Talk to me about LA

The_Ink_Goddess

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I'm thinking of writing a YA about a child actress (just turned 18 and going through the Winona Ryder/Drew Barrymore thing of trying to adjust to adult roles now that she can no longer be the cute little kid) who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery of young girls who look like her. I want to set it in LA, though YA is not setting-specific enough to need road names or anything like that (thank God). So just tell me about Los Angeles. Anything and everything - tiny and big, scenery, layout, weather, etc. etc. etc. - that you think might be useful. Or even stuff you don't think would be useful...
 

alleycat

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We have several members from LA, so you might get everything you need here. If not, the City-Data forum (http://www.city-data.com/forum/) is a good place for questions such as this. You can post in the LA forum and locals will reply. You can also find a lot of stuff about LA already posted.

By the way, I have a friend who was a former detective in the LA area. I might be able to have you talk to him if needed.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Lived in San Diego for years, visited relatives in LA suburbs, still visit LA once in awhile.

Rain is mostly late-fall through early spring, majority in winter. Frost is rare, but it does happen. Snow is a minor miracle.

Oleander is a standard landscaping plant, especially around freeways.

Smog. Traffic is terrible because you have to drive nearly everywhere and the freeways aren't all that wide because most of them are old.

Lots of small stucco houses. Bigger ones in the fancy areas.

Hope that helps.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Becca C.

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I've never been there, but for LA flavour, I recommend reading Francesca Lia Block's books. You would probably love her anyway, and I'm sure her magical realism version of LA isn't textbook realistic, but it'll definitely give you a taste of the atmosphere and culture.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I've never been there, but for LA flavour, I recommend reading Francesca Lia Block's books. You would probably love her anyway, and I'm sure her magical realism version of LA isn't textbook realistic, but it'll definitely give you a taste of the atmosphere and culture.

I agree! I've lived here for the last 6 years. It's a huge place with many distinct neighborhoods, communities, nationalities, etc. you have to be more specific with your questions. For instance, just within walking distance of me are: Little Armenia, Thai Town, Koreatown, a city park bigger than Central Park, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood (a separate and very gay city in the middle of LA), and a major hipster enclave. I could go on for pages about any one of these places. Then you've got Venice Beach, Santa Monica, the Valley, Orange County, Long Beach, many more beach cities, Inland Empire, downtown LA, South Central, East LA, Boyle Heights, Little Tokyo, Little Ethiopia, Fairfax District, Culver City, Glendale, Burbank, Universal City, North Hollywood, and I could go on.

A few things Angelenos can agree on: it's always too hot, unless it dips below 65, in which case it's too cold and you should put on a parka. Our burritos are the best in the world, food is always better out of a truck, it's great to go to the beach, but it's usually too dirty to swim in. The city is filthy but glorious, two hour commutes are not unusual, and white people are a minority.
 

BDSEmpire

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My uncle has lived in LA for a long time. I got to visit him after graduating high school and get a grand tour of the city. He's in a suburb of LA proper but everything Kitty Pryde said was part of my experience there. It's a huge city broken up into little districts that have their own distinct feel. We went to downtown central LA which is a big manufacturing and garment district. It's run-down and a place where they shoot post-apocalyptic movies thanks to it being the real deal. We went West out to Venice Beach and it was just as crazy as seen in a million movies that feature a "california beach" scene. Folks were rollerskating by in the perpetually sunny weather and weight lifters worked out right on the beach. We toured up Rodeo Dr and took in a play right there in a little hole-in-the-wall theater. Dinner for the night was at an Indian place down the road with some of the cast. I remember all the tiny shops there - the store fronts were pretty miniscule. We went down into another sector of LA and got to dodge bullets and crackheads as we went and got the best BBQ I've ever had at Dr. Hoggly Woggly's Tyler Texas BBQ. Okay, that's a minor exaggeration - the notoriously scuzzy house across the road wasn't serving any crackheads at the time we were there but it's still a spooky district to be in at night. Grocery shopping was mindblowing for a kid from up North. I was one of a handful of white folks in a store that was blaring Russian, Spanish and possibly Japanese up on the speakers for in-store announcements. English was an afterthought.

Pretty quickly you get used to seeing people of all different skin tones all over the place, you learn by word of mouth what districts are dangerous - although much of this is folks being sensationalist. Like any big city there are loads of neighborhoods with problems and there are really scary gangs in LA but if you're a tourist you're more likely to get politely redirected back to the freeway so the locals can continue their blood feuds than to have anything bad happen.

Smog and horns and cars cars cars. Everyone drives everywhere because of the sprawl. When the weather is good, you can see the hills surrounding the city. When the weather is bad, an inversion layer sets in and smog gets trapped and it's a hellish yellow-brown tint in the air that gets worse depending on where you are in town. Bleargh. Just gross.

