In an article for Writer’s Digest, Jeremy Scott says solid, real-life details can ground your thriller novel in the real world and bring your reader into your story.
Scott’s new thriller is set in a place very much like his hometown, but instead of “writing what he knows” – his parents’ occupations, his school life – he used details about life in that town and the people who resided there. “Specifically, I chose to write first and foremost about food,” he says. “Dishes I had at potlucks, meals from school cafeterias, common take-out fare. Every food written about in the book is something I ate a LOT of as a kid.”
Scott also says geography is a good element for details. “The more clearly you can paint the difference between important locations the better, and if you use real locations from your youth—even if they are renamed—you are only adding realism to the story,” he writes. “Local laws are another way to write what you know: Strange traffic conditions, outdated laws still on the books, local customs and traditions.”
The people you know or remember are also good fodder for your fiction. “Did you know a particularly strict teacher? A nosy neighbor? Gossipy church folk?” Scott asks. “Base your fictional characters and their personalities on people you actually knew and remember well.”
