What is it about bars, pubs and taverns that makes them so darn fun to invent? I don’t know about you, but I get a gleeful little kick out of creating the perfect watering holes where my characters can wander in and grab a drink. Last night, I was brainstorming names for a bar in my latest WIP and got to thinking about the ingredients authors need to brew up just the right mix.The Ambiance
Decide what vibe you want for your bar, and figure out how to convey that through music, lighting and table arrangements. You want a dingy little hole-in-the-wall, or a sleek high-end façade with jazz playing in the background? A cozy Irish feel, complete with dancing, or a wild thumping club with strobe lights and a bass louder than thunder?
The Three Broomsticks is a far cry from the Mos Eisley Cantina. There are literally endless combinations, so have some fun with it!
The Bartender
This is especially important if the bar is going to be a recurring locale in your novel. The bartender’s clothes, personality, physical appearance and dialect tend to be pretty colorful. Sometimes, they stick behind the counter like superglue; othertimes, they’re constantly running back and forth between tables with pitchers of beer and hot meals.
One of my favorite examples of the bartender-as-character is Mac from the Dresden Files. I don’t think the guy says more than two full sentences in the entire series, but he’s irreplaceable!
The Name
I spend far, FAR too much time naming my bars. It’s crazy fun to come up with the perfect moniker that will capture the right flavor. There’s a little open-air bar in Key West that I love called Two Friends. Its motto is: “No greater love than the enduring, tender love of one drunken friend for another.”
Fantastic, right?
The Booze
My first WIP was set on a sailing ship, with open decks, rolling seas and coarse sailors. Flavored martinis and wine coolers were NOT going to fit in with my characters. Choosing your booze is almost as important as choosing the rest of your bar features. It’s fun to create a whole menu of options (okay, not a literal menu). That way, you can pick favorites for each character, decide if certain regions or nations have a “home brew” or just make up an entirely new concoction!
Bottoms up! And cheers to all you NaNo’ers who are about to cross the finish line. Here’s the last installment of the soundtrack to help you celebrate.
HEY MATEY,
ReplyDeleteONCE AGAIN A GREAT BLOG POST. :)
I HAVE POSTED AN AWARD FOR YOU OVER ON MY PAGE, IF YOU HAVE CHANCE HOP OVER AND COLLECT. :)
EVE.X
Too think I write fantasy and haven't written a tavern yet. Well, a pub in a short story. But, yeah. Bars are fun to write about. There's so much to play with and there's an energy about the scene that plays out in the reader's mind. :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting idea... after all, a bar scene can fit into any type of story.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm missing something. I grew up in an extended family that is very anti-alcohol. I've never, to my knowledge, been in a bar and never had a desire to drink alcohol. Then I married a man with a strong Irish heritage and yep, there's alcohol a plenty at all their family gatherings. I still fail to get it though. Alas.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, my fantasy world is based on a period of time when beer wasn't really so much a social thing as the best kind of sustenance most people got.
Eve - Aww, thanks! I'll check in out.
ReplyDeleteDavid - Yup, bars are great places for conversation and confrontation!
Mish - You're so right! I've used bars for my WIPs in at least three different genres. (Okay, technically they're all variations on fantasy, but you guys probably already guessed that.)
Sarah - Oh, I like that angle - alcohol as more of staple than an indulgence. (Also, I'm now picturing Friar Tuck from Prince of Thieves saying "We're going to give thanks for our bounty...by learning about mead." Good luck with the Irish hubby! :)