How to Write about Rivers in Our Stories

This is a repost for a few years ago. For the past nineteen years, we have lived across a road from a river and a creek that flows into it. The change that rivers bring to any locations make it a wonderful setting for almost any story. Below are some ideas and tips on how to write about rivers in our stories.

Crossing Rivers

Crossing rivers throughout history and literature is a sure sign of an irrevocable decision or event–Caesar crossing the Rubicon, the Israelites crossing the Jordan, the dead in Greek mythology crossing the River Styx. Once the river is crossed, there is no going back. (Fortunately, that hasn’t been the fate of my family. We cross back and forth all the time, but we’re not a future dictator, ancient Hebrews, or mythological characters.)

If a character is trying to leave the past behind, crossing a river can be sign of not looking back. Or the opposite can be true. A character crosses a river as a symbol of going to confront something from her past.

A river can also be a symbol of an obstacle or barrier in the character’s life. When he crosses it, it means he can now conquer the situation.

Flowing Rivers

The flow of our river during different seasons brings all kinds of change with it. In the winter, when there’s a thaw, the river can rise many feet. In the summer, when it’s low, we never know what we might find. These changes can symbolize changes in the main character’s life. A suddenly high river or flooding river can symbolize danger or an overwhelming emotion. A low river can show that a character’s life is drying up, without vitality.

I always find time spent on the river and creek, away from the routine demands of living, refreshing to my soul. So the river can be a refuge. When it isn’t flooding.

Rivers in Mysteries

A river is a very handy natural feature in mysteries. An unusually low river can reveal the body of a long-lost person. A fast river can sweep away evidence. In A Storm of Doubts, I used rising waters of a flooded creek to add drama to my climax and complicate a rescue.

.Here are more tips on how to explore settings in our stories.

How would you write about rivers in your stories? What book has used a river effectively?

September 25, 2025 0

How to Use a County Fair in Our Stories

It’s county fair time in my neck of the woods, so I decided to revisit how to use a county fair in our stories. I love county fairs, so it’s no surprise that I see them as writing inspiration.

Part of that love comes from nostalgia. In the county where I grew up in eastern Ohio, the county fair arrived the week after Labor Day. The fairgrounds were right across from my elementary school, and I always looked forward to the afternoon when we left the classroom and took a walking field trip to the fair. I was also eaten up by envy at the kids from the farms who got out of school to show their animals in 4-H competitions. I competed but in baking and won five blue ribbons.

When I discovered that the county where my husband and I built our home holds its fair in September, it felt just right. And when my kids won their own ribbons at the fair, I had a satisfying feeling of coming full circle.

That feeling could inspire a story of a parent or grandparent passing on a tradition which includes going to the county fair for some reason, not just competition.

Another thing I love about county fairs is how it brings together the land, animals, and people of a community. You don’t get that at a state fair. Too many strangers. But at the county fair, you run into so many friends, neighbors, and acquaintances that it feels like an enormous family reunion. When my family and I visit the fair, we make a point of reading the names fastened to the pens and cages of the 4-H animals, so we can see the animals kids from school and church have entered. It also reminds me that, no matter how sophisticated we become, we still depend on the land to produce crops and sustain animals and on our neighbors who farm and manage it all.

Those themes of community, family reunion, or ties to the land could be explored in a story set at the fair.

A special feature of our fair is the prominence of harness racing. Our fair really has a split personality. The front half, where the barns, rides, and buildings for exhibits are located, is for the local people. The back half has the stadium and barns for the horses that come to race. I can thoroughly enjoy the fair and never venture into the back half, which has a completely different atmosphere. The harness racing is business, as well as the gambling, so I feel no sense of community, but I’m an outsider looking in. I’m sure the members of the harness racing business probably feel differently.

I recently watched the film noir from 1956, The Killing. In this heist movie, a gang of crooks plot to rob a racetrack. One of them shoots a horse in an important race to create chaos while the robbery is executed. I’ve been wondering if I could write a story about a robbery at county fair with harness racing. I don’t know enough about how the betting is done to know if there’s enough cash on hand to make it worthwhile. But it would be interesting to research.

