repurposed church | nichepoetryandprose

nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

Posts Tagged ‘repurposed church’

writing a novel – selecting a setting #1

with 13 comments

~

So the poet has decided to write a novel.

Title: unknown

Working Title: unknown

Setting: evolving

Characters: unknown

Plot: unknown

The setting was my first consideration as I started to think about this project. After all, I am very interested in ideas about ‘place’ … my blog is about occupying ‘place’ and the concept of the ‘niche’, the perfect space for living.

The books I love to read and re-read have a strong sense of place. Consider the ‘Martha’s Vineyard Mystery’ series of books by Philip R. Craig. One of the enjoyable aspects of this series of books is the setting on Martha’s Vineyard. Book by book, the reader grows to know the various places where the action occurs. The reader can also follow along on a map. The island is a perfect place for a story to unfold since there is lots of diversity in the landscape and everyone loves the ocean!

Another series of books I love are the ‘Fran Varady Crime Novels’ by Ann Granger (Headline Book Publishing, London). The setting for these books is London. The series unfolds as Fran evolves from being a squatter in a condemmed house, to a respectable tenant in a flat with a small garden. Place is a strong component of the books and the reader encounters various areas again and again, some dangerous, some spooky, and some as safe as home.

As I try to think of a setting for my book, I am remembering the old saw, ‘write what you know’. So, there is no question, the setting for my book will be rural New Brunswick.

I want to create a fictional setting within the landscape I know so well. I also want a setting with some diversity. I want my readers to enjoy encountering the characters in their spaces in this novel, and perhaps in other books. I want to include elements of place which can both inspire and invoke memory.

One of the places I want to include in my setting is an old church. I have written before in my blog about the plight of abandoned churches (see the post ‘sacred spaces’ for September 14, 2011, under https://nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/sacred-spaces/).

Some of these abandoned churches fall into disrepair and gradually vanish from the landscape…