“A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.” – Stephen King

I have been struggling with setting in my manuscripts for as long as I can remember. Of course, I had a revelation when I least expected it.

I was on my way of picking up a package and while I was walking, I twirled. It’s something I love to do – it brings me joy.

As I looked down at my body twirling, I realised why I, Cliffordene, have not mastered yet. I use mastered here loosely because I don’t think any author truly ever master’s writing. It keeps evolving and you should too.

In literature, the setting is the time, location, and physical environment of a narrative. A setting can be a specific geographical location, a historical era, or a fictional location or world. Other setting examples include the modern day, or in an unknown time and place, such as the future.

I realised that setting isn’t just about time, location, and physical environment. For me, it’s about how the character takes up space within that setting. I always tried to focus on painting and decorating the room for my readers, but the character experiences the room truly makes it real to me.

If I know how the character experiences the room, I can also see how the setting influences the character’s actions.

This is not something profound but while I looked down at me twirling and how I took up space, I immediately thought about the character I am currently writing: She is overly confident and a bit selfish, and how she takes up space and how her mother takes up space are two different things.

Here is the kicker, my readers wouldn’t know it, because I never showed them that.

Now that I know how she takes up space, I can contrast it with her mother and make the story immersive for my readers.

Come along for the journey.  Setting’s definition by Masterclass: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-setting-in-writing-plus-dan-browns-5-tips-on-writing-setting