Have you ever been driving down the highway/interstate and at some point during the trip found yourself looking at small towns and wondering, “Who would live there?” or “I wonder what they do in a town that small?”
The author who is taking on the job of writing about small towns has quite a task in front of them. First, it’s the prejudice of the readers who have never been to a small town. They assume from a certain viewpoint that small towns are boring, with nothing to do, and don’t offer the excitement of living somewhere larger.
But don’t sell the small-town, or close-communities short, simply based on what you think they lack. The people who choose these places are often the main benefit to what makes the small-town experience worthwhile. The interconnected and immediate relationships with fellow town members can be a trove for storytelling. The family that had a kid break their arm? They sell baked goods at the weekend to help cover the bills. You can pick up a sweet treat and help them out. The couple who runs the grocery store? Well, he works 6 days a week and still finds time to help coach the football team on Fridays, she’s either helping in the concession stand or cheering on kids who aren’t hers from the bleachers. If you missed the game, just ask them about it while picking up your groceries this week. No there is no fast food, but there is also no better steak than at the local eatery. It’s been nationally recognized by the brave highway travelers who dared to pull off the road and take a chance somewhere they’d never been before.
There’s also a sense that everyone knows everyone, but at the same time not everyone knows everything. This allows space for tension to be built-in, in real life and writing as well. Without space, you are forced to deal with ex’s (and sometimes their ex’s), difficult neighbors, crossing paths daily with people you’d often like to avoid if possible. Also grudges and bad reputations never seem to die in a small town. They often get passed on for generations. Gossip is alive and well but often mutates as it gets passed, that’s ready-made drama right there. There are pre-built stages you can center on, like libraries, local diners, church meetings and the senior center where overheard conversations can be used to piece together clues in a mystery.
Anytime you write something with the word “cozy” in it (i.e.-cozy mystery, cozy romance, cozy fantasy) it’s that interconnectedness of the characters that defines the cozy feeling we are trying to create. The long traditions and living memories of how they started are passed from generation to generation. The concern for the neighbors is just as real as is their ongoing arguments about property lines.
My own small-town series (Hiawatha Falls Mysteries) is based on small towns where I grew up. The town’s name itself, Hiawatha Falls, is a combination of my Mom’s hometown (Hiawatha KS) and my Dad’s hometown (Falls City NE). The characters in my series have last names based on the founders of my hometown. This can really help a writer out when they are stuck on coming up with names/places.
Mark Twain once said human nature is best studied in a small village rather than a crowded city. What better setting is there for any writer who is trying to learn to shape fully developed characters, create drama, add tension and set a stage? Interconnected and immediate relationships really give a story a boost when needed. Small towns can make great fodder for stories and might just make you a better writer.
Dian Burns 