Ready. SET, Write
Setting can be one of the hardest aspects of your work to master. It is a challenge to give your reader a clear picture of where your story is taking place but not to get bogged down in the tiny details of a wall. I loved the settings I wrote in The Feather Trilogy. My favorite places were Nathaniel's cabin, Lucy's dorm and Malachi's castle in FAITH. My absolute favorite though, was writing Hell in Book 2, GATES. It wasn't easy and it took me months to get it just right. I wanted it to feel oppressively hot and dry but not in a natural way. It was important that the air felt toxic, and that this toxicity passed onto the characters, especially Lucy. I loved Random's ummmm....apartment? I guess you could call it that. I wanted his surroundings to be just as bizarre as his name and personality.
To this day, I read over the Hell portions of GATES and shake my head. I don't know if it speaks to my sanity when I know I wrote something so very demented.
I find that new authors struggle with setting so here are some tips for getting your setting just right.
1) Ask yourself how important this location is.
Don't spend a paragraph describing a convenience store that your character is going to be in for seven seconds. If it isn't important to your character, it isn't important to your reader. Don't describe things for the sake of describing them. If, however, this is the place where most of your action is taking place or where the heft of your emotional changes are going to occur, then describe it, well. Take as much time as you need to help your reader feel like they are a part of this place. The whole point is to draw your reader into the story. By describing vital settings, you help do that.
2) Pay attention to who your characters are.
If you are describing the setting of a little girl's grade one class room from the perspective of the child, don't use the word, 'pedagogical'. See the landscape through your character's eyes and this will help your reader do the same. When we describe setting with our characters in mind, it keeps the reader present and engaged in your work and your characters. A jarring description of something or an odd comment about a chair can pop your reader right out of the story and it's tough to get them back in again.
3) Be realistic.
Regardless of when or where your story is taking place, the basic understanding is that the standard laws of physics and gravity will apply. Therefore, your castle turret cannot be three miles high. This is physically impossible. A five thousand pound rock, cannot be resting on a twig. this too, is physically impossible and you will lose your reader. You never, ever, want your reader to stop reading, lean back and mutter, "bullshit". Never. So fact check your landscapes and your settings. Did they make maple chairs in Boston in the mid 17th century? I have no idea. If you want to write it into your book though, you better know. I thank the writing Gods often for the power of Google.
4) If you don't want to be realistic, than be specific.
You may wish to create a world that doesn't follow the scientific laws of our planet. I tip my hat to you because that is a crazy amount of imagination. In some circles, I'm considered basically insane and I would never attempt to create a world without gravity. You win all the mental marbles for that one. If you wish to describe the setting of a place that is not earth and does not behave like earth, be specific. If you want to create this world, then create it well. Talk about every detail, breakdown the physicality of the experiences your characters are having. If physics is not a thing in your world, find a way to explain how your characters move and function in that space. Don't get too technical, we don't need an instruction manual, but be very specific.
5) Use the senses.
Don't just tell your reader what something looks like. Our memories are based on all five of our senses, so to merely use the eyes is a waste. Tell your reader how it smells and how the air feels on your character's skin. Tell them what this place reminds your characters of and why they like or don't like it. Craft your settings like a painter constructing a new piece of art. A touch of blue here, a whiff of lavender here, a hand traced lightly over a silk scarf or a carpet of grass. Use your talent and take your time.
6) Don't use words you don't know.
A thesaurus is a great resource but for the love of God, put it down every once in a while. Use it when you are stuck for another word. Use it when you feel like you have used the word, 'blue' way too many times. Don't use it every single sentence because eventually, you will become addicted to it and before you know it, you will be using, 'panache' , 'soporific' or 'agastopia' in a children's book and I'm going to have to come over there and beat your bloody with said thesaurus.
Don't be afraid to write settings, the more you do it, the better you will get at it. Promise. So, homework is for your to create a series of settings and see how it goes. Try writing settings for; an old house (possibly haunted), a beach cliff, a carnival and a modern apartment building. Let me know how it goes.
Ready...SET...write!
True Love
L
To this day, I read over the Hell portions of GATES and shake my head. I don't know if it speaks to my sanity when I know I wrote something so very demented.
I find that new authors struggle with setting so here are some tips for getting your setting just right.
1) Ask yourself how important this location is.
Don't spend a paragraph describing a convenience store that your character is going to be in for seven seconds. If it isn't important to your character, it isn't important to your reader. Don't describe things for the sake of describing them. If, however, this is the place where most of your action is taking place or where the heft of your emotional changes are going to occur, then describe it, well. Take as much time as you need to help your reader feel like they are a part of this place. The whole point is to draw your reader into the story. By describing vital settings, you help do that.
2) Pay attention to who your characters are.
If you are describing the setting of a little girl's grade one class room from the perspective of the child, don't use the word, 'pedagogical'. See the landscape through your character's eyes and this will help your reader do the same. When we describe setting with our characters in mind, it keeps the reader present and engaged in your work and your characters. A jarring description of something or an odd comment about a chair can pop your reader right out of the story and it's tough to get them back in again.
3) Be realistic.
Regardless of when or where your story is taking place, the basic understanding is that the standard laws of physics and gravity will apply. Therefore, your castle turret cannot be three miles high. This is physically impossible. A five thousand pound rock, cannot be resting on a twig. this too, is physically impossible and you will lose your reader. You never, ever, want your reader to stop reading, lean back and mutter, "bullshit". Never. So fact check your landscapes and your settings. Did they make maple chairs in Boston in the mid 17th century? I have no idea. If you want to write it into your book though, you better know. I thank the writing Gods often for the power of Google.
4) If you don't want to be realistic, than be specific.
You may wish to create a world that doesn't follow the scientific laws of our planet. I tip my hat to you because that is a crazy amount of imagination. In some circles, I'm considered basically insane and I would never attempt to create a world without gravity. You win all the mental marbles for that one. If you wish to describe the setting of a place that is not earth and does not behave like earth, be specific. If you want to create this world, then create it well. Talk about every detail, breakdown the physicality of the experiences your characters are having. If physics is not a thing in your world, find a way to explain how your characters move and function in that space. Don't get too technical, we don't need an instruction manual, but be very specific.
5) Use the senses.
Don't just tell your reader what something looks like. Our memories are based on all five of our senses, so to merely use the eyes is a waste. Tell your reader how it smells and how the air feels on your character's skin. Tell them what this place reminds your characters of and why they like or don't like it. Craft your settings like a painter constructing a new piece of art. A touch of blue here, a whiff of lavender here, a hand traced lightly over a silk scarf or a carpet of grass. Use your talent and take your time.
6) Don't use words you don't know.
A thesaurus is a great resource but for the love of God, put it down every once in a while. Use it when you are stuck for another word. Use it when you feel like you have used the word, 'blue' way too many times. Don't use it every single sentence because eventually, you will become addicted to it and before you know it, you will be using, 'panache' , 'soporific' or 'agastopia' in a children's book and I'm going to have to come over there and beat your bloody with said thesaurus.
Don't be afraid to write settings, the more you do it, the better you will get at it. Promise. So, homework is for your to create a series of settings and see how it goes. Try writing settings for; an old house (possibly haunted), a beach cliff, a carnival and a modern apartment building. Let me know how it goes.
Ready...SET...write!
True Love
L
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