A Sense of Place: Accessing Our Fictional Mind Map

A Mind Map, in this context, is a phrase used to describe the location-based memories that overlay our actual surroundings. An example may be an exceptional night in a bar you always think of, as you walk past a McDonald’s that’s now in its place. McDonald’s is the real geography, but in your mind, you see the bar every time. This location has meaning only to you and is firmly on your fictional mind map, but everyone else sees McDonald’s. To take it a step further, in unfamiliar surroundings you may use your imagination to overlay fictional events that pertain to you or your characters.

As humans, we do this unconsciously. As writers, we may be more aware – actively searching for the perfect house for a character or a place for a key event in a story. This workshop aims to put a focus on the practice of the fictional mind map as an essential part of writing.