The Importance of the Sense of Place
Sense of Place Though I've written about setting in the past, I'd like to approach it a bit differently today. Two of my favorite writers are masters at creating a sense of place in every novel they write. William Kent Krueger depicts cold and snowy weather in such a way that I often have to fetch a sweater to wear while reading. James Lee Burke, in his mysteries set in and around New Orleans, creates scents with words--something few writers can do. His descriptions of the bayous are wonderful. I do not claim to be anywhere near the writer these two are, but when I'm writing, my goal is to describe the places where my characters are, no matter what they are doing, in a way that seems real to the readers, and that they'll picture in their minds what I'm seeing in mine. In my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, the setting is a fictional small beach community much like others on the Southern California coast. Usually there are no weather extremes--excep...