I think the odd thing is the OP doesn't seem to even be familiar with small town life, let alone Southern ones. At least there are some similarities in small towns. I do think the best writers write of places and experiences that have inspired them and they know, but I'm guessing this book won't be compared to Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Pat Conroy, Zora Thurston, or Eudora Welty who all did this brilliantly, but from their experience. I'm not clear on the motivation for writing about something you know nothing about and wanting to be inspired by going there rather than having an idea already. Of course, the YA market isn't going to be in those leagues.

I really don't understand considering Aiken. It isn't that small, is part of the Augusta metro area, and was a resort area for wealthy people. I thought a small town would be under 20K population. Durham and Winston-Salem are not towns, either, they are large cities. If you really want small towns, you need to consider the goal. Now Mt Airy makes sense in that regard. Jimmy Carter was from a small town and it still is, Plains GA. Try Fayetteville or Madison GA, or Oxford MS might do it given it inspired Faulkner.

Maybe it isn't southern "vibe" the person wants but architecture and ambience of streets. Trees, gardens, victorian houses, fast food, where the kids gather, what the high school looks like, where the WalMart is, etc.

Maybe Aiken being close to UGA is even in the wind.

Meyers set it in Forks, not Seattle. Seattle would have been better. I agree that her audience wasn't reading for the setting, but it was one of the many reasons there were giant plot holes. Even her fans notice that stuff. It's bizarrely one of those books that actually makes a better movie because of how poorly Meyer knew or described the setting.

I'm not saying you have to write what you live. You don't need to know vampires to write about vampires. But you need to convince your reader that they could walk into that book and see that place and the people that inhabit it. I'm leaning towards what Christina said. (Except the bit about the YA Market. The good stuff is good.) Anyone who is so unfamiliar with small town life that they think they can get a feel for it in a week probably shouldn't be writing about small towns. A lot of your readers will be from small towns. Sometimes I'll pick up a book and get to the second chapter, and there will be some tidbit about the county fair or fishing which will make it abundantly clear that the author has never experienced either, and I'll toss the book. Because if you can't get basic research right, I'm doubting your ability to get the larger storytelling part right either.

Yesterday I watched 'Tender Mercies' which takes place in middle-of-nowhere, Texas. I'd watched it years ago and was again dumbfounded by the gut-wrenching poetry of the spare country language and, not that I'd necessarily know, how true it sounded. Using that film as an example because it's fresh in my mind, to make writing honest is the thing. Language is all a book has and I cannot imagine a week would give that insight nor can I tell from the OP's question if they can write. It seems not, but who knows.

Yes, well Tender Mercies was mostly shot in small Texas town, obviating the need for description.

While Aiken and Camden are good choices for Southern towns, they are also as Gretchen said, the horse towns. Look at Newberry, SC. Truly small, but rich in culture, growing quickly, yet still has that small town feel.

Wherever you go, look for a local tour guide and spend some time with them. (I’m good friends with the one in Newberry, and a day spent with her would give you all you need to know!). They know all about their town, and are willing to share. Hire them for personal tours for a few days, ask to be introduced to the town movers and shakers, buy them a cup of coffee or cocktail and take note of the lingo.

I will differ. I do not think a day or a few days with any local guide, no matter how good, will give anybody all they need to know to write about the place or to write a book set in that place. There are nuances of place that can not be achieved by a visit like that.

Maybe the novel in question isn't meant to be anything one might think of as literature and her target audience isn't a discriminating one. In which case, save the money, google what you imagine you need and just make it up. It'll likely be as believable as the "research" described will produce.

Anyone who sits down to write a novel is courageous, and I admire the effort. A week's visit could start a lifetime of research.

tuscanlifeedit

While I appreciate the sentiment, too many novice writers believe in the romance and stereotypes of writing and writers. This often becomes something between a distraction and an excuse. The only solution is doing the hard work, which includes comprehensive research and endless hours of rewriting.

When the OP knows the name of the barber of 20 years ago and why Jimmy Paige's boy had to leave town and go to New York, will the story become believable.

Oy vey. The OP would be wise to quit this place and never return.

The OP would be wise to seek writing advice from people who write, not travelers. And if the OP thinks it is anything less than a lot of hard work, he/she is sadly mistaken. And to offer whiskers and bread crumbs is anything but helpful.

She asked a travel question, not a writing question.

Granted, some of the comments were perhaps too blunt. Sometimes it is kinder to be blunt rather than encourage an endeavor that won't accomplish what the OP wants. She wants a place that would inspire her writing and be a good setting for the story. People are mostly pointing out that no place actually works for that. So it was about travel for writing.

She asked a travel question, not a writing question.

How did I know this was a first time poster?

<do any of you have destinations from which I could gain inspiration from?>

Sorry but that sentence does NOT inspire confidence!

One week anywhere is not enough to truly even begin to know a place, regardless of the reason you are trying to get to know it.

Of course, you might have a character who doesn't know what s/he's getting into -- and make up the rest. The best stuff is always made up.