In July my wife and I have a trip planned to my home state of Minnesota. I haven’t been back since 2003.
Each time back is both a refreshing and disturbing experience rolled into one. Refreshing for that feeling of safety and familiarity. It is disturbing because so much has changed in my hometown of Woodbury, that in many ways the place is alien to me.
The essence of the place truly resides in the mind alone, and thus we get to heart of the cliché, “You can never go home again.”
The place you grew up and the experiences you had significantly shaped your identity as an individual. As writers, many of those places, people, and sentiments will find their way into your stories.
It is well known that many of the locations in Stephen King novels are inspired by his childhood stomping grounds, such as the barrens in It. Many other places from his childhood have literally crept into his stories time and again, and I’m sure his memories of the places he had fascinations with as a child continue to inspire him in one form or another.
His town of Derry is fictional, not unlike Dashiell Hammett’s Poisonville, although we know that both places are inspired by real places; Bangor, Maine and Butte, Montana respectively.
My setting is a sci-fi post-apocalyptic future, so very few places from my childhood creep in. However, I probably make up for this fact in elements of theme and conflict, themes and conflicts whose seeds were probably planted in Woodbury and continue to influence my adult life. It is no coincidence that the landscape of my fiction also bares a similar juxtaposition to my real life; Glimpses of familiar monuments and landmarks are stationary boulders in a river of change.
- Do places from your childhood make appearances in your fiction?
- If not places, then themes… certain types of characters, or character conflicts grace your pages as representatives of your childhood?
- Do you ‘go home’ in your stories, in some form or another?
P.S. To me this is the deeper meaning behind “Write what you know.” It does not necessarily mean your area of expertise, but your understanding of certain themes based on your lifelong experiences with them. Inner truths as you know them.
For the most part, my stories are based in my “home reality.” though I have lived in big cities, my stories are a smaller town, rural cheesehead setting.
Eric — I think all storytelling is about “going home” somehow, especially if you define “home” as your inner being / your essence/ where inner truths are stored.
I think telling other people’s stories brings us home, too. If we discover more about ourselves through learning and telling them, we’re one step closer to who we are.
In the same vein, my favorite sci-fi features the most human characters and struggles. Though their settings might be unusual, there’s nothing “alien” about them.
I hope you and your wife have a rich, enjoyable time in your home state!
I think concepts of home are terribly useful not only to reference as a writer, but also that of returning a character to their “home.” You’re no doubt aware of the
‘finish where you started but everything looks different’ conceit–harder to pull off with the trimmer volumes you tend to shoot for in novels, but still a handy technique for fiction (and games!).