Characters, plot, and dialogue are vital to a story, but the location where a story is set has a profound impact on the success or failure of the completed project. In fact, a well-chosen setting not only enriches a narrative, but can be instrumental in driving forward the plot and motivating the actions of the characters. Whether the reader tumbles with the protagonist down a rabbit hole, walks with them through a wardrobe full of old fur coats, or steps with them through a looking-glass, location often decides the direction of a story.

Without The Shire, the Mines of Moria, Rivendell, Helm’s Deep, Mordor, and the rest of Middle Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasies wouldn’t be the same. Many of the challenges faced by the Hobbits and their companions are a result of the places where they find themselves on their journeys. 

When George Lucas imagined the adventures of a farm boy from the wastelands of Tatooine, he also envisioned the forest moon of Endor, the swamps of Dagobah, the interior of the Millenium Falcon, the ice world of Hoth, the Cloud City of Bespin, and the rest of the vast galactic sprawl of moons, asteroids, and planets that is home to the Star Wars saga. The contrasts in each of the settings gives rise to action and character development, and helps the reader “suspend their disbelief.”

When Neil Gaiman chose the sidewalks, pubs, and subways of a city in Great Britain for his Neverwhere, he knew the claustrophobic closeness of tunnels, subways, apartments, and urban nooks and crannies would matter. Likewise, when he wrote about Wall and the faery world that existed on the other side, the contrast in setting from mundane to magical made all the difference in what it meant to locate a fallen star in Stardust.

And what about Harry Potter? J.K. Rowling’s choice to have her protagonist travel from a cupboard under the stairs to Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, the Weasley home, and the rest of the author’s magical world gave rise to the change and growth of Harry, the dialogue, the other characters, the antagonists, the plotlines…

In each of these examples and hundreds of others, location makes a difference. In my story, Sideshow by the Sea, the boardwalk-carnival-seaside location was an important element of the tale. The locale’s flavor added not only a touch of reality to the fantastic, but was a familiar presence for many readers. In my next story with Echelon eShorts, Assassins, the vast prairies, mountains, and canyons of the planet Konur Prime are a familiar touchstone. In fact, this science fiction adventure tale could be classified as a “Space Western” — with updated versions of the stagecoaches, saloons, gunslingers, and heroes of the Old West moved to — why, a new LOCATION of course!