More About Smalltown - People

I thought this little discussion about worldbuilding would be one simple post, but the discussion around making the world that is Smalltown, USA, has drawn some interest and now demands further discussion. Therefore, today will be some comments about the good (or bad) people of our little town, and how to forge both individuals and the town's public identity.

First, a disclaimer. To be fair, everyone has their idea of what a small, little town should be like and how its people behave. Whether it's a peaceful rural town deep in red-state territory where everyone has pickup trucks and distinct opinions, or its an eclectic mish-mosh of different people from different places, all putting together some awkwardly-designed, Frankenstein's-monster collection of an identity, the important part is that it's yours, and your job is to make it come alive. If someone says, "People aren't like that in the places I go to," well, they have never been to Smalltown. Your responsibility is to decide whether they are projecting their opinions onto your ideas, or possibly you're not communicating your locale as clearly as your vision demands.

Now with that out of the way, think about what the average citizen is like in your little town, and I mean this in the most boring way possible. Are the people there generally older than the average town, are there more kids than usual, is it mostly families, retirees. empty-nesters? None of your characters have to represent that exact demographic, but as you communicate the feeling of the town's people, you establish a baseline for the reader to work with. In a quiet little Midwest town you might envision mostly middle-aged folk, most people familiar with each others' faces, everyone walking when they run their errands - the simple life. That's your baseline, and the background characters meet those criteria.

Once you have that in place (and you can probably see where this is going), the introduction of a character who doesn't fit the mold now just leaps off the page. The character doesn't have to be a brash city kid with a loud Dodge Challenger zooming down the streets to stand out - they just need that one little difference. If they are the new face in town and everyone looks at this unfamiliar person, this becomes a chance to show the character's response to this attention. Do they want to fit in, do they care, or do they feel uncomfortable? How do they respond when a cashier wants to see their ID - and it's out-of-state? The character's every action is now very much on display center stage because their differences have been highlighted. 

The importance of knowing your townspeople and identifying who they are viewed as a whole may sound cliché, but there's a reason it has lasted so long. In a crowd of people in expensive suits, silk ties, and expensive watches, the one person without a jacket is the one who gets noticed. This is exactly who you want your character to be..