Setting?

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 10, 2010

Hi All, I am new year. So far I have learned quit a bit on this forum. I wanted to know about using song titles in my Novel and I found this great community. So far the FAQ section has been of some great help in most of my questions. However, I need an opinion on the setting of my Novel.

I am South African, and hope to get published internationally one day. Will it be a problem for international publisher and readers if the Novel/s are set in South Africa? I want to use a small sea side village where I grew up as a setting in one Novel, and Johannesburg where I live now in another. Will this be detrimental to be published internationally? Will readers be able to follow the plot in a environment that they are not at all familiar with?

Mr Flibble · Jan 10, 2010

Will readers be able to follow the plot in a environment that they are not at all familiar with?

If they can't I'm screwed - I write fantasy

I've read books set in all sorts of places I've enever been. It shouldn't be a problem. Your main thing is whether the story will appeal internationally.

jvc · Jan 10, 2010

It shouldn't be a problem in the slightest. I read novels that are set in New York/Sydney/Madrid/Glasgow/Mars and I've never been to any of those places. And I've read novels that are based in towns and villages that I've never heard of and it isn't a problem. I'm reading a novel that is based in Dreg city, and I have no idea where that is

But, no it wouldn't be a problem. Plenty of good novels are set in South Africa too. I tell you the strange thing about this question, theres a television show on tonight called Wild at Heart, and it's based in South Africa I believe. Make the novel interesting, describe things well, have great characters and plot, and you'll be on to a winner.

And, welcome to the watercooler :welcome:

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 10, 2010

The problem is most people are spoilt about information about most western countries thanks to Movies, TV and well Novels. I've seen and read so much about New York that I virtually now the Subway systems and which lines goes to 5th Avenue.

LOL, yeah well fantasy is a whole different thing though, everything is made up so you don't expect to 'know' the places really and you can just go with the writers fantasy world.

Thanks for the quick responses and I am sure you will hear lost from me.

Maxinquaye · Jan 10, 2010

I hope so. I really hope so. Or I'm screwed. My latest WIP is located hundreds of kilometres away from my home-place. I've never been there in my life, and the "culture" is different than what I'm used to.

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 10, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
I hope so. I really hope so. Or I'm screwed. My latest WIP is located hundreds of kilometres away from my home-place. I've never been there in my life, and the "culture" is different than what I'm used to.

Do you do a lot of research? One lucky thing about South Africa is the diverse cultures we have here and is a fountain of inspiration. We have our recent shady past and it all flavours my setting, therefore I really wouldn't want to move it to a more 'accessible' location which would not feed my story as it does now.

Mr Flibble · Jan 10, 2010

Like I say, I've read stories set all over ( every continent, yes even Antarctica). If that's where you're story is set, that's where it's set. I love reading about other places. You might want to look at publication in SA first, but I don't see that it would be a barrier to being published elsewhere, provided the story will appeal to people from elsewhere.

backslashbaby · Jan 10, 2010

I'd love to read about a South African setting, definitely.

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 10, 2010

Thanks everyone, you have out my mind at ease.

backslashbaby: Well, they do say write what you know, and I know SA very well. I travel a lot, so it helps too. I am actually doing a trip from the most Northern part of the West Coast, to the most Northern part of the east Coast of South Africa in March. I might use it in a Novel later too.

Maxinquaye · Jan 10, 2010

Xander J. Bahns said:
Do you do a lot of research? One lucky thing about South Africa is the diverse cultures we have here and is a fountain of inspiration. We have our recent shady past and it all flavours my setting, therefore I really wouldn't want to move it to a more 'accessible' location which would not feed my story as it does now.

Mostly dialect research, tbh because the people in it will still be human beings, and part of the greater national culture. But there are differences, and if you write about a place you need to be aware of those differences. That said, there's no reason to explain the differences, but you should be aware of them.

gothicangel · Jan 10, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
I hope so. I really hope so. Or I'm screwed. My latest WIP is located hundreds of kilometres away from my home-place. I've never been there in my life, and the "culture" is different than what I'm used to.

Really? You've never been to Newcastle? Beats London hands down for a Friday night out.

To the OP: I see no reason why not. Hasn't done Alexander MacCall Smith any harm (some of his novels are set in Botswana) and some of the greatest works of literature of recent times are set in Africa.

Maxinquaye · Jan 10, 2010

Nope, never been there but I need to place this conflict far away from London. It wouldn't work in London because London is too fractured and the communities aren't so strong. So small town out in the countryside, and I only placed it up north because I think I can pull off the dialect. Couldn't do Scouse or Yorkshire.

gothicangel · Jan 10, 2010

Erm, Newcastle is just as fractured and lacking in community as London. It's also heavily industrialised.

As for countryside, you would be better setting it in Northumberland. Newcastle and Sunderland are just as industrialised and built up as Manchester or Birmingham.

Maxinquaye · Jan 10, 2010

But I'm not placing it in Newcastle. It's a small town, somewhere up there, far away from everything. Well, we'll see if I made the right choice when I'm done with it. It just seemed more logical.

MGraybosch · Jan 10, 2010

Xander J. Bahns said:
Will readers be able to follow the plot in a environment that they are not at all familiar with?

