Creating an imaginary world from reality

I recently remarked to someone that I'm passionate about creative writing, and more specifically story telling, because I'm always so anxious to find out how the story ends.  In writing circles, people like me are known as "pantsers," or those who write without a predetermined course.  Those who create outlines and work within those confines are known as "plotters."  I fall somewhere between these two labels, as I generally begin with an outline, drop it, and continue writing based upon research, gut feel, and simple intuition.

Many, if not most, of the places appearing in my first novel I have visited first-hand.  When I travel, I try to get a feel for the "vibe" of a place.  Are the locals and visitors at ease, laughing, and having a care-free time, or is there a more pessimistic impression that I sense?  What is the climate like in that region, and what do people generally wear to help protect them from the elements?  Is the air tepid or frigid?  The local architecture is as drastically important as the people moving through it when developing "my world."  After all, how boring would a story be without envisioning the surroundings?  Do the locals commute on mass transit, or via personal vehicle?  What kind of vehicle is prevalent in the locale? 

I make a concerted effort to take in various smells in a particular area, as I never know when I might attempt to work that place into a scene.  As an example, New York City is made up of widely contrasting neighborhoods, ethnicities, foods, high rise apartment and business complexes, smells, and sights.  The subterranean world moving passengers beneath New York is a city in and of itself.  Sweltering heat, dripping water, the rats, dirty tiled walls, street musicians, and droves of tourists.....all of it......make up a tightly woven conurbation connected by tunnels, trains, and concrete. 

Within the reality of a setting comes the dramatic, personified algorithm that becomes my make-believe world.  Our nightmares, after all, are made up of self-perpetuated dreamscapes born of reality, fear and anxiety.  With that thought in mind, it isn't so far-fetched for a lover of the fictitious to try to bring imagined life into reality.

All of my characters are created with attributes I've personally witnessed in others, or in myself.  The good, bad, love, loneliness, feelings of helplessness, and evil (as we've come to define it), are things I've experienced or have seen people experience first-hand.  In several cases, I've interviewed people dealing with certain conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to acquire a better understanding of the condition and stress it creates in the human brain. 

Finally, I don't sit around attempting to develop a plot for a story.  On the contrary, an idea will simply strike me as interesting and I will pursue it.  Other times, a story will have to stew in my mind, festering like a boil on infected skin, until it rises to the top finally revealing itself to me. 

Like I've told many over the years: I don't fancy myself some linguistic artist struggling to make it in a world wrought with competition.  No, I'm just a story-teller who enjoys the craft....and a guy who needs to know how the story ends.  :)

Blogger's note:

Photo 1.) Makati, Manila The Philippines
Photo 2.) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Photo 3.) The Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Photo 4.) Somewhere in NW New Mexico