Whenever a setting takes on any significance in a scene, I try to bring out what I imagine is enough detail to make the setting real to the reader. I try not to go overboard about it, but if there is some bit of local flair about the setting, I try to capture some of it for the story. That isn’t always possible, and even when I try it doesn’t always translate well, but I still give it a shot. This is true for famous locations, big cities, and rural settings, anywhere that the setting is important to the narrative. Dashing through a location isn’t quite the same as exploring it in detail, but given the chance, I can’t help but include something about the environment the characters are in or moving through.
The picture I chose for this post is an example. It is a view from Central Park in New York City, of a specific building that plays a major role in a companion short story to the novels in the Magic Unleashed series. I spent a lot of time researching the building’s history as well as the physical layout of the penthouse apartment before changing it to suit the story. It soon became the Aerie for the main character’s employer in “The Dagger of Haxamanes”. Sometimes I make my writing life harder than it has to be…