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Write Great Fiction
Description & Setting
Build a Believable World
How essential is setting to a story? How much description is too much? In what ways do details and setting tie into plot and character development? How can you use setting and description to add depth to your story?
You can find all the answers you need in Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting by author and instructor Ron Rozelle. This nuts-and-bolts guide - complete with practical exercises at the end of each chapter - gives you all the tips and techniques you need to:
Establish a realistic sense of time and place
Use description and setting to drive your story
Craft effective description and setting for different genres
Skillfully master showing vs. telling
With dozens of excerpts from some of today's most popular writers, Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting gives you all the information you need to create a sharp and believable world of people, places, events, and actions.
How essential is setting to a story? How much description is too much? In what ways do details and setting tie into plot and character development? How can you use setting and description to add depth to your story?
You can find all the answers you need in Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting by author and instructor Ron Rozelle. This nuts-and-bolts guide - complete with practical exercises at the end of each chapter - gives you all the tips and techniques you need to:
Establish a realistic sense of time and place
Use description and setting to drive your story
Craft effective description and setting for different genres
Skillfully master showing vs. telling
With dozens of excerpts from some of today's most popular writers, Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting gives you all the information you need to create a sharp and believable world of people, places, events, and actions.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
131 people are currently reading
1338 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 10, 2017
Writing books are so dififcult to rate, because their value is in how they improve my writing or give me inspiration/insights into writing. If it tells me something I already know, then it's "not as good" as a book that told me something new. But to another reader, the "obvious" information may be something they've never known, and have great leaps in their writing progress as a result.
So, for me at least, this book covered a lot of things I knew, but a few different ways to approach descriptive writing. My favorite thing in the book was the passages from different novels. Rozelle has a terrific eye for picking beautiful passages. I read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer because the passage from this book was amazing. Really, if you're not a writer but simply love books with great description, pick up this book and flip through to find the excerpts from other novels. You can create a "to read" list just from that.
So, for me at least, this book covered a lot of things I knew, but a few different ways to approach descriptive writing. My favorite thing in the book was the passages from different novels. Rozelle has a terrific eye for picking beautiful passages. I read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer because the passage from this book was amazing. Really, if you're not a writer but simply love books with great description, pick up this book and flip through to find the excerpts from other novels. You can create a "to read" list just from that.
Read
January 25, 2012Definitely a book you want to pick up. This book doesn't just tackle description in regards to setting, it tackles setting and how it effects the flow of your story, how it can effect your themes, your characters and then it tackles how you'll want to go about describing pretty much anything in your work, characters, themes, moods, keeping your dialogue paced well in relation to using dialogue tags and, of course, how to go about describing the physical setting itself.
There's even a section where Rozelle gives a brief (and unfortunately in some of the genre's cases, very brief) overview of how the setting and use of description would work for each genre. Even if you're confident that you've got description and setting in the bag, take a look. I promise you there are a few things that will surprise you. And not because you didn't KNOW them but maybe it's something you just altogether forgot about, one of those pesky common mistakes.
My only qualm with the book overall is the language used within the book itself. It's both useful and incredibly annoying. If you're paying attention you'll be able to pick out points where Rozelle uses a technique that was just described, so it's a quaint way to see it in action without being told, pay attention to this! On the other hand, I did roll my eyes once or twice and go "Okay, we get it, I know how to use a simile and a metaphor." Or, "Yes, I see how the use of shorter sentences along side longer sentences can elicit different moods and be useful in terms of establishing your voice." But really, if that's the only thing wrong with the book, and I really think it is, it's worth a look.
If anyone is still in doubt about whether or not the book will be useful, here's a quick look at what each of the twelve chapters discuss:
Chapter One: The introduction, this chapter looks at just why you should give a hoot about setting and description, the functions they serve, along with some examples.
Chapter Two: Entitled 'Learning to Pay Attention', that's exactly what this chapter covers. The little things you should pay attention to, when, where, what you may want to consider jotting down for use later and how you'll use it.
