Tips from bestselling author Robin James
Setting is more than a place — it’s a vibe
When most writers think about setting, they picture geography. Robin James, bestselling author of the Cass Leary and Mara Brent legal thriller series, thinks about it differently. For Robin, setting is a vibe. It’s the emotional atmosphere that wraps around every scene. That vibe shifts depending on your genre. A cozy mystery feels different from a romantic comedy. But in both cases, the setting does heavy lifting. It signals tone before a single plot point unfolds.
Build the world before you write the characters
Robin has a clear process when starting a new series. She builds the setting first…always. Before she develops characters, before she outlines plot, she establishes the world. She describes it as building the Barbie house before putting the Barbies in it. One of her series features a fictional northern Michigan town. Her character lives on a private island in Lake Superior. That geographic anchor came first. Everything else grew from it.
Why small towns work so well for series fiction
Small towns offer something big cities simply can’t: built-in social complexity. Everyone knows everyone. Secrets are hard to keep. Characters run into each other constantly. That dynamic creates natural story tension. It also makes connecting a series much easier. In a romance, once your couple gets their happily ever after, the story is done. But if they live in a small town, the next book simply follows a different couple in the same world. Returning readers feel at home. They already know the diner, the sheriff, and the gossip.
Real vs. fictional towns: the same pros and cons
The debate between using a real town or a fictional one has a surprisingly tidy answer. Robin puts it plainly: the pros and cons are the same. People know it — and people know it. Readers familiar with the region will catch your mistakes. They’ll also delight in the details you get right. Robin prefers fictional towns modeled on real places. As a former practicing attorney, she didn’t want readers guessing which judge or lawyer inspired a character. A fictional town gives you creative freedom. It also protects you from awkward associations.
How to build a fictional town from a real map
Robin’s approach to world-building is hands-on and surprisingly physical. She prints out an actual county map, then crosses out the real township names and writes in new ones. Fictional counties take shape by carving out sections of real ones. That process helps her visualize geography in a practical way. She knows where the interstate enters town, where the lake sits, and where a quarry might appear. Whenever the plot needs a new landmark, she simply adds one. That freedom is one of her favorite things about writing fiction.
Dig into local history for plot ideas
One of Robin’s most productive research habits is diving into the history of whatever region inspires her fictional town. Local history is full of surprises. Ghost stories, founding conflicts, forgotten landmarks — all of it can spark plot ideas. She references naming a town “Black Hand Hills” after discovering a real cliff face with a Native American black-painted handprint. That kind of detail comes from research, not invention. Most of it never makes it into the book. But it informs everything about how the place feels on the page.
The iceberg rule: know 100%, use 20%
Only about 20 to 25 percent of Robin’s setting research actually appears in her novels. The rest lives under the surface. That hidden knowledge is what makes the world feel real. Writers sometimes confuse thoroughness of research with thoroughness of description. They’re not the same thing. Readers need the tip of the iceberg. You need everything underneath. The more you know about your fictional world, the more confidently you write it, even when you’re barely describing it at all.
Mixing fictional towns with real surrounding places
Robin anchors her fictional Delphi, Michigan inside a real geographic context. She references Ann Arbor as the nearest city. She mentions the Irish Hills area. Real landmarks and actual neighboring towns give fictional places credibility. Readers start to believe the invented town exists somewhere on the map. In fact, many of Robin’s readers have tried to locate Delphi. They can’t find it because it doesn’t exist. But if you drove through the Irish Hills region of Michigan, you’d feel like you were there.
Be careful with real businesses and real people
A common question for fiction writers: can you use a real business by name? Robin’s legal background makes her cautious here. Her general advice is to avoid it, especially if the business appears in any negative context. The fictional disclaimer at the front of a book offers some protection. But it’s not a guarantee. If you want to name a real business, ask permission first. The risk isn’t always worth it. Creating a fictional version of a beloved local diner takes five minutes. Avoiding a lawsuit takes much longer.
Climate and geography shape character behavior
Setting isn’t just about place. It’s about season, weather, and landscape. Robin writes Michigan winters with potholes and all. She writes the way summer draws people to the lakes. Those seasonal details signal authenticity to local readers immediately. Climate also shapes character behavior naturally. A character rushing to beat a snowstorm makes different decisions than one in a July heat wave. Geography gives you story pressure for free. Use it.
Introducing setting without info dumps
New writers often struggle with the balance between too much and too little setting description. Robin’s editing rule is practical. She aims for no more than one paragraph of pure description per chapter. The rest gets woven into action and dialogue. She doesn’t describe eye color or hair color unless it matters. Her style is direct and to the point. Flavor comes in small doses — enough to paint the picture, not enough to stop the story. If you catch yourself writing paragraphs of landscape in the middle of a tense scene, cut it down.
Use setting as a launching point for each scene
In Robin’s Mara Brent series, almost every book opens at the crime scene. That’s a deliberate structural choice. She takes readers immediately to a specific place: a quarry, a lakeside path, a back road, and gives them a brief history of what that location meant to the town before the crime. One paragraph. Then the story begins. That technique does double duty. It introduces the setting organically. It also creates instant emotional stakes by contrasting the place’s past with its new, darker significance.
A series bible keeps your world consistent
Robin maintains what she calls a series bible: a running document tracking character details, geography, and plot elements across books. She admits she’s not as disciplined about it as she’d like to be. But even a loose record helps. Across a series of ten or more books, forgetting where an intersection sits or what a character’s childhood home looks like is easy. Readers notice inconsistencies. A simple document saves you from painting yourself into a corner.
Setting becomes character when you treat it that way
The most transferable insight from Robin’s approach is this: treat your setting the way you treat your characters. Give it history, personality, and quirks. Know its secrets even if you never share them all. Shows like Justified, Fargo, and Longmire all do this well. The place shapes the people who live there. It limits their options, expands their opportunities, and colors every decision they make. When setting works at that level, readers don’t just visit your world. They remember it long after the story ends.
About Robin James
Robin James is a USA Today bestselling author of legal thrillers set in small-town Michigan and Ohio. She is best known for the Cass Leary Legal Thriller Series and the Mara Brent Legal Thriller Series, both praised for their richly drawn settings and propulsive courtroom drama. Before writing fiction full time, Robin practiced law for more than two decades. She brings that insider expertise to every page. Her books are available at major retailers and you can learn more at robinjamesbooks.com.
Try out Marlowe, our analytical A.I., for a critique of your novel: authors.ai/marlowe/
Editor’s note: This blog post was written based on a previous First Draft Friday conversation between Alessandra Torre and Robin James.
