My paranormal romance series 'LS' is mainly set in a fictional city called 'Sloutenville', pronounced - slow-ten-ville'. This fictional city is located in northern USA, close to cities like Minneapolis, Wisconsin etc. In this post, I'll give a bit detail on Sloutenville as a contemporary city, and explain why I chose to use a fictional city.
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| Sloutenville |
Abbreviation: SV
Capital: GenezelPopulation: 301, 427 people
Timezone: CST (UTC-6)
Average temperature: 30.6 F
Language: English - 99.1 %
Spanish - 0.9%
Tourist Attraction: Atlantic Towers
Government - Mayor: Francis Lekinston
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So why did I choose a fictional city?
As most of you know, I don't live in the states, yet. I reside in England, UK. Therefore, it seemed a bit hard setting the location of the book in a known US city. Most people would notice the difference in dialogue etc, and I wanted to avoid this, thus creating my own fictional city, Sloutenville. This was because, if a reader complains about a certain dialogue i.e 'People in New York don't talk like this.', I would bring to his/her attention that Sloutenville isn't a real city. Therefore, the way the characters talk might be slightly different to other states.
Where did you get such idea from?
Frankly, I got the idea of creating my own fictional city in a real country from watching 'Smallville' and 'One Tree Hill', two of my favorite TV series.
Are there going to be more fictional cities?
Yes, certainly. Read the book(s) to find out more :)
That's it for today. My question to everyone: do you like the idea of fictional cities? If yes, what's the name of your best fictional city?
Credit: Image: posterize / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
7 comments:
Hmmm...fictional cities...I happen to think that's a brilliant reason to create your own city.
Can't think of a fictional city that is my fave though.
Haha, I know what you mean Angela. A fictional city makes you in charge of everything, climate, temperature etc. Really interesting, I guess.
I have a fiction town; but it is made up of three towns I actually lived in.
Fictional cities are an interesting idea, and I think a good one for speculative fiction. I'm personally more interested if it's set in another world entirely or a real city, than if it's in a fictional city inside a state, but an imaginary city can work for sure.
Regarding your own city, by population, it's nearly as big as Minneapolis and bigger than St. Paul and Madison, Wisconsin (Wisconsin's second biggest city)! Was the city inspired somewhat by real Midwestern cities? I think that's a good way to go if it's going to be in a recognizable part of the country. (In the US, the Midwest is a pretty distinctive area.)
@Douglas, woo, that's quiet intriguing. Why didn't I think of that? cuz I've lived in so many cities...haha
@Julie Oh, I can reduce the population if that's going to pose an issue :) I'd love to create my own fictional world, but I prefer adding few cities to known worlds, like Hogwarts Diagon Alley etc.
Why didn't you just set the location in the UK, where you live and where you'll have the lingo down pat?
Brilliant question, and the not so brilliant answer is, I wanted my target audience to reside in the US.
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