McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Question About Writing Out of the Country

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Dresdenus Prime:
A story I'm currently working on is really picking up steam in the brainstorming department. It's set in the Urban Fantasy genre but I feel like it covers a lot of new ground and could be a very refreshing read. My main problem is I would like the book to take place outside the United States.

I can use Google Maps to get a good look at street layouts and such, but when it comes to the interiors of restaurants, markets, and hotels and such, what's the best way to research layouts and what not?

One of my top choices for the setting is Hong Kong, China, if that helps provide any advice. Thanks!

Lanodantheon:

If you cannot physically go to the location in question, here are some things you can do in order of...accuracy/effectiveness/ease.

1. Go to the website of the restaurant or business in question. More and more websites are adding layouts and maps to their sites. If they are on a foreign language, just look at the pictures and/or use Google Translate to quick translate the website if they don't have an english site which shouldn't be a problem for Hong Kong.




2.Call the business/location in question and see if they can tell you where you can find a map and/or just ask the employee who answers the phone if there's someone there who's brain you can pick. Be friendly and upfront that you're researching for a book and they will bend over for you.


If the location is outside the country/a long distance call....they might have an american office you could call instead OR you could just bite the bullet. One long distance call for the sake of literary goodness.


3. Flickr. Look for photos of the interior


4. Find a similar location and extrapolate based on any other information you have. There will be common features among similar business. If it is a chain, you can bet they will all look similar.[size=78%] [/size]
 


I hope this helps.

LizW65:
Also, if you can interview some Hong Kong natives and/or find beta readers from that region, it would probably be helpful in terms of getting things like the culture, overall zeitgeist, and rhythm of dialogue right.

OZ:
There are many international members of this forum. I don't know if any of them are from Hong Kong but if there are you should try to contact them. Maybe start a thread with a title like "Looking for members from Hong Kong" or " Looking for members that have ever lived in Hong Kong".

Dresdenus Prime:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I have a couple more questions regarding my character's soon to be adventures in Hong Kong.

1. Do you think, since this is fiction after all, that I could use a skyscraper that exists in the city, and create a company that resides within? This would of course be an evil company of sorts, so I don't know if that would be a sensitive topic to the people who own the building.

2. I've been attempting to search for motels in Hong Kong, but most of the results come up as hotels. I need something more gritty than a hotel though, something that someone who is on the run can find, use some quick cash and stay for the night. At this point, if I can't find anything would it be okay just to create one?

Thanks again!

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