by Bethany Jett, @BetJett

Welcome back to Part Two of our series 11 Ways to Create a Sense of Place. If you missed the opener to this series where we mentioned 1. Food, 2. Dialect, and 3. Conducting Research, be sure to check out Part One here. We’ll continue our eleven ways with numbers four through seven.

11 Ways to Create a Sense of Place: #4 – #7

4. Music

Music is definitely a large part of many cultures. From the country croons of the South to the blues of Beale Street in Memphis, different areas of our country can be classified based on popular music. Of course, country music, for example, is played not only all over the USA, but all over the world. Yet when we write our stories, it’s important for us to acknowledge the popular tunes for the location for our characters.

The Huffington Post has a great article called How Music Taste Varies State to State, Region to Region. They say, “Just as different regions like to eat different foods, they prefer different music, too. Yes, people everywhere listen to Jay-Z, Macklemore, and Daft Punk — it’s just that some artists are played far more in certain parts of the country than in others.” Be sure to check out their map here where you can see a breakdown by state with the most popular artists.

Time Magazine also has a great resource Which Music Genres are Most Popular Around the World. Be sure to check it out if your characters are international.

5. Climate, Geography, and Landscape

I live in hot humid Florida where hardly anyone owns a heavy jacket…except for perhaps the more northern cities. Tallahassee can get pretty cold. It is far more likely for a Floridian character to pack a hoodie or sweatshirt in their suitcase when traveling north than to grab gloves and a coat.

If your character lives in a state known for it’s beautiful mountain ranges like North Carolina, add in some perspective by having an out-of-towner’s ears pop during the drive through the Blue Ridge. It happens to me every year. Create beautiful scenes for your stories by really digging in to the setting. Florida has gorgeous beaches, tons of amusement parks, and several popular college and professional sports teams.

Even the highways and major roads are different across the country. In most parts of Florida, there is almost always a major highway and a place to pull over for a pit stop. Conversely, the Midwest has long stretches of open road with planted fields and sometimes nary a gas station to be seen for miles.

6. Noise

Have you ever moved to a new place only to find that you couldn’t fall asleep that first night because the noises outside were different? Creating a sense of place using the sense of sound can be extremely powerful.

I’ve never lived in New York City, but I’ve read stories about main characters who live in apartments in the good ol’ NYC. They’re used to a constant noise level. There is always activity, always something happening. If a character lives in the country where your closest neighbor is five miles away, their normal noise level might be akin to creatures or the sound of the wind between the trees.

Small town characters may hear the distant moos of cows grazing in the pasture. Beach-set stories can rely on the seagulls, lapping waves, and din of children splashing and playing in the water. I imagine Nashville to have a lot of street performers singing their songs for the pedestrians and passers-by.

7. Traffic

The way people drive definitely varies based on where you live. When Justin and I were in Minneapolis, it amazed me how kind the drivers were…always letting us over when Justin flicked on his turn signal. In Orlando and parts of Tampa, that sort of hospitality is non-existent. There is a slight aggression in the driving and you always expect the other drivers to cut you off.

Another interesting aspect under the traffic category is how people refer to distance. If I ask someone how far it is to Disney, they’ll tell me based on hours and minutes. Target is ten minutes, Olive Garden is thirty, and Disney is about two hours. However, when we visited our cousins in the Midwest, they told us the church was ten miles down the road.

I can’t tell you how stupid I felt. Ten miles…how long is that?

It was the first time I’d had someone answer me in miles and I wasn’t exactly sure by their answer what time I needed to be ready to leave. In my mind, ten miles could equal ten minutes or thirty, depending on traffic conditions and the speed limit.

This is a super fun series. We’ll continue the conversation in our final Part Three next week.

[reminder]Got an idea for creating a sense of place?[/reminder]

Bethany Jett is an award-winning author of The Cinderella Rule, speaker, ghostwriter, and founder of JETTsetter Ink, a consulting and editing company. She has written for numerous publications, created the My Moments Planner, Serious Writer Companion, and is the founder of Serious Writer Academy and the Build Your Brand Program. Her newest work, Through the Eyes of Hope releases January 2017.

Bethany is a military wife and all-boys-mama who is addicted to suspense novels and all things girly. She writes on living a brilliant life at BethanyJett.com. Connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest,  Instagram (new profile), and Twitter.