Geography and your novel

Didn’t mean to let a few days lapse between posts. I did start this one yesterday and wanted to let it sit for a bit before publishing. Then got swamped with editing a document for a friend and am (once again) rushing to publish something. Such is life!… and now back to the post.

I’m committed to making at least a little bit of forward motion every day. I’m currently trying to get my outline together and am using the Novel Idea Summary Sheet as one of my tools, but I got hung up on setting – not just “Dragonfly Inn” type of setting, but the actual geographic location and time of year. Can’t have my main character taking a Christmas Eve skinny dip in an unheated outdoor pool in Alaska, can I?

Initially, I wanted to write what I know best and place my main character in Arizona. After all, I’ve lived here my entire life. But I’m reconsidering because Arizona doesn’t have that allure that Paris, London, or New York have. Not that I want to be formulaic, but I’m writing chick lit, and how much chick lit takes place in Arizona?

Although I’ve traveled a bit, I don’t have a significant second location of which I know oodles about, unless you count the summer camp I worked at for eight weeks in Starrucca, Pennsylvania. I remember every little bit of that place. Next best would be London, which I know really well as a tourist but not as a resident.

So here I am, muddling through my latest obstacle. It’s good, though. I feel like I’m making progress.

The good news is I’ve come up with a very rough outline that details a few scenes.

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