I like to research small, local events like a county fair and see if they have unique or unusual aspects to them, like harness racing. These quirks can ignite all kinds of inspiration and set my story apart from others.

Do you love a county fair? How can it inspire your writing?

Here are more posts how different settings can inspire our stories.

September 11, 2025 2

Creating a Hybrid Setting

As we continue to follow through the year “The Journey of a Book”, how a book moves from inspiration to publication, this month’s theme is all about that most overlooked literary element, the setting. To kick off our theme, Penny Frost McGinnis is back to describe creating a hybrid setting, which means incorporating imagination with a real setting. Thanks so much for coming back, Penny!

For me—setting is another character in the story.

In my Abbott Island series, the place where my characters live is based on and inspired by beautiful Kelleys Island, Ohio. In creating Abbott Island, I’ve taken some poetic license to add places and events, but the inspiration comes from the people and places on the little island in Lake Erie.

My husband and I had visited Kelleys Island a few times when the idea struck to set the story I had mulling in my mind on an island similar to the one I was standing on. The natural setting of parks, hiking trails, and water appealed to me and drew me there. As we hiked the alvar, the state park, and random trails across the island, it drew me in more and more. The beaches and water sports tugged at me. Where better to set the stories of the folks who inhabited my island?

As I shaped and shifted Abbott Island to fit my characters’ stories, I imagined the activities they could partake in (which included actual events on Kelleys Island.) I inserted the real with the imagined creating a world my characters loved, to the point where the setting felt like a character.

In using a real island as inspiration, I had to be careful to honor the original place. Nothing I wrote should mar Kelleys Island. I changed the name of the island, added new businesses, renamed current businesses, kept a few of the prominent ones, and referred to a few I left unnamed.

I incorporated the alvar, a unique natural phenomenon that occurs in a few places in Ohio in book two of the series, Home Away from Home, along with a kayak rental we used. The woman who owned the kayak booth became inspiration for Marigold in book two. She no longer runs the rental in real life, but I met her nieces and told them how she had inspired me.

However you choose to create a setting, look for inspiration, do your research, and honor the place you choose. Pick a setting you want to spend time in, because you’ll live there while you write your books.

A few tips if you are inspired by an actual place:

Follow their social media
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Twitter
Read books about the place
- History
- Current
Visit in person, if possible
- Take lots of photos
- Talk to the locals
- Experience events and activities
Connect to the library
- Research

I often look for books to read that have a setting I enjoy. I’m drawn to books on the east coast, islands, and small towns. Readers are often looking for a place to go and relax, like a vacation. Create a place your readers love. Happy writing!

Thank you for the great tips on how to use real world settings to inspire imaginary ones. To read Penny’s previous guest post, click here. Be sure to check out Penny’s newest release below!

*****

Home Away From Home: Abbott Island series book #2

Will Marigold and Johnny embrace love late in life?

When Marigold Hayes turned fourteen, her mother died, and her father went missing. For forty years, she has searched for her dad and lived a quiet life on Abbott Island, until she met Johnny. As her love for Johnny grows, her sorrow from the relentless search for her father breaks her heart. She begs God to help her move forward with her life before she has no love left to give. Then three mysterious strangers show up who could change her life.

Johnny Papadakis moved to Abbott Island ten years ago. His ex-wife had pushed him away and discouraged him from having a relationship with their daughter. After years of hard work, his restaurant flourishes, so does his relationship with Marigold. As he seeks Marigold’s hand in marriage, his daughter shows up on his doorstep, looking for a place to call home.

Can Marigold and Johnny settle the past and move toward the promise of a blessed future?

*****

If Penny Frost McGinnis could live in a lighthouse or on an island, she would. Instead, she and her husband are content to live in southwest Ohio and visit Lake Erie every chance they get. She loves God, adores her family and dog, indulges in dark chocolate, creates fiber arts, and enjoys watching baseball. She pens romance with a dash of mystery and the promise of hope. Her life’s goal is to encourage and uplift through her writing.

