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Carrie Butler's Strength Blog Tour!



 Today I am THRILLED to be here with a post for Carrie Butler's Strength Blog Tour! If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you check it out! 

Take it away, Carrie!

 
Creating a Fictional Campus
Thanks for having me over, Kyra!

For those of you who don't know me, let me preface this by saying I'm weird about details. I keep color-coded binders, and I have spreadsheets for everything under the sun. That's just me. So, when I tell you how I keep track of things, it might come across as the slightest bit strange...
Setting is a big deal, especially when you're dealing with a series. Every detail contributes to the reader's mental image, and it's jarring when descriptions contradict each other. That's why I mapped out Wilcox's (fictional) campus while I worked on Strength.



I drew inspiration from every college campus I'd ever been to, including my own alma maters and a few I visited for band camp. (I know what you're thinking. Keep that band camp joke to yourself.) There are academic buildings, recreational areas, sports fields, residence halls, etc. It's a well-rounded atmosphere with plenty of room for growth—even though half of it isn't mentioned.

That's the other reason I keep track of everything; it helps me stay oriented. "Okay, Rena is leaving the Rec. On her way back to the dorm, she's going to pass the campus green, an academic hall, the student union, and the south quad. Will she run into anyone she knows at that time of day? Is it dark enough that she would hurry and take a shortcut? Where are the well-lit areas?" It becomes real in my mind, as opposed to, "Okay, transition sentence getting Rena from point A to point B...”

But like I said, that's just me. I'm a glutton for punishment and extra work. ;) How do you keep track of your settings? 

**

Strength by Carrie Butler
Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing   
Category: New Adult (NA)
Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR)
Release Date: March 07, 2013

Available at: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and Nook. More retailers will be added in the coming weeks, i.e. Sony Reader Store, iBookstore, Kobo, etc.

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, she’s stunned. Wallace Blake is everything she’s ever wanted in a man—except he can’t touch her. His uncontrollable strength, a so-called gift from his bloodline, makes every interaction dangerous. And with a secret, supernatural war brewing among his kind, there’s no time to work it out. To keep Wallace in her life, Rena will have to risk a whole lot more than her heart. 


 
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Comments

  1. Talli Roland19 March 2013 at 09:19

    Yay for Carrie and her new novel! I tend to use settings I'm very familiar with already. I hate research!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler19 March 2013 at 18:59

      Thank you, Talli! :) I really need to try that sometime. The only real places I've used are big cities to orient the reader.

      Delete
  2. Sheena-kay Graham19 March 2013 at 09:33

    Creating a fictional campus sounds great and you handle it very well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alex J. Cavanaugh19 March 2013 at 11:13

    Band geek? I resemble that!
    I kept most of the setting in my head, although it would be easier to have to map.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler19 March 2013 at 21:06

      *Grins* As do I!

      I admire you for being able to keep most of the setting in your head. If I didn't write mine down, I'd be switching it up all the time. Haha!

      Delete
  4. Suzi19 March 2013 at 11:49

    That's a great idea, writing out a map. I've never done that, but I usually base my settings off something I know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler19 March 2013 at 21:14

      Thank you, Suzi! :) I say do whatever works best for you!

      Delete
  5. JeffO19 March 2013 at 12:12

    I certainly don't keep track of my settings like THAT! Mostly I keep it in my head, which is usually good enough. What gives me trouble: timelines. I often have to map out the timelines for characters and stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler20 March 2013 at 00:57

      Ugh. Timelines can be killer. I have to map those out, too!

      Delete
  6. Christine Rains19 March 2013 at 12:20

    You're very organized. I'd like to be like that, but I'm a pantser. I only get to doing any notes when I hit the revisions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler20 March 2013 at 00:59

      Oo, well, maybe you can do a little mapping during revision time. :D

      Delete
  7. Melissa19 March 2013 at 13:00

    And I thought I was organized... :P
    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler20 March 2013 at 00:59

      I think my organization borderlines obsession. *grins* Thank you!

      Delete
  8. Elizabeth Seckman19 March 2013 at 15:00

    I bet you never get lost...or lose things!

    Seriously though, great tips. When you're creating a place from your mind, you need to remember where stuff is...because readers will!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrie Butler20 March 2013 at 01:52

      Oh, right. I never lose things... *throws papers off her desk until she finds her glasses*

      Ahem. :) Thank you, Elizabeth!

      Delete
  9. Emily R. King19 March 2013 at 16:15

    Wow, Carrie. You are the organizational queen! My OCD heart is weeping with joy. :)

    Hi, Kyra!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Angela Cothran19 March 2013 at 21:10

    I guess I'm a little weird like you :) I draw out maps by hand, and I consult them all the time. I love when publishers put maps in books!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nick Wilford20 March 2013 at 09:38

    Sounds like very sensible advice. I keep track of things in my head mostly - probably why I don't go into setting too much, but anything to enrich the story is good!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nicki Elson20 March 2013 at 12:43

    Oh yeah, for a series I'd definitely have to have it written down somewhere - I'd be sure to forget by the time I got to the next book! Carrie and I can be weird together because I too think through the details even though most of it doesn't make it into the book.

    Thanks for the post, Kyra, and best of luck with Strength Carrie -- I've been hearing great things about it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Joylene Nowell Butler20 March 2013 at 16:24

    Hi Kyra. Thanks for hosting Carrie. I love your blog. It's so cheery. And Carrie, thanks for inspiring me to get back to my spreadsheets. Wish I had half your energy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nicole20 March 2013 at 18:05

    Making maps for settings is always fun! Congrats to Carrie.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Charmaine Clancy23 March 2013 at 09:30

    I do maps, sketches and plot out where all the residents live. I plan nearby towns and landscape. I often cheat and mimic a town I know and sometimes just set my stories in real places. One of those international bloggers so I won't enter the comp.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kelley Lynn23 March 2013 at 16:45

    College campuses are so fun, and Carrie's was super well developed.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Misha Gerrick24 March 2013 at 17:55

    I know what you mean. Although I don't draw the settings (I know I should, but then I have a million other stuff I should do for my fantasy as well. Sigh.), I've researched prevalent architecture for the buildings I used and collected photos so that I know where I am and what I'm talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous15 April 2013 at 10:21

    Hi Kyra. Thanks for hosting Carrie. I love your blog. It's so cheery. And Carrie, thanks for inspiring me to get back to my spreadsheets. Wish I had half your energy! cheap-essay-writing-services
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    ReplyDelete

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