Which name of a city?

Question

Hi, for my story, should I do a real place or a made-up place with the same attributes as a real place?

My ideas are:

Melbourne (real)

Gold Coast (Real)

Lithisa (Fake)

Atluror (Fake)

Or do you have any of your own ideas?

Thanks!

P.S. My story is a romance/horror/small amount of fantasy.

Answer 1

If you're going with the fake one it requires a lot more description. If you use a real one the often tedious descriptions aren't necessary as readers already have a visual reference. But, if you're really going to use a fake city use Lithisa, because Atluror is a difficult word to scan over as you read. Lithisa would help your sentences flow much better.

Answer 2

Unless you know a whole lot about the real city (the layout of the streets, stuff like that), you should probably make one up, but keep the name realistic if it's supposed to be on Earth. Charles de Lint, when he stopped using his hometown of Ottawa so that he could have more freedom, named the made-up city Newford, which makes it fit better in the real world than if he had gotten "creative".

Answer 3

Definitely fake, it shows your imagination and is much more creative. 'Atluror' really caught my eye. Good luck in writing you story.

Answer 4

I like the fake names you made up, they are very creative.

Add me as a contact, and feel free to sned me any of your writing to read.

Good luck!

Answer 5

The fake ones are obviously fake fantasy names. Not a criticism, just a a statement.  If you're writing a fantasy with the real world as a background they'd be wrong. If it's a fantasy world, they're perfect.

I'd say go with a real city, but only if you actually know the city, as nothing spoils a book faster than a city you know and the author obviously doesn't.