The Perfect Setting

One of my favorite excuses for abandoning a story is the difficulty of balancing realism with fiction in the setting. If the setting is too fictional (certain genres excepted), everyone will know me for a fraud. Err too far on the side of realism, and the story gets bogged down in the mundane details. Rather than just writing the story and worrying about it later, I become obsessed with finding the perfect setting. Usually, I don't find one, and the story goes unfinished.

I was reminded of the setting dilemma after reading this review of Jim Butcher's Storm Front over at The Wertzone. The book is the first in the series The Dresden Files, which is set in Chicago. I called Chicago home for many years, and was stoked to find a book set in my city.

It didn't take long to realize that even without the fantastical creatures, Butcher's Chicago was not quite the same city as mine. I was disappointed by every inaccurate detail. The friend who'd loaned me the book in the first place was also a former Chicagoan, yet he loved the Chicago setting despite the flaws. Every time I came across a new detail that didn't match the real city, I'd wonder why Butcher even bothered to use Chicago as his backdrop if he wasn't going to research it properly.

Maybe I'm just too picky. Could it be ok to mix a real setting with convenient yet inaccurate details? Although I was bothered, I certainly didn't let it deter me from continuing for the next several books in the series. And it could be that I was the only one who cared. Obviously, there's a point at which vagueness, at least, is preferred. Too specific, and you could wind up creating a personal hell for some unlucky person: the next 867-5309 debacle.

Until I figure out how to balance my need for accuracy with a convenient setting, I just have to keep hoping that someday I'll be lucky enough to actually find that perfect setting.