Place Matters

As writers, where we set out stories has a huge impact on the characters, and so on the narrative. Toss everyone onto an Antarctic ice sheet and see what happens. Or insert the same characters in the Sonoran Desert. The effects will vary, often wildly.Ditto for the author. Instead of the soggy Northwest, I've been in Arizona for the past week: hiking in the canyons of the Santa Catalina Mountains, relishing delicious Mexican food, and writing. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like my revision is more barebones, prickly in the right places, and at the same time shines.