Writers Tricks of the Trade May-June 2015

PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK ANY COVER TO PURCHASE THE BOOK CREATING REALISTIC SETTINGS The City/Town deserved extra added attractions so we invented Summerville College, inaccurately termed 'the U' by locals. A co-ed, liberal arts school, it is known for its NCAA division I champion men’s lacrosse team. The town has a full service hospital which is code red most nights [the ER is full and can only accept chest or head trauma.] It's in desperate need of urgent care centers to cut down on bottlenecks in the ER and to put an end to patients using the ER's for a doctor's office. For the sports nuts we offer the Hornets, a triple A baseball team, part of the Orioles system, and just as [un]successful and the Red Barons, part of the Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey system. Local law enforcement is covered by the Summerville Police Department, headed by the former school bully. One of his former victims is now the County Sheriff. A former bad boy now advocates for victims of school bullies and non-responsive school systems. Note the over-use of the word ‘former’. Hmm. As an editor, I’m cringing as I read this. Arts and entertainment are supplied locally with annual fine arts and artisans shows or by a thirty minute drive to Rochester which offers a symphony, several major museums and the Eastman School of Music. The contributing authors also supplied “The Hood” by way of Down The Hill, Summerville's version of a slum, and Pill Hill and Castle Row, where the elite reside and never the twain do meet. For “The Set”, where individual scenes take place one of the authors took a photograph of a local landmark and turned it into the Summerville Inn which is the setting for several of the reunion stories, one of which involves prereunion renovations, a reunion dance, and an elite awards dinner. A couple of authors took a real-life former [there’s that word again!] orphanage located in Syracuse New York, renamed it, then picked it up and dropped it into Summerville. Hey, it worked. World/Town/Hood inhabitants include:  Two prime time network news anchors/reporters  A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for photographic journalism  A retired rock star  If you can place yourself in the setting or picture sharing a cup of coffee or a drink with a character, you have established that reality. A modeling agent known for large size and 'mature' models, male and female  The attention to detail as spelled out in this article is one of those things. Several members of local law enforcement  Part of what draws a reader into a story is the feeling of reality– that they somehow know the characters or have driven through the town or walked on a particular street. A world famous fashion photographer  BUY A mega-millionaire computer geek, ala Bill Gates WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE PAGE 23 MAY-JUNE 2015

Writers Tricks of the Trade May-June 2015 | Page 33