Chapter Three: One of my favorite chapters and one I will refer to pretty much for as long as I'm writing, this chapter reviews all the tools you have available to you as a writer. No, not the difference between a keyboard and notepad but the difference between similes, metaphors and analogies. The differences between parenthesis and dashes, colons and semicolons, cadence and repetition. When and how you'll want to consider using back stories, flashbacks and future stories. Personification, symbolism, allusion and even onomatopoeia! This chapter covers it all. A great deal of it you already know but may not have known the name for it (for me that was 'cadence', new what it was, not what it was called). For others it's just nice to have a once and for all definition and rubric for which is which.
Chapter Four: My second favorite chapter, Showing Vs Telling. If ever you have had an issue with this law of writing, understanding the difference, knowing when to use one or the other - yes, you will want to use both or anything in between, this is the chapter for you. With plenty of examples of not just how and when to use 'show' but how and when using 'tell' can be appropriate, this chapter was one of the chapters that made this purchase worth it.
Chapter Five: The other chapter that made it all worth while and my third favorite (how nice, to have them all in one little clump like that!) this chapter covers Sensory Description. That means using all five of the senses to set up a scene, mood, environment, whatever! and not just sight, which is what we tend to fall back on because it's the easiest. It's easy to say this table is old and worn, the edges faded and chipped. It is much more difficult to describe that same table or even the room the table is in by utilizing the other senses. This chapter will help clear up some of the confusion and point you in the right direction.
Chapter Six: Another chapter that's going to get a permanent bookmark in it, this chapter is entirely devoted to describing your characters. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, what their needs and wants are. How you can use other characters, setting, and the knowledge you have about the character to give readers information without putting together a list. (Rozelle also makes specific mention to the chapter prior, sensory description, and how you can use that to your advantage here. This referencing to other chapters or pages is done often and as a friendly, unassuming 'reminder'.)
Chapter Seven: Here we get a look at 'Time and Place' and how to use both to fully develop your world. Macrocosm and microcosms are both discussed as well as remembering things like weather and geography and how both will not only establish your setting but will undoubtedly affect your character in one way or another.
Chapter Eight: This is the chapter that looks at description and setting in the various genres, how they differ and how you can use them to help construct a better story. Historical Fiction gets the most attention here while Science Fiction & Fantasy barely composes the length of a tweet.
Chapter Nine: Using your setting and description to help move your story along. How you can use it to establish mood and tone by your characters actions but also how you can use description and setting to help illuminate some of the conflicts in your novel. The example used for this one is an excerpt from Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome . And while I had hoped to never read a line from that book again after high school, I can't deny that the excerpt chosen illustrates the point at hand exceedingly well.
Chapter Ten: Points you will want to consider with your title, first sentence, first paragraph and first page. Also, how to use tidbits from reality without simply copying and pasting.
Chapter Eleven: How to recognize when you're using too much or too little and how to deal with 'clutter'. Issues discussed are: repetition, didacticism (that's a sub-title but I'm not sure it's actually a word lol. Didactic, yes. Didacticism, not so sure!), and useless information, among others.
Chapter Twelve: Finally, putting it all together. Finding a time that's set aside just for you to write, using little reminders and notes on your settings, as well as a few notes on the revision process.
I hope being able to see exactly what each chapter tackles will help you make an educated decision on whether or not this book is for you. One of the aspects that sold me, was that it isn't just a manual on how to describe a gorgeous sunset or a dusty, old library, it discusses (and in some cases itemizes) all of the tools, devices, do's and don'ts you will need to use, remember and pull out of your bag of tricks in order to craft a successful novel. And not successful in a monetary or publicity sense, successful in that it does what it is meant to do, tell a story.
-Jace
There's even a section where Rozelle gives a brief (and unfortunately in some of the genre's cases, very brief) overview of how the setting and use of description would work for each genre. Even if you're confident that you've got description and setting in the bag, take a look. I promise you there are a few things that will surprise you. And not because you didn't KNOW them but maybe it's something you just altogether forgot about, one of those pesky common mistakes.