Connect with Penny at her website, FB author page, Twitter, Goodreads, Bookbub, and Pinterest

April 6, 2023 2

The Urban Setting Thesaurus

Nothing beats visiting a setting in person. But if that’s not possible, grab a copy of The Urban Setting Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to City Spaces by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

This reference book lists over 100 different settings found in an urban environment. For each setting, the authors list ways to evoke all five senses, possible sources of conflict, usual inhabitants, other related settings, notes and tips, and an example of how to work the setting into a story.

I wished I could have consulted this book last winter when I realized I had to write a brief scene in a pawn shop. The only time I’d visited one was in middle school. I don’t remember why, but my dad and I entered that pawn shop in Wheeling, West Virginia. My only memories are pretty vague, except for the piece of scrimshaw I found. I needed The Urban Setting Thesaurus to get the details right, even for a short scene.

The first thirty pages consist of articles offering advice on how to get maximum effect from your settings, such as “The Setting as a Vehicle for Delivering Backstory” and “Common Setting Snags”. One article I found very informative was “Urban World Building: The Pros and Cons of Choosing a Real-Life Location.”

Even better are the appendices in the back, which include the emotional value tool and setting checklist. If you have a scene that isn’t working or won’t behave, analyze it through this checklist. The authors have provided a pdf for the setting checklist here.

What if you’re writing a story with a rural setting? Never fear. Ms. Ackerman and Ms. Puglisi have thoughtfully published The Rural Setting Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to Personal and Natural Places.

For my review of another writing book on settings, click here. I’ve also reviewed another book by Ms. Ackerman and Ms. Puglisi, The Emotion Thesaurus.

What book you’ve read has an amazing urban setting?

August 5, 2021 4

Walking as Writing Inspiration

I checked the time on my phone after an appointment in Worthington, Ohio. I wanted to get in my morning walk since walking has provided me with a ton of writing inspiration. The clock said I could fit it in. So I started off. Walking through the neighborhoods off the main street of Worthington is interesting because there are so many old houses. And I love old houses.

The road dipped down to a bridge, and ahead, I saw a house completely different from the others I had passed. Instead of being built in a Victorian or Federal or Craftsman style, it looked like somebody had moved a science fiction set into a heavily wooded valleyin the heart of Columbus. I had stumbled upon Rush Creek Village.

This housing development began in the 1950’s. All the homes followed the principles of organic architecture, a style developed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I really enjoyed exploring the neighborhood and taking photos. And I never would have found it if I hadn’t taken to my feet.

Since I began walking regularly five years, ago, I have discovered so many settings I file away for future stories. If I had been driving or stuck to my usual routes to get to and from places, I would have missed so many fascinating areas both where I live and in places I visited.

Benefits of Walking a Setting

If there is any way I can, I try to walk the settings of my stories. I can’t beat the benefits.

Walking slows me down. Even if I’m looking for a setting for a car chase, I still want to walk it. Walking helps me sees details I wouldn’t noticed if I drove by or looked at photos. It also slows down my brain, allowing me to appreciate my surroundings.
Walking allows me to use all five senses. Virtual tours of a location gives you the sights, but only walking it will stimulate the other senses.
Walking gives me confidence when writing. Because I’ve actually visited the place I’m writing about, I can write with confidence. If someone thinks it’s unbelievable that a character can’t get cell reception to call for help in an Ohio state park, I know he’s mistaken because because I’ve been to Ohio state parks that don’t have reception.

Because the setting is so important to me, I try to set my stories only places I have been to. So I take advantage of my knowledge of rural places in Ohio and West Virginia. Wherever we vacation, I make it a practice to study the place, like the coast of North Carolina. If I want to do a story on the ocean, I would pick the part of the coast I know something about, rather than trying to research an area I might never be able to visit.

If you write science fiction or fantasy or historical fiction, try to find some equivalent in the current, real world. If your space opera occurs on a desert planet, arrange a visit to a desert. If your historical romance takes place in Victorian London, and you live nowhere close to Great Britain, find a city that still has Victorian architecture. Or a living museum where guides dress and act like people from the period. If the princess-in-disguise from your fantasy hides out in a stable, volunteer to work in one.

Have you used walking as writing inspiration? When have you been most inspired?

February 13, 2020 0

Tag: Writing tips on settings