M.S. Spencer
Have you ever been writing happily along and suddenly found your characters in a setting you know nothing about but because it flowed logically from the story you are powerless to change it?
We all remember the old adage about writing what you know, but a writer also wants to be as accurate as possible in settings, if only to avoid those snarky letters from readers who insist that Washington DC is on the East coast. For my last three books I spent a lot of time driving around the “set” making sure physical descriptions reflected reality. But in my current work-in-progress, I was halfway through before I realized one of my main characters hails from a city I’ve never been to.
My WIP, Triptych, is a contemporary romance about three sisters and their lovers. Honor, the eldest, secretly loves a German family friend. Miranda mourns her dead husband and dismisses any overtures of romance. Sybil, the youngest, yearns for a dashing European aristocrat to sweep her off her feet.
In order to increase the dramatic tension and add layers to the story, I wanted to tie together not only the sisters’ stories, but those of the lovers. One hero is French; another is German. In a flash of brilliance (or so I thought), I made one of them come from Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace—an historic battleground between France and Germany. The two men will reflect the ancient rivalry. All right! The story line is working out well and I’m typing away when it hits me. I’ve never been there. I’ve lived in France and traveled in Germany, but I know diddly squat about Strasbourg.
What to do? Is it better to reconfigure the entire story, presuming that authentic flavor is paramount? Or utilize all the vast resources of the internet to build the set? Can I ever be sure I have captured the feel of the city?
I would love to hear how other writers deal with a situation like this. We’ve often discussed how characters can get away from us, taking on a personality of their own and doing things of which we totally disapprove, but what about a background that insists on staying?
Biography:
Although M. S. Spencer has traveled and lived in Chicago, Boston, Europe, South and Central America and the Middle East, the last 30 years have been spent in the Washington area as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter and editor. She worked for the U.S. Senate, for the Department of the Interior, and in several library systems, both public and academic. She has two wonderful children, Spencer and Emma.
Writing as M. S. Spencer, she has published two contemporary romance novels, Lost in His Arms and Lost and Found, both bestsellers at (Red Rose Publishing). Her third, Losers Keepers, will be released in July by Secret Cravings (Secret Cravings Publishing).
Book Information and Purchase Links:
Lost in His Arms, by M. S. Spencer
Published 2009 by Red Rose Publishing
eBook, 61,000 words, ISBN 978-1-60435-375-0
Contemporary Romance, Action/Adventure; M/F; 3 flames
Lost & Found, by M. S. Spencer
Published 2010 by Red Rose Publishing
eBook, 69,000 words, ISBN 978-1-60435-707-3
Contemporary Romance, Action/Adventure; M/F; 3 flames
Both books are also available at: www.amazon.com, www.bookstrand.com, www.allromanceebooks.com, and www.fictionwise.com .
Contacts: Website
All Romance E Books Author Page
COMING SOON:
Losers Keepers, July 2011, from Secret Cravings Publishers.
@AngelaKayAustin
March 13th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Very often, if I have not been to a place, I use the Internet for pictures to get the physical descriptions, read the travel brochures for a basic feel, and if possible (and it generally is, with the World Wide Web) find someone via chat rooms, Facebook, blogs, other friends, etc., who lives or has visited the area.
March 13th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Well, you know what I’m like. I’d research the heck out of it, finding out all I could, finding photos and first hand accounts. And if that still didn’t work for me, I’d travel there if possible. I have done, when I needed to. Of course, I’m mildly obsessive about things, too…
Ebs
March 13th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
ALOHA…. MEREDITH writes about what she knows, love. she makes her characters alive and attractive, a reflection on her own being… mahalo for the interview…. aloha from the northshore of maui….. ;o}
March 13th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Love the book cover. I had a similar situation in my new release, WAYWARD SOUL. The heroine is a spirit guide and she is “cast” back to Heaven. Never having been there, I had to create a setting that had the same feel that I thought I might experience. I think if you “feel” the scene yourself (even if you’ve never been there) you capture the setting in your own way and then the reader sees it through your eyes:)
March 13th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Because I write Science Fiction Romance, I can honestly say that I’ve written about places to which I have never been before. Of course, neither have any of my readers… Alas in your case, there are surely those who have. Of course, the internet can come to your rescue, and you can use Google Earth to zoom in on the city and its environs. Another way is to read a few books on the city’s history or a travel guide for it. Find out what newspapers are printed there and read them online. See if there are TV stations or radio stations that broadcast from there (which might not help if they’re in a language you don’t speak). Tweet that you need info on the city, blog about it (hey – that works!) and of course, look for an “expatriate” group from there that might meet near you. Expatriates, if you don’t already know, are people who have moved from a place to another, often for work-related reasons. They’ve been transferred from their city/country to another for X years to work on a project. There are expat groups that meet and enjoy foods from home, the sound of their own language, and to keep up with news from “back there.” One or more of these might be very willing to talk about their homeland, and give you all sorts of inside info and support.
Of course, you could just fake the entire thing. =^_^= Good luck, whichever way you go!
March 13th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Hahahaha…I was happily writing book #14 in my Arbor U series when all of a sudden the main character revealed she now resided in Tempe. AZ. I’ve never even BEEN to Arizona; the farthest west I’d been at the time was Colorado. So now what do I do? I conjured up a ‘typical’ condo setting, and was vague about her trip home to Indiana. And when I happened to meet someone from the Phoenix area, I showed him my description and asked if it would work. He made a few suggestions, and I incorporated them. Fortunately, since book #3 hasn’t been pubbed yet, I have the luxury of TIME. And this is before Google Earth existed, so now I have another resource.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
I absolutely love the suggestion of just going to visit the places my books are set
I’ve joined chat groups, posted questions on Craig’s List, called friends who called friends, interviewed anyone that would allow me.
The funny things is…it’s been so much fun, that I haven’t once thought of it as hard work.
March 17th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
If at all possible we’d all love to go anywhere! All of your suggestions for research points are great (thanks Kay, Angela,Kayelle)–thank God for the Internet! I’ve also used travel sites a lot–to choose sites to visit; routes & modes of transport; hotels that fit the scene; and especially tourist reviews! Those are invaluable. For Strasbourg I chose a gorgeous hotel–but made it my hero’s ancestral home. EBS–I know what a stickler you are–my greatest teacher! KIM: I don’t think anyone expects a “realistic” description of Heaven–except for maybe those with “near-death” experiences!
March 18th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
The WWII manuscript signed by Red Rose took many unexpected turns and forced me to go to many different places. I not only had to know about different countries but a different time period I’d only heard about from my parents’ memories. I searched the internet, and the local library became my best friend. I wasn’t afraid to use it, believe me. I looked up dress of the period, types of weaponry, and quickly became a history expert.
March 19th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Hi Angela and Meredith,
Thanks so much for such an interesting discussion. Being almost totally blind, the setting is the one thing I find most challenging in my writing, since I have to rely on other people’s descriptions of any particular place. My debut release Voices on the Waves is set in Cornwall, England, and so I had to do a lot of research into the landscape and local towns. Then it hit me. Why not dispense with all the agro and set my novels in a fictitious place? And so I invented Denninshire, a whole new English county, where all my novels are now set. I still have to research certain things so that I can describe houses built in a particular period and whatever, but this has made the writing experience so much less stressful!
March 20th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Jessica, I love the idea of creating your own setting. I’ve been thinking of doing something similar for a few pieces I’m working on.