi. Yet others in Oregon, but nothing specific to indicate any single town.
I find that unless I know an area very well, I am unable to really write about it. Because I am always afraid I will do something stupid, that somebody more familiar with it would notice.
Rather than everyone simply vomiting up random places, how about a clue as to what you're looking for. Small town, big city? Remote location or with romantic dining and clubs? Far from the beaten path and lots of remote woodsy locals? Plains? Mountains? Historic significance? U.S., Europe, East Asia or perhaps somewhere in India?
In short, what are the setting for the story? What sort of English do the characters speak (British, American, Australian or Welsh)? Does your protagonists live there, or have just moved there? Is there an established 'magic' community, if so, what's their history and does it tie into a specific location?
This is what we call 'establishing the setting' and is a bit of world building, which is essential for readers to feel at home and for the location to feel natural to the readers. Thus, it either takes a familiarity with the location, or you'll have to do enough research to feel comfortable describing it in relatively realistic detail to make the reader feel like they're there alongside the characters. Often, your comfort in describing the neighborhood is even more important than the characters are.
Sometimes you can simply go 'generic' with a wholly invented location, but it'll still have to feel authentic to both your characters and your readers.
What do you even mean by a setting? Geopolitical location, socioeconomic circumstances, historical period, institutions involved?
There was that, Tom Sawyer adventures story maybe, where a couple teenagers wandered in underground cave system with exits in town and at the river. I always thought that's a setting that begs for an erotic voyeur tale.
Let's say it has several totally forgotten exits in basements under the town, including, behind showers in all girls boarding school, and at least two residential homes, including one guy's closest. So there's at least three independent groups using the cave system to sneak out for skinny dipping in either the barely lit underground lake with a waterfall, or out in the secluded river valley, initially unknown to each other. Lots of potentially scary and sexy moments lurking in the shadows of what develop into whole parallel world literally underground.
How about a phone booth? That might require some magic just to find one these days. And then maybe more magic to cram your story idea into it.