Genuinely, Realistic Fantasy
Recently, I was speaking with someone about the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. At one point, they commented about the complete suspension of reality during moments when some of the characters were performing feats – made impossible by physics – during certain battle scenes. I stepped back from the conversation for a moment and immediately thought, “Yeah; there’s no way a real elf or wizard would do that!” It’s funny how, even with characters that walk the fantastical line, viewers or readers still expect there to be a sense of believability in the story. A character can be 900 years-old and speak backwards, sure, but the second he starts doing acrobatics, people lose their minds.
I think it’s for that reason that I took some of the care I did in researching particular locations and venues with such attention to detail; in the event that someone actually finds themselves in Alaska, or the Venetian, or the Virgin Islands … I want there to be a certain recognition. I want there to be that “ah-ha” moment. I want someone who happens across the setting to say, “Oh my gosh! This is the restaurant they were eating in while they waited for the Luminati!” Because if they can identify with one part of the story, then maybe the rest of it seems more real. If they’ve been to Denali, and know that salmon and black bear are common menu items, then the Sasquatch Saloon could be real. And if it can be real, then an angel eating at the corner table seems slightly more believable.
One very specific and actual location that I spent considerable time researching and replicating was the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica, CA. Having been to the Santa Monica Airport, I had decided that Elex and Allison would be flying there to attend a company gathering. In searching venues around the area, I came across the Annenberg Beach House and started looking at the pictures; it looked like it would work for what I – and Elysium – had in mind. I began pouring over several of the pictures, reading some of the descriptions, and generally planning where everything would be. Feeling comfortable with the background I had gathered – satisfied that my imagery was accurate for any Santa Monica locals who might read through – I wrote chapter 13.
This December I found myself in Santa Monica on business for a few weeks, and I knew I had to visit the Annenberg Beach House just to see for myself how close I got. I’ve got to be honest, I was nervous as I was driving there; I almost turned around, potentially satisfied with my own interpretation of the location. But nevertheless, I went there.
I was pleasantly surprised. As far as the layout of the building and the space available, I did pretty well; I was even pretty close on stuff I knew I made up. When it came to the location in which the beach house was situated, its proximity to the ocean, and the general surroundings, I was a bit off. That is to say, I was a bit off from what my imagination had concocted and how I envisioned things when I was writing them. There wasn’t necessarily anything I wrote about that was directly contradicted, but what I had seen in my head was not what I saw during my visit. I quickly realized that it wasn’t a big deal, and it certainly did not detract from one of my favorite chapters thus far. The location I had created – adapted – did its job and the venue played its part well.
I was actually still a little disappointed – who wants to be wrong – but a few moments of “aw shucks” quickly became a shrug of “oh well” as I discovered the Back on the Beach beachside restaurant next door and enjoyed the seafood bisque and a few bottles of Hangar 24 beer. Moving on.
