Synchronicities in Setting: The Magic of Finding Your Story's Perfect Place by Tina Wainscott

​The idea of my story, Unforgivable, hit me like a tornado. I had watched a news story that upset me so much, I went directly into my office and wrote the first chapter of the book, which up until that moment hadn’t existed in the ether of my mind. The characters came alive, one little girl and the three guys who play a pivotal role in her life in the opening chapter and then sixteen years later when the book picks up. It was a kismet book. Everything came alive for me in one fell swoop. 

​The setting also came to me easily. Although I’m a Florida girl, I love Georgia and North Carolina. For many years, we’ve had a place in the NC mountains where I can escape the Florida humidity. I saw and felt the small southern town that the story would play out in, and I knew it was in Southern Georgia. I wanted to choose a place that I could pop off the interstate on the way up or back and easily explore the town and take pictures to inspire my story. But by then, I had mostly written the book, using my imagination and Google maps to guide me. Back then, Google Maps didn’t have all the user photographs, so I went by what I saw. 

Imagine my surprise when we drove into Clinton, Georgia and it looked exactly how I had seen it. I mean, eerily similar. Even down to the cemetery that I had totally made up. It was so cool and validating that this was a book of my soul. 

As a writer, it’s important for me to have a clear visual idea of my world so I can convey it to you, the reader. More importantly for me, I want to convey it with a few concise words and not paragraphs of description. Those classics and books of yesterday could go on and on about a settee and the drapes that framed it in the parlor, but not anymore. And thank goodness, right? I want to sink you into the town, the woods, the house, and pull you right along with the story. 

When I decided to write a follow-up story featuring Katie and Silas from Unforgivable, I had to go back to the book and see where I left off. Ah, they were leaving that small town with so many unhappy memories for them both and moving to Atlanta, where Silas had lived ever since leaving Clinton. I really like Atlanta, so that’s easy. As of right now, I still need to do some more setting research for that story, but it will be easy and fun to fill in all the details. 

Especially because it’s set at Christmas! Ahh, that most wonderful time of the year! Even when it’s actually May. Hot and muggy in Florida already, and I was playing my Christmas music and watching my favorite rom-coms to get in the mood. Not a hardship, let me tell ya. I love the holiday season. And it was fun to put in all those details (but not too many) that make that time of year so fun—the music, the tinsel, the Santas! Okay, I’m not actually into Santas, but since there’s a creepy and suspicious man in a Santa costume in my story, I had to put in a lot of Santas. 

​Settings are incredibly important for a story, and I think they should play a significant role for the characters—and the reader. What are some of your favorite settings?

I'd love to hear your thoughts as a writer and/or a reader!

​Tina

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