A big part of a story is where it takes place (setting). I've changed the location of my novel a few times because I needed it to take place near a city, but not too close to a major city. And I'm at a point where my MC needs to travel to NYC, but now I'm too close to NYC. It's a shorter drive than I want it to be. Does anyone else run into geographical problems or obstacles? I like my story, but I'm having some trouble with locations and fitting these pieces together mainly because of the setting. I thought I had found the right place, but it's sort of messing up the narrative due to the fact that I might be in the wrong place. Do you guys ever change your settings to better fit your story? Or do you ever alter your story to make more sense in the setting? This is a little tougher than I thought it would be. Damn. I thought setting was one of the easier aspects of writing. And I'm pretty sure I was wrong.
Is this setting real or fictional? If it's real and it would take a lot of rewriting to change it then perhaps use a fictional setting that you can place wherever it needs to be? I don't know if that's helpful as I'm sure you've already considered it.
Maybe the MC won't take, or only takes, certain roads into the city. Like maybe they won't drive on highways, so then it takes longer to get places.
Real setting and fiction story. I've had to change the location a few times and it hasn't been that much work. I'm just at a point where I need the geography to line up and it's not. I want to keep the setting real. I just wish it was a longer drive to NYC. Thanks for the reply.
This is interesting. I don't want to give the character driving any weird quirks like not driving on highways, but I could play around with road conditions. So, thanks. Your post got me thinking and this could work. I need to give it some more thought, but doing something like this might be my best option.
Does he definitely need to drive, rather than take a train or other form of transit? Transit actually works around New York, as I understand it.
Does it really need to be NYC rather than another major metropolitan city? Seems like you're considering making a huge number of location changes just to suit using NYC. Couldn't you use Boston or DC instead? Otherwise - unexpected traffic jam.
Yeah, I really need my characters to have a car with them and the drive into the city is sort of important. I just wish it took longer from their home base.
I don't want to want my story to take place in a location I don't know. I think it really does have to be NYC. It's actually easier for me to change the setting before the NYC trip then change NYC to a different city. Just looking for ideas, but what are some small and rough or poor cities that would be a six to ten hour drive from NYC? It can't be a capital or have an airport. Thanks for the replies and anyone throwing out suggestion. It's much appreciated.
I knew I would have problems with geography when I was creating my world, so I decided to do away with the traditional map and design it as I went along. I now have a far greater grasp on where everything should go on a map which makes writing the second novel very easy. In terms of real-life locations, all you really need is google maps and the travel planner to find out where around NYC is the perfect location for your book. Then research the hell out of it so you can incorporate it seemlessly into the narrative. Happy writing friend!
I realize the odds of this being useful are low, but Just In Case: If this is a "got news, have to rush there, this is taking forever!" situation, could the character be visiting somewhere that's convenient for the needed trip length, without you having to change the rest of the setting?
Maybe. I'll give this option some more thought. Thanks. A stop on the way could actually help my story in more ways than one.
I couldn't agree more. The setting could even become a character itself, I mean, just look at The Simpsons Universe with Springfield and all those characters if you want to invent one. I've set my stories in cities and historical locations because they were vital to the plot. Actually, a lot of my stories are set in my neighbourhood. Let's say I have five stories, two of them are based in my neighbourhood, one of them pays homage to it having the hero based in my neighbourhood (all references are literally in my part of the neighbourhood)... 1 story starts out in my city (not my neighbourhood) but somewhere else, I've got a neighbourhood/area in mind, but let's just say my city, and this is just for my own amusement, personal shout out to my home city, then I quickly take it to where the story's really set, just, since it's in the past, and it's in North America, they catch the boat, just so I could have that connection with my hometown when I look at my city as my hometown (and it is). that's four stories I can think of of mine alone. This other story isn't set in my country and has nothing to do with it except that's where it's writer (me) is based.
Not during rush hour, it isn't. Or during a transit strike. You can spend hours in just trying to get from the west bank of the Hudson to the east. I lived there for a year, never going back.
Most people living in New Jersy and working in New York City use mass transit (trains) to get to work. In fact, most people in NYC use mass transit to get to work - I had to use a car, since I was doing field service, and let me tell you it was a major pain. When the transit unions strike, all those people who used to use the trains and subways are now in cars. More cars than can easily fit Manhattan's streets. Gridlock becomes the norm: walking is faster than driving. You see lawyers going to work on skateboards, and wall street traders on roller skates. Been there, seen it. A city-wide traffic jam is far more stressful than mere distance, when you have to get somewhere. Distance you can estimate how long it will take you to traverse. But when Manhattan goes into gridlock, and your sitting watching the pedestrians clog the crosswalk while the damn car in front of you waits to make a right turn, you have no idea how long it will take you to get anywhere. I forget when the last transit strike was: the one I experienced was around 1979. But I'm sure you can find something about it on the internet. And since it's fiction, you can make it worse. Like by having an accident(s) or a road rage incident in one or more of the bridges and tunnels, for example.
Yeah, that won't really work. My characters are driving there in the middle of the night. Damn. I keep having to change home base.
NYC is the city that never sleeps. Traffic could still be a mess. Alternatively, consider the weather. Hurricanes, flooding caused by heavy rain, blizzards, freezing rain: all these can snarl traffic and increase trip duration by a factor of 2 or more. Sure, it's an unfortunate coincidence that just when our hero needs to get to downtown in a hurry, the transit union is on strike, there's accidents in both the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and another on the GW bridge, and the torrential rain from the remnants of Hurricane Jedidiah have shut down the Jersy Turnpike, so that even the convoys of National Guard troops sent to help with the flooding are having to take the side streets, turning them into parking lots of surplus military trucks. Plus the perpetually-burning fires at the Hoboken landfills (from methane generated in the dump) are starting to threaten the refineries nearby, so traffic is being kept out of those areas ... Can you get away with all that happening. Depends. Is this a comedy? But NYC offers more opportunities to become almost impossible to get into than any other place on earth. Unless there's another densely populated island like it out there ?
Thanks, @XRD_author, but all that is too much for my story. I already have a lot going on. And I wasn't really looking for problems in the city, more problems getting there. I appreciate you trying to help, though. Thanks.
