Last night at our writing workshop we explored how the setting in which we grew up affected us as people (trying to then get at how the setting in which we place our characters illuminates / affects / transforms them). It made me think a lot about the various settings in which I grew up, and how they affected me.
The first place I remember living is Laredo, TX . . . I was four or five, there were lots of lizards and heat and fire ants and dust and I saw my first real life road runner. From there we came back to where my parents grew up - Lancaster, PA. I often wonder how that homecoming at such an early age affected the way I feel about Lancaster, made it seem even more like where I belonged.
Growing up in Lancaster gave me a strong sense of community and family. A love for open spaces and fields encroached by forests and streams, especially streams with rich deep banks and lots of sky hanging above them.
So where did you grow up? How did your setting (either landscape or type of house or type of family) affect who you have become?
New Release Spotlight: Cara Putman
2 weeks ago
I've lived my whole life (with the exception of a couple years in Grantham, PA) at the Jersey Shore and most of my extended family lives here (or close) as well.
ReplyDeleteThe beach and family have been central in my life for as long as I can remember. We've been kicking around the idea of moving away for a long time but leaving the shore and family seems almost impossible.
Especially now, with kids, because we want them to value the same things that we value and, conciously or not, setting is a huge part of that.