Hollywood is its own bizarro world nestled in this humongous city. It's supremely weird because the entertainment industry is the biggest employer around, but there's always layoffs and a tiny tiny number of jobs for a humongous population of hopefuls so you'll see long lines of people queued up for auditions or people milling around carrying equipment because they're on the job right now shooting a movie. All of this is outside of the studios themselves. The closer to that area you go the more likely you'll see someone you've seen on the big screen. The correct way to approach a celebrity is to remark, "Wow, you're a lot shorter in person!" This establishes the right dynamic at the start.

There's a lot of people living in the city going about the business of raising families, going to work and living life. That's no different from any city on Earth. What everyone I've known has said about LA is that it's a horrible place because of all the phony people that live there. They say this as they book their tickets to head back there because it's home and are honestly surprised if you asked them when they were moving. Loving to hate LA is a special prerogative for people that live there. I think it's similar to how New Yorkers fiercely defend their shitty, overpopulated nightmare of a city. Just typing that has already triggered the spidey sense of a bunch of New York apologists who are getting ready to bull in here and smack me down for being some kinda jerk. LA native would put on their sunglasses, smirk at the uncultured idiot from some backwater nowheresville and drive off to their next audition.

Specific to your story, you have a young lady who was a child actress and just hit 18 in Hollywood? Hahahahah oh my. Are you sure you're not prepared to write a cautionary tale or erotic fiction? The entertainment industry can be horrible to women and with the multi-billion dollar adult industry filming right there in the same Hollywood hills apartments as are used for interior shots you have a lot of avenues for a young girl to be pressured and taken advantage of my master manipulators. Hell, even low level scumbags are in profusion because there's a certain desperation and story about los angeles that pervades american culture: if you go to Hollywood, be prepared to give up your innocence for a shot at being the next big thing. Of course this is the story and mythology that overshadows everything. The reality is a lot sadder and grimier. Come to LA with your acting resume, get a crummy day job and a postage stamp of an apartment and then hit every audition you can. You're more likely to spend time on your feet waiting than on your back with some "casting director". Get rejected a ton, maybe pick up some bit work as an extra. Since your MC has acted before they probably already have their Screen Actors Guild membership. If they don't they will have to go through them and get accepted before they can get any roles - the town is fiercely unionized.


That's a lot of words about LA. I was fortunate enough to visit it a few times and each time was pretty surreal. I got to videotape a wedding between a film star and his nightclub entertainer wife at the Church of Scientology's hotel/megacenter. I got to run camera for a man-on-the-street interview hoax. I auditioned for a voiceover part because the original person didn't show to their interview and got to feel like a complete minority at a grocery store. I went to the beach, went to some parties, and had a great time. I wouldn't want to live in LA but it's a great place to visit every so often.
 

Debbie V

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Don't adult themes come up in roles before the actress actually turns 18? Oh wait, those are 22 year olds playing 16 year olds.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but 18 is a little old for a YA protagonist and I just read the post by BDS Empire. I do think a 16 year old might work better for your plot. LA has been featured in so many TV shows and films, I feel like I grew up there. I didn't. I'm writing my YA by Google maps and grateful to this thread for the info. Speaking of maps, if you are using a real city, you might need to mention a street or two. I've found Street View very helpful.
 

The_Ink_Goddess

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Don't adult themes come up in roles before the actress actually turns 18? Oh wait, those are 22 year olds playing 16 year olds.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but 18 is a little old for a YA protagonist and I just read the post by BDS Empire. I do think a 16 year old might work better for your plot. LA has been featured in so many TV shows and films, I feel like I grew up there. I didn't. I'm writing my YA by Google maps and grateful to this thread for the info. Speaking of maps, if you are using a real city, you might need to mention a street or two. I've found Street View very helpful.

1) Yes, they do, but this gets more explanation in the novel - it suddenly becomes an issue for her because she suddenly develops a much more 'womanly' figure. All the time she's been ageing herself down and living in this eerie arrested development, and she can longer do that. Also, she's struggling with drug/alcohol problems that have suddenly spiralled into full-blown addiction, and her mother (not quite the typical stage mom) is demanding more independence from her now that she's an 'adult.'
2) 18 is fine for YA, though just barely. 19 is out of YA. 18 is more or less as old as you can go, and there are tons of YA with 18 year-old protaganists. I would relate her narrative arc to a popular setting for YA novels - the "summer before college", where the young adult suddenly becomes aware of the Adult World that is only inches away.

And, yeah, I totally appreciate that it's dark territory, which is why it would feature an 18-year-old (upper YA), but I'm pretty sure that the amount of focus on her adolescence/childhood (not just where she is now, but where she has been). She's very much in that YA state of, "what now? Where is my future, and what do I want to do/be?" BDSEmpire's post was great - lucky for my character, she's not quite an aspiring actress; as she was a famous child/teen star, she's still coasting by on the money she made and her fame from that. She's just a few steps from being totally washed up, though.

Also she is somewhat lucky in that her mom and manager still baby her a little and watch out for her, so she's not quite pimping herself out. Also part of her story would be that she's extremely lazy and paralysed into a rather bleak and one-note existence of drinking etc., and she's not even sure that she wants to do the Hollywood thing anymore. So it's not like she's some bright ingenue desperate to make it in America!

