Why Write What You Know Works For Me

A recent email round robin discussion about an upcoming book project had several authors proposing using Seattle as a backdrop for superhero fantastical adventures.  I loved the idea.

Green Arrow once battled on top of our Metro buses -- and I'm sorry that the current Arrow doesn't have Ollie running Sherwood Florist here. Several TV shows filmed in Vancouver, BC, claimed that their supernatural shennigans took place in the shadow of the Space Needle or even on its roof. My friend Phoebe's Mudflat and Sunspinner series are set in local neighborhoods.  And there's a lot more if you go looking.

But since several of the authors on the recent email lived outside the Northwest, I felt compelled to tell them why Seattle seems a natural for magical mystic/superhero center. Our police department already has protocols on the books on how to deal with costumed crusaders. Our recent super-polite version of rioting while disguised in blue-and-green shows our heroic potential or at least our lawful good tendencies when confronted by crosswalks.

Just last week, we discovered mammoth beasties underground.Which inspired a local preschool to hang out the sign "Woolly Be My Valentine."

In short, there's always a bunch of story ideas to found around here. Maybe that's why there are so many writers hogging seats at my favorite coffee shop. Maybe that's why my stories, even those set in times and places far from here, never quite lose that Seattle quirkiness.