What is a sense of place, and how do you create it? It’s all about conveying atmosphere, says Jane Wenham-Jones
Feedback on my recently-completed novel included this observation: ‘The town itself plays an important part in the story, yet I couldn’t visualise it. You need to create a much stronger sense of place.’ The town is indeed an integral part of the plot as my main character has just moved to this town and soon finds there is a darkness under the apparently genteel surface. I thought I had included plenty of description, but clearly this is not enough. Can you plainly define terms for me? What is a ‘sense of place’ and how do I go about building one?