I've followed plots set in places that never existed outside the mind of the author, like Melnibone, the Plains of Leng, and End-World. Johannesburg, South Africa presents no problems by comparison.

Bushrat · Jan 10, 2010

Xander J. Bahns said:
The problem is most people are spoilt about information about most western countries thanks to Movies, TV and well Novels. I've seen and read so much about New York that I virtually now the Subway systems and which lines goes to 5th Avenue.

I think that might just be because a lot of novels by English-speaking authors tend to be set in their home countries, and I guess population-wise it just works out to a bigger ratio of US and British authors.

IMO it's a HUGE advantage that you can write intimately about a South African setting because it's your home turf - apart from whatever the theme of your novel is, you've got the "exotic" (to the rest of the world) setting going for you!
For example, I freelance for magazines and was abe to sell the life story of my dog to a German magazine, largely based on its "exotic" appeal (a dog that trees bears - wow).

So go for it

NicoleMD · Jan 10, 2010

My current WIP is set in South Africa. I've wanted to use it as a setting for a novel for a while now, and with the recent movies and television shows set in South Africa, the timing couldn't be better. Good luck to you!

Nicole

Miss T · Jan 10, 2010

Yeah, the only problem would be if you assumed people knew as much about South Africa as they do about New York, which you're obviously not going to do.

shaldna · Jan 11, 2010

i don't see how it could be a disadvantage, many great novels that have topped the bestseller list in previous years have been set in far distant lands.

just remember not to exclude your reader. remember that many of your readers will never have been to south africa.

lucidzfl · Jan 11, 2010

If anything, I think that agents and publishers are probably looking for something a little bit different.

Its not a book, but district 9 was set in Johannesburg, and was a huge hit here.

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 11, 2010

lucidzfl said:
If anything, I think that agents and publishers are probably looking for something a little bit different.

Its not a book, but district 9 was set in Johannesburg, and was a huge hit here.

I understand what you are saying, but the Novel closest to completion is the one set in Empangeni in the heart of Zululand, a small and quite sugar cane, farming community (well, when I lived there). It is actually 500 miles (800km) from Johannesburg with sub tropical weather, warm oceans and rolling hills.

The other Novel that keeps popping in my head is actually set in Benoni, a completely different metropolitan city than Johannesburg, and the heart of what we call the East Rand. It is not nearly as build up as Johannesburg, the Northern Suburbs or the West Rand. If I go ahead with this Novel, the majority of it will take place in an apartment block (or flats as we call it over here) and are rather about the people living there and the 'personality' of the building and how it affects them and their lives over a period of time (maybe a year or so). It is loosely based on my first apartment in Gauteng, the province where it is set, and the many strange characters that I have met and their strange interactions with each other, I always imagines that it was the 'effect' of the building that were responsible for this behaviour, and I hope to explore it in the Novel.

Well it is still only a thought, but I will see. If I need to I could actually set it anywhere, but would loose some of the political aspects unique to South Africa, and especially Gauteng at the turn of the century.

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 11, 2010

Miss T said:
Yeah, the only problem would be if you assumed people knew as much about South Africa as they do about New York, which you're obviously not going to do.

Thank you for this advise, I will need to remember that. I suppose sometimes a persona can forget about that. It would be easy to forget this since we seem to know so much about most other counties through all the different media out there. I have been to Europe and actually spent two years in England (London and Norwich) and Scotland so would be comfortable to write about those places. However, I don't think the weekend in Paris could qualify me to write about the French country side. I suppose you could do research, but I am not sure whether I could portray it truthfully as my setting.

lucidzfl · Jan 11, 2010

Xander J. Bahns said:
I understand what you are saying, but the Novel closest to completion is the one set in Empangeni in the heart of Zululand, a small and quite sugar cane, farming community (well, when I lived there). It is actually 500 miles (800km) from Johannesburg with sub tropical weather, warm oceans and rolling hills.

The other Novel that keeps popping in my head is actually set in Benoni, a completely different metropolitan city that Johannesburg, and the heart of what we call the East Rand. It is not nearly as build up as Johannesburg, the Northern Suburbs or the West Rand. If I go ahead with this Novel, the majority of it will take place in an apartment block (or flats as we call it over here) and are rather about the people living there and the 'personality' of the building and how it affects them and their lives over a period of time (maybe a year or so). It is loosely based on my first apartment in Gauteng, the province where it is set, and the many strange characters that I have met and their strange interactions with each other, I always imagines that it was the 'effect' of the building that were responsible for this behaviour, and I hope to explore it in the Novel.

Well it is still only a thought, but I will see. If I need to I could actually set it anywhere, but would loose sum of the political aspects unique to South Africa, and especially Gauteng at the turn of the century.

People who read generally want to be transported somewhere they've never been and experience things they've never experienced.

Someone who brings unique vision or unique locale (all the better if its true and real) is seen as desirable.

Lady Ice · Jan 11, 2010

If anything, a lot of people prefer to read about places they haven't been to but would like to go to.

Xander J. Bahns · Jan 11, 2010

Lady Ice said:
If anything, a lot of people prefer to read about places they haven't been to but would like to go to.

Ahh, in that case I should set all my books in Cape Town! It appears all foreigners to South Africa only wants to see Cape Town.

Setting?

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