“The artist doesn’t have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read reviews, and the ones who want to write don’t have the time to read reviews.”
William Faulkner
A sharp reminder that the work matters more than the noise around it. Writers grow by writing, revising, and staying committed to the page.
You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.
Octavia E. Butler
Some places stay with us long after we leave them. They return in memory through light, weather, conversation, and the feeling of having once stood exactly where we were meant to be.
The most wonderful places are not always the grandest. Sometimes they are quiet streets, familiar shorelines, train platforms, small towns, or rooms where something important was said and understood. What makes them lasting is the way they shape our inner lives.
A meaningful place does more than surround us. It becomes part of how we remember, imagine, and hope.
For readers and writers alike, place is never just background. It carries history, emotion, and possibility. A setting can deepen a story, reveal character, and remind us that every life unfolds somewhere specific and real.
Whether discovered through travel, revisited through memory, or encountered in fiction, the places that matter most often teach us how to see more clearly. They invite reflection and give shape to experience.
Think of a place that has remained important to you. What happened there? What did it change? The answers are often the beginning of a story worth telling.
If you enjoy fiction and reflections shaped by memory, history, and place, explore more books and updates from Kevin Parham.
Whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction, I start with a simple question: where does this happen, and what does that place demand of the characters? Setting isn’t wallpaper—it’s pressure, history, and opportunity all at once.
The goal isn’t to show off research—it’s to make the reader feel oriented and confident. When the world feels true, the emotional stakes land harder, and the characters can take center stage.
Research is the scaffolding. The story is the building people actually come to live in.
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