by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
As a mystery writer, I’m especially fond of small town settings. I have written larger cities (notably the Memphis Barbeque series), but to make it work, I basically created a small setting within a larger one (life surrounding a family-owned restaurant).
I think small town settings have a lot to offer writers of other genres, too. That’s because it offers ample opportunity for conflict…and we all know that conflict drives stories.
You may have a more idealistic view of small towns. That dichotomy is what makes it so interesting.
Here are the elements that I usually draw on in painting life in a small town:
Residents are friendly…and not. One interesting aspect of small town life is that the residents can be friendly. You might not feel like a stranger when you first arrive in town because people are curious and that curiosity can translate into chattiness (especially in the American South). But later, you may find that residents usually want to protect their way of life and are very resistant to change. They can be especially hostile when they feel their way of life is threatened or if a newcomer claims to know how to make things better (and more like the place they moved away from). This can lend a very insular feeling to a location.
Going along with the friendliness motif, small towns can be cliquey. This may be because families tend to stick together (and cousins may be located all over town). It can be a cliquey aspect surrounding the various churches that residents attend. And of course, it’s also cliquey because residents share so much backstory that they can’t really help but fall into the same patterns with the same people.
There is a lot of backstory in small towns. Expanding on backstory–it’s everything in a small town. You might be considered a newcomer, even if you lived your entire life in the town, if your parents or grandparents moved to the town. There are so many people with personal histories deeply entrenched in town history that it’s hard to distinguish the person from the town. Maybe the resident comes from a long line of teachers and principals in the town. Maybe the resident’s great-grandfather helped found one of the local churches or started the town newspaper.
Your history is your identity. It can be hard to escape it. As a kid growing up, everyone knows about your family background and first impressions may be based more on who your family is than who you appear to be.
Town info hubs. There are places where folks meet up…and possibly gossip about each other, too. These can include salons and barber shops, favorite restaurants/diners, and churches.
Gossip. Privacy can be key because otherwise the whole town knows. This leads to that most exciting element in a mystery…secrets.
Grudges (including generational grudges). When people have known each other for a long time, and when their families have known each other for a long time, pettiness and grudges can occur.
Support. This is a pro of small-town living. If you experience hardship or loss, the town pitches in. You’re not suffering on your own, the town is suffering it right along with you. And in good times, the same applies–you’re not celebrating on your own. There are also many rituals involved in both weddings and funerals…expectations that the residents may have on how both are handled.
Do you write small-town settings? Have you ever lived in a small town? What types of small town elements have you included in your writing?
Tips for Writing a Small Town Setting: Click To TweetPhoto credit: Onasill ~ Bill Badzo on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA
I think small towns lend themselves well to mysteries more than most other genres. My Dennis Haggarty mysteries are set up as ‘big city detective meets small town’. I tend to show the less-than-pleasant aspects of small towns and I pulled a lot from my experiences living in and around small towns most of my life. The distrust of outsiders, the clique-ishness, the prejudices, the secrets… Bwa ha ha.
I like that concept! And then you’ve got so much conflict to work with as the detective tris to adjust.
I think you’re right…in fact, I was trying to think of other genres that could be well-served by small town settings and kind of struggled. Women’s fiction, maybe? Possibly romance novels? I don’t really see a dark psychological thriller in a small town, although it could be interesting to try!
This is so interesting, Elizabeth. And you’re right about the way small towns are. There are lots of opportunities for conflict, even in a small town where one seems very welcome, at least at first. I think the most interesting point you make is about the town’s history/the characters’ histories. Everyone does know your story when you live in a small town. And that can make all the difference…
They know your story and they won’t let you forget it, ha. :) Hope you have a great weekend, Margot!
I do have small towns in a couple off my unpublished works, but I’ve also found all of those characteristics in the older neighborhoods of bigger cities. Two of my published books are set in a decaying neighborhood in Chicago, similar to other blue-collar areas where the major employer – manufacturing or shipping or other kinds of large-scale industry – is gone and the area gradually falls apart because the younger people leave to find employment and a better life elsewhere. My imaginary Chicago neighborhood is similar to my husband’s family home. Most have the same ethnic heritage (Polish, in this case). Everyone has lived there since before WWII or came there right afterward, and they never left. They can track their association back to kindergarten!
I like writing real small towns better, though, in romance, romantic mystery/suspense or women’s fiction, because I can keep all of my characters in one setting. They have to shop at a certain store, go to church together, use the same clinic, etc. because they don’t have many options. In a bigger city, even in a neighborhood like I described, people have more options.
That’s so interesting that some of the same elements are present in the neighborhoods of big cities! I’d never realized that. Your setting sounds like a really cool one that you’re well-familiar with.
Yes, it’s definitely easier to naturally mix characters in a small town setting–they’re bound to run into each other for important conversations at the grocery store, pharmacy, etc.
I don’t think it’s true of all city neighborhoods – just that particular demographic.
Thanks for the tip…something for writers to evaluate, for sure…maybe is also true in other areas to some degree.
Hi Elizabeth – so true … and Cathe’s idea I’m sure is right too – the suburb was swamped as the larger city/town grew over it … people adapted or not … and a living central small community that got lost as development took over … London, but where I grew up was out in the sticks … now it’s suburbia (almost London) … and then here on Vancouver Island – lots could be drawn from the history and future here … the rich, nouveau riche, those remaining, and those impoverished … Cheers Hilary
Very interesting thoughts on that, Hilary! I just finished reading “We Are Not Ourselves” which had a lot of those same dynamics and elements in the Queens area of NY (in a historically Irish neighborhood). As the protagonist’s small community changes (in her eyes, not for the better), she faced a lot of internal (and some external) conflict.
My romances are set in small towns – and I love them for the exact reasons you mentioned. Those wonderful neighbours who drive you batty with their nosiness but will have your back always!
The neighbors are good and bad all rolled up into one! Thanks for the insight on how they work with romance, Jemi!
I think the readers love small town settings, too because they feel as if they know the inhabitants of the town. It’s something they can come back to in each subsequent book, where they read about their “neighbors” and “friends.”
That’s such an important point and one that I left out. The small town lends itself well to strong recurring characters that can connect with readers. So small towns aren’t just good for the mystery puzzle itself (suspects, victim, murderer), but for the sidekick and quirky folks that populate other books in the series.
I also think that if a reader *doesn’t* live in a small town, there can be a bit of escapism in armchair traveling to one.
This will be useful to me. I’ve created a small town in the middle of cornfields outside Cleveland (authorial eminent domain) for my WIP novel and various short stories. Your column reminds me that the history/back story/relationships need more of my attention.
I’m glad to help, Eric! Back story is always tricky, but so important in a small town.
You have this nailed! “Quirky folks”, oh yea! I have to tone down the ones I knew when I use them on the page. No one would believe otherwise!
I couldn’t wait to get out as a kid.
Now I know what a rich cultural mine surrounded me back then.
Ha! My roots are showing… :)
The characters are so incredibly rich that they prove ‘truth is stranger than fiction.’
It’s so, so good to get out. Then…is it fun to go back at the other end, near retirement? Could be worth exploring in fiction, if not IRL. :)