Betty's Tips Jul/Aug 2014

You've heard about the three most important things for business success, I'm sure: location, location, location. Well, the same can be said of writing. Where you set your story can be as important as its main character.

Did you ever wonder how to find the really great location for your story? At the moment I am partial to haunted and spooky locations, so I’ve been wondering about some of the places that are used for stories of the macabre. After searching a bit on the internet, I have a few suggestions on how to find the horror asylum of your dreams.

First if you are using a real city, look to see if there is a street map available on line. A lot of cities area also visible from Google Earth. Nothing will pull a reader out of your story faster than describing what's on the corner of Main and State streets of the reader's home town when Main and State streets never intersect!

Once you have a town chosen, you'll need an appropriate "home" for your characters. An abandoned shopping mall is fantastic for hiding a large group of people--or aliens.

For a haunted location try this site. Or, if you're looking for abandon mansions, check here to get the rich feel of paranormal.

If you're interested in a home for the dead, an excellent cemetery is St Louis 1 in New Orleans. This presents a lot of possibilities if you like zombies or vampires or Voodoo.

Any old place that is left to its own slow decay can be beautiful. Check here for Haunted, Old, Beautiful Mansions, Castles and Spooky Deserted Asylums.

I feel that a good way to create a distinctive place for something creepy is for it to come slithering out of an underground waterway. The monster of your choosing can remain partially hidden for much of the story, increasing tension as the reader fills in his or her own horrors of the unknown.

Sometimes I feel that using an old world country such as Italy can be fun. Or perhaps Ireland can be useful with its history of belief in the paranormal and all its old abandoned castles. This site can also be used for castles throughout the world.

Or maybe someplace in Australia is more to your fancy. You can create a world of wonder from Down Under.

If you wish to stay closer to home, you can try using urban ruins. They can give a personal or more modern feel to your location.

Whatever you choose, I hope that you can keep people up at night, with the covers pulled up close.

Sweet dreams, readers!

Betty Wryte-Goode

Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.