how does /lit/ establish a sense of place in its writing? i've been reading a lot of faulkner and hemingway, two writers with a great sense of place in my mind, to see how they set up their locations, but I can't quite pin it down. it seems the mind does most of the work, but how do you know when you have given the reader enough to run with?
i am writing a story with a similar atmosphere in mind to the film 'gummo'. i think of how the camera simply captures these worlds, but the writer must selectively chose the important parts to hammer a world into the reader's brain without going overboard. there is such a specific sense of place in real life, can one ever translate this to the page? or is it best to let place arise organically from your writing, even if it goes against what you have in mind? it's a very abstract concept, place, even in real life let alone representing it in writing. but what are your tips?
if i want to write a run down american suburb is it best i visit one? live in one? i admit, i do not "know" this world. can one only really represent a world they know deeply?
You will inevitably come off as fake and forcing it if you're trying to write a regionality you have not experienced.
It's little touches that ring true. Broad strokes and attempts at atmosphere blow past that.
>>8264056
this is what i worry, but what if it serves only backdrop? i suppose then the response is if it's only backdrop it's non-essential to begin with.
and what about a lack of place?
how much must one establish 'place' when writing a story or novel? is it too stuffy and introverted to describe only the characters' immediate surroundings?