Is naming the city your story is set in important?

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  • Is naming the city your story is set in important?

    Is it a newbie mistake to not name the city your story takes place in? They city in my story doesn't really matter - could be any American/Canadian city with a bustling downtown. How is it received when you just have EXT. CITY - DOWNTOWN, opposed to EXT. SAN FRANSISCO - DOWNTOWN?

  • #2
    Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

    Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
    Is it a newbie mistake to not name the city your story takes place in? They city in my story doesn't really matter - could be any American/Canadian city with a bustling downtown. How is it received when you just have EXT. CITY - DOWNTOWN, opposed to EXT. SAN FRANSISCO - DOWNTOWN?
    Yes and no.

    Nobody's going to care, and, I mean, they'll probably shoot it in New Orleans or Atlanta or Vancouver anyway. So on one level it doesn't matter at all.

    On the other hand, I think it's a useful thing for you, as a writer. Because San Francisco is very different from Chicago, and setting it in a specific city will help inform who your characters are and help you make strong, specific choices which bring them to life.

    eg, "She works in tech venture capital in San Francisco" paints a very different picture from, "She works in advertising on Madison avenue," which is very different from, "She's a post-production supervisor in Los Angeles" and if what you tell me, "She works in an office in a city" I don't know which of those (or 1000 other options) you mean.

    Good writing flows from specific choices, so if you don't know, or don't have an opinion, there's a real risk that your characters are less vivid and real than they could be.

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    • #3
      Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

      Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
      Yes and no.

      Nobody's going to care, and, I mean, they'll probably shoot it in New Orleans or Atlanta or Vancouver anyway. So on one level it doesn't matter at all.

      On the other hand, I think it's a useful thing for you, as a writer. Because San Francisco is very different from Chicago, and setting it in a specific city will help inform who your characters are and help you make strong, specific choices which bring them to life.

      eg, "She works in tech venture capital in San Francisco" paints a very different picture from, "She works in advertising on Madison avenue," which is very different from, "She's a post-production supervisor in Los Angeles" and if what you tell me, "She works in an office in a city" I don't know which of those (or 1000 other options) you mean.

      Good writing flows from specific choices, so if you don't know, or don't have an opinion, there's a real risk that your characters are less vivid and real than they could be.
      Thanks for the reply. Yes. good points. I know it helps with painting a bigger picture and a clearer sense of how things are in the world. My hero gets fired in the first 3 pages, and supporting character works at a cafe - a job he hates. So, their jobs are more a conflict/hurdle than expressing who they are. Barista in LA or Barista in Seattle or Vancouver is a barista.

      Never the less, what you said rang true, and if it helps the writing then I'll pick a city. The bitch of it is that now I have to name specific streets and again, that's not an important thing. "Downtown street/ally/building" is all I need, with some quick descriptions.

      Thanks again for the reply and insight. Much appreesh.

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      • #4
        Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

        Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
        My hero gets fired in the first 3 pages, and supporting character works at a cafe - a job he hates. So, their jobs are more a conflict/hurdle than expressing who they are. Barista in LA or Barista in Seattle or Vancouver is a barista.
        Is it?

        You could drop me in a random nice coffee shop/cafe in Los Angeles or San Francisco and I would probably be able to tell instantly, just from the customers, which city we were in.

        It may not matter that much for your story, but it does help paint a specific picture in my mind, which is useful when you're trying to convey a lot of information in as few words as possible.

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        • #5
          Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

          Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
          Is it?

          You could drop me in a random nice coffee shop/cafe in Los Angeles or San Francisco and I would probably be able to tell instantly, just from the customers, which city we were in.

          It may not matter that much for your story, but it does help paint a specific picture in my mind, which is useful when you're trying to convey a lot of information in as few words as possible.

          Yeah. Very true. Think it hurts more no not be specific with a city.

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          • #6
            Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

            You could drop me in a random nice coffee shop/cafe in Los Angeles or San Francisco and I would probably be able to tell instantly, just from the customers, which city we were in.
            Oh, all of you cosmopolitan types!

            I live in a town where you can drive from one side of the city to the other in ten minutes.

            "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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            • #7
              Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

              Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
              Oh, all of you cosmopolitan types!

              I live in a town where you can drive from one side of the city to the other in ten minutes.
              ooo quaint.

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              • #8
                Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                Pinpointing where your story takes place isn't important, but giving a sense of what area of the world your characters inhabit is.

                The script that landed me on this year's Black List does not take place in any named city, but it does take place in the Appalachians.

                Which, as a reader, gives you enough info to be able to imagine the setting and the people that inhabit it.

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                • #9
                  Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                  Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                  Oh, all of you cosmopolitan types!

                  I live in a town where you can drive from one side of the city to the other in ten minutes.
                  I see that and raise it: I live in a village where you can walk from one side to the other in ten minutes.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                    Originally posted by Dr. Vergerus View Post
                    I see that and raise it: I live in a village where you can walk from one side to the other in ten minutes.
                    My town is so small we don't even have two sides.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                      Getting back on topic, some cities echo some themes...decay and decline in Detroit for example.

                      What do different cities bring to mind and would any particular city have qualities to echo theme.

                      Silicon Valley
                      Chicago
                      New Orleans
                      Fargo
                      Dallas
                      Miami
                      etc... they bring to mind some different images and are populated by differing peoples.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                        Equally, sometimes the anonymity of the city is the point, as in Seven. I guess it all depends on your purpose - so long as it comes across as deliberate rather than just an afterthought you can do either.
                        My stuff

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                        • #13
                          Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                          One shouldn't over-do this sort of thing, but occasionally there is a right time to use something geographical to emphasize a point...


                          Addresses
                          Jesse James Drive vs. Jonathon B. Bohring Avenue

                          Employers
                          Futuretech Endeavors Corp vs Smithson Grout and Tile

                          Cities
                          Miami vs Cleveland

                          One set of choices is more vibrant than the other.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                            Originally posted by Filmmagician View Post
                            They city in my story doesn't really matter - could be any American/Canadian city with a bustling downtown. How is it received when you just have EXT. CITY - DOWNTOWN, opposed to EXT. SAN FRANSISCO - DOWNTOWN?
                            You've already had good replies but you've partly answered your own question by saying the location is a generic city with a bustling downtown. But even if it is a generic location, in my opinion it still helps to give is a specific flavor or tone. Generic could be Charlotte, Pittsburg, Phoenix, Sacaramento and so on. If you don't want to name a location, perhaps suggest whether it is a mid-west city, industrial, west coast or whatever to at least give it a certain feel and suggest something about the day to day world your characters live in. Even if the producers change this I think it adds to your story to be aware if this sort of detail.
                            "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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                            • #15
                              Re: Is naming the city your story is set in important?

                              Depends on the story. I wrote one where my character had to travel to one city from another city to find out who and where her real parents lived.
                              "A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.- -Frank Miller

                              "A real writer doesn't just want to write; a real writer has to write." -Alan Moore

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