I'm having a problem creating a town as the setting for my story. I want to base it off a real area, using real building, but I'm having a problem adding places in and taking them out. Does anyone have an idea on how to do this?
I would have thought a visit to the real building would help? Failing that...you can always draw the building and environs on a lined square pad. In my rather geeky youth I used to enjoy D&D and other RPG games long before computers were in vogue...we used our imagination to create worlds, dungeons, buildings etc. on a daily basis. Worked fine for us.
There are lots of small towns next to rivers. It would help to know more about the setting. Setting does not only include place but also time, you know. Since you said you want to base it off of a real area, it could also possibly help to tell us: What region of the world is it meant to be in? Time period. What is the general architectual style that best suits your story? (Maybe) what kind of people live there. Time period. Time period.
You could take a walk around your downtown, or neighborhood. It is always helpful for me to go around and then jot down every detail of what I experienced; smell, sight, touch, characters....
Not to mention time period. Real area? In general or specific? Find a river the size you want and see what towns are along the river. Use its layout roughly to build your town. I am assuming this is not fantasy or Sci-fi. Small town next to river in Mexico would be different to US, Germany or Australia. Even in the US, a town next to a river would be a little different then any other location in the US. River size makes a difference too. Ohio river has large ships on it, Mad river might have cannoes. The size matters to the town. (Note: Arizona rivers might not have any water in them. Santa Cruz river in parts has no flow most of the year. It is a desert river, heavy rains bring a heavy flow.) Tucson is alot different then Cincinatti.
As already said, the country where the town is set is a factor as well as the time period. Where ever the town is set, their building will be in the style of that country, I don't know if a new building would stay exactly to that style, but there is bound to be an old building that is. Also the time period is important, it will affect the appearance of the town; if it's in a time with out cars, then their probaby won't be road, not like those we have now and they might have narrow roads. If there is no electrisity, then their won't be crossing with lights; some countries may not have them regardless and if they do, they may look different from another.
Look up a map of a town that shows all the streets and stuff - this will help you get a realistic size and scope of a town. Make a blank street map, then add in things like houses, schools, churches, libraries, nightlife places, etc. as you see fit. Don't feel like you have to get every single thing, though. The most important thing is making sure things stay consistent.