Anyone have any thoughts on this? :)
 

mreilly19

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This is a great question and I appreciate you asking it, as well as all the helpful answers because I am also writing a book set during Los Angeles.

I was in L.A. a couple of times; once in 1988 and again in 1999. I don't claim to be an expert on it by any means, but my experiences plus what I've read (I read Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep," which was set in L.A. but didn't find it hugely helpful in terms of establishing the local personality since the city was so different during the 30's) have been useful in constructing the backdrop of my novel, which is set in 1992. I have used Google Maps and Street View to check out the areas I've written about and feel like a bit of the actual flavor of the city has rubbed off on me since I've spent so much time envisioning it. L.A. is not like its depicted in the movies; only some parts are glamorous (e.g. the west side) and other parts are poor, rundown and stark (South Central, Watts, Compton, etc.) Freeways wind everywhere and streets/neighborhoods are really spread out. As someone who grew up and resides in the Northeast, it's the antithesis to NYC and Boston, which are much more cramped and compacted.

I always think of the word "gritty" when I think of Los Angeles. When I was there I visited Manhattan and Venice Beaches, Dodger Stadium, Griffith Park, Beverly Hills and some other hot spots. They were interesting but I'm not sure they're representative of the real local experience. Lots and lots of strip malls, restaurants and bars. Hollywood was kind of gaudy and honky-tonkish; same for Sunset Blvd. I went to Marina Del Rey and ate tacos (Taco Bell, I'm so ashamed) downtown. I recall a lot of sun, a lot of short buildings, a downtown area visible through a lot of smog in the distance, and a lot of traffic. Driving down to Long Beach on a Friday night resulted in a huge backup on the 405, which we alleviated by taking back roads.

I wish I could remember more about the people but on each trip I was with family so we spent more time doing our own thing and not as much interacting with others. We went to Santa Monica and saw the famous pier, saw a lot of joggers on the beach and did a bit of hiking around some of the foothills.

Overall I liked my experiences there (and still like the city; my main character reflects my enthusiasm for it since he's a transplant there and it's so different from where he grew up). I'm pretty well settled in the Northeast now but if circumstances ever changed I wouldn't rule out the possibility of living there at least to try it out.

I'm thinking of writing a YA about a child actress (just turned 18 and going through the Winona Ryder/Drew Barrymore thing of trying to adjust to adult roles now that she can no longer be the cute little kid) who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery of young girls who look like her. I want to set it in LA, though YA is not setting-specific enough to need road names or anything like that (thank God). So just tell me about Los Angeles. Anything and everything - tiny and big, scenery, layout, weather, etc. etc. etc. - that you think might be useful. Or even stuff you don't think would be useful...
 

mrsmig

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I spent two weeks in LA nearly ten years ago (touring with a show). We were housed and performed in the Beverly Hills area, and the one thing that struck me was that anywhere I went, I felt like I was being sized up. People would make brief eye contact, then check out my entire body as if they were taking inventory of my whole "look" - clothes, shoes, hair, accessories, weight, age, etc. I don't know the reason but it always made me very uncomfortable.
 

BDSEmpire

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I spent two weeks in LA nearly ten years ago (touring with a show). We were housed and performed in the Beverly Hills area, and the one thing that struck me was that anywhere I went, I felt like I was being sized up. People would make brief eye contact, then check out my entire body as if they were taking inventory of my whole "look" - clothes, shoes, hair, accessories, weight, age, etc. I don't know the reason but it always made me very uncomfortable.

Who are you? What industry do you work in? How can I best take advantage of any networking we do? Are you somebody that I can namedrop in the future? Do you wear the right clothes? Do you have any drugs? Will you take a look at my screenplay?

-------
Welcome to Beverly Hills. :)
 

DSA

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I am a Los Angeles native. It is mid October and the temperatures mid city and in the valleys have been near 100 for a couple of days and will be so for another day or so. That's not unusual. Last week it was "cold" and rained.

What has been said about the distinct, and sometimes ethnic, neighborhoods is accurate. So, it's hard to categorize. In some areas it helps if you speak Spanish, Armenian, Korean, or Chinese. You can be at a beach in under a hour (of course less if you live nearer the beach communities), and the mountains for skiing in just over two hours.

There is a lot of theater, art, and we have a first rate symphony orchestra and opera company.

Los Angeles is a desert and is no longer the smog machine it once was. They say we have no seasons; I say our seasons are subtle. We don't have to be buried in snow to know it's winter. Winter is lovely--you wear a coat if you leave for work early or you're out at night. The sun is low on the horizon and the light is definitely different from our other seasons. (We're currently in the fire season even though the calendar says fall.)

A lot of people do commute but many of us chose to live near where we worked. I think what I like most about my part of LA (northeast) is the diversity. There are excellent ethnic restaurants everywhere.