Novel setting - real towns or made-up?

Question

When you read novels set in small towns, do you prefer them to be actual towns? Or are made-up towns acceptable?

I'm not talking big cities, like L.A., NYC, etc. I'm talking about almost rural locations, small towns like Horton, Kansas or Ellettsville, Indiana. Or does it matter to you?

Answer 1

Real towns definitely. It makes it seem like you can get in your car and drive there and it will be just the way the author described it.

Answer 2

Well, if you are doing a novel that exists in present day, it would be good to use a town that exists, and do a little research on it. That way, the really picky readers that look it up, will realize that you did your homework, and probably won't check to see if the street names are right and such...they will just believe you because you are using a real town. Still, made up towns are a safe bet, because no one can prove you wrong on the street names and such!!

Answer 3

Hmmm.

I really prefer knowing the town actually exists if I really fall in love with the book, so I guess I like an author that does their homework and picks a place that's real.

Answer 4

it depends on the nature of the book.
if the book is fiction and set in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere that doesn't exist, fine, i don't care really.
But if the story is non-fiction, or realistic fiction, and the author has the characters running all over the town, then i'm going to want to visit it so naturally i'd want it to be real.
or if it's set in some totally random place that's in the middle of the atlantic, then i don't care...
depends on the story

Answer 5

It depends on the rest of the book.

Answer 6

It doesn't matter as long as you can imagine the place.