Much of the appeal of some stories is the places where they happen. Fiction writers who ignore this may miss a great opportunity to make our stories stand out from the crowd.
One book with extraordinary tourist appeal is Anne of Green Gables and its sequels. I was reminded of this recently by an article in The New York Times by Ann Moh. Many millions of copies of the books have been sold and they are still modest but constant best sellers today. Every year 150,000 visitors from all over the world visit the books' locations in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.
Sci-fi and fantasy are especially rich in places with tourist appeal. These include the books of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, L. Frank Baum, C. S. Lewis, and J. M. Barrie. The sci-fi movie and TV franchises of Star Wars and Star Trek show us entire universes in which some people want to live for a while.
It's not just fantastic stories which have tourist appeal.
Westerns present an appealing mythic location of vast spaces and wildernesses. Much of the appeal of noir detective stories are the mean streets of big cities and the rich facades of the mansions of the ultra-wealthy which can hide the meanest of motives. "Cozy" detective stories appeal to our images of friendly small towns where everyone knows everyone, but which can also hide people who are as cruel and greedy as in any other place. The books of Jane Austen portray a picturesque society of the genteel and the rich, and move people yearly to visit the partly-opened stately homes of English upper-crust, and Derbyshire and the Peak District of the English Midlands.
I was thinking about all this while writing my latest work in progress, a YA sci-fi/urban-fantasy hybrid. It takes place in the locale I've long called my home and know well, Los Angeles and the smaller cities in and around the L. A. area. At one point I've written a scene which takes place in a movie studio where parts of a would-be blockbuster movie are being shot, a situation I know from personal experience. I don't see any way to make any of this picturesque rather than pedestrian, but I'm keeping it in mind in case inspiration strikes.
What about you? Are you writing or planning to write something in which you might punch up the tourist appeal of the settings in some way?
One book with extraordinary tourist appeal is Anne of Green Gables and its sequels. I was reminded of this recently by an article in The New York Times by Ann Moh. Many millions of copies of the books have been sold and they are still modest but constant best sellers today. Every year 150,000 visitors from all over the world visit the books' locations in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.
Sci-fi and fantasy are especially rich in places with tourist appeal. These include the books of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, L. Frank Baum, C. S. Lewis, and J. M. Barrie. The sci-fi movie and TV franchises of Star Wars and Star Trek show us entire universes in which some people want to live for a while.
It's not just fantastic stories which have tourist appeal.
Westerns present an appealing mythic location of vast spaces and wildernesses. Much of the appeal of noir detective stories are the mean streets of big cities and the rich facades of the mansions of the ultra-wealthy which can hide the meanest of motives. "Cozy" detective stories appeal to our images of friendly small towns where everyone knows everyone, but which can also hide people who are as cruel and greedy as in any other place. The books of Jane Austen portray a picturesque society of the genteel and the rich, and move people yearly to visit the partly-opened stately homes of English upper-crust, and Derbyshire and the Peak District of the English Midlands.
I was thinking about all this while writing my latest work in progress, a YA sci-fi/urban-fantasy hybrid. It takes place in the locale I've long called my home and know well, Los Angeles and the smaller cities in and around the L. A. area. At one point I've written a scene which takes place in a movie studio where parts of a would-be blockbuster movie are being shot, a situation I know from personal experience. I don't see any way to make any of this picturesque rather than pedestrian, but I'm keeping it in mind in case inspiration strikes.
What about you? Are you writing or planning to write something in which you might punch up the tourist appeal of the settings in some way?