My only qualm with the book overall is the language used within the book itself. It's both useful and incredibly annoying. If you're paying attention you'll be able to pick out points where Rozelle uses a technique that was just described, so it's a quaint way to see it in action without being told, pay attention to this! On the other hand, I did roll my eyes once or twice and go "Okay, we get it, I know how to use a simile and a metaphor." Or, "Yes, I see how the use of shorter sentences along side longer sentences can elicit different moods and be useful in terms of establishing your voice." But really, if that's the only thing wrong with the book, and I really think it is, it's worth a look.
If anyone is still in doubt about whether or not the book will be useful, here's a quick look at what each of the twelve chapters discuss:
Chapter One: The introduction, this chapter looks at just why you should give a hoot about setting and description, the functions they serve, along with some examples.
Chapter Two: Entitled 'Learning to Pay Attention', that's exactly what this chapter covers. The little things you should pay attention to, when, where, what you may want to consider jotting down for use later and how you'll use it.
Chapter Three: One of my favorite chapters and one I will refer to pretty much for as long as I'm writing, this chapter reviews all the tools you have available to you as a writer. No, not the difference between a keyboard and notepad but the difference between similes, metaphors and analogies. The differences between parenthesis and dashes, colons and semicolons, cadence and repetition. When and how you'll want to consider using back stories, flashbacks and future stories. Personification, symbolism, allusion and even onomatopoeia! This chapter covers it all. A great deal of it you already know but may not have known the name for it (for me that was 'cadence', new what it was, not what it was called). For others it's just nice to have a once and for all definition and rubric for which is which.
Chapter Four: My second favorite chapter, Showing Vs Telling. If ever you have had an issue with this law of writing, understanding the difference, knowing when to use one or the other - yes, you will want to use both or anything in between, this is the chapter for you. With plenty of examples of not just how and when to use 'show' but how and when using 'tell' can be appropriate, this chapter was one of the chapters that made this purchase worth it.
Chapter Five: The other chapter that made it all worth while and my third favorite (how nice, to have them all in one little clump like that!) this chapter covers Sensory Description. That means using all five of the senses to set up a scene, mood, environment, whatever! and not just sight, which is what we tend to fall back on because it's the easiest. It's easy to say this table is old and worn, the edges faded and chipped. It is much more difficult to describe that same table or even the room the table is in by utilizing the other senses. This chapter will help clear up some of the confusion and point you in the right direction.
Chapter Six: Another chapter that's going to get a permanent bookmark in it, this chapter is entirely devoted to describing your characters. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, what their needs and wants are. How you can use other characters, setting, and the knowledge you have about the character to give readers information without putting together a list. (Rozelle also makes specific mention to the chapter prior, sensory description, and how you can use that to your advantage here. This referencing to other chapters or pages is done often and as a friendly, unassuming 'reminder'.)
Chapter Seven: Here we get a look at 'Time and Place' and how to use both to fully develop your world. Macrocosm and microcosms are both discussed as well as remembering things like weather and geography and how both will not only establish your setting but will undoubtedly affect your character in one way or another.
Chapter Eight: This is the chapter that looks at description and setting in the various genres, how they differ and how you can use them to help construct a better story. Historical Fiction gets the most attention here while Science Fiction & Fantasy barely composes the length of a tweet.
Chapter Nine: Using your setting and description to help move your story along. How you can use it to establish mood and tone by your characters actions but also how you can use description and setting to help illuminate some of the conflicts in your novel. The example used for this one is an excerpt from Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome . And while I had hoped to never read a line from that book again after high school, I can't deny that the excerpt chosen illustrates the point at hand exceedingly well.
Chapter Ten: Points you will want to consider with your title, first sentence, first paragraph and first page. Also, how to use tidbits from reality without simply copying and pasting.
Chapter Eleven: How to recognize when you're using too much or too little and how to deal with 'clutter'. Issues discussed are: repetition, didacticism (that's a sub-title but I'm not sure it's actually a word lol. Didactic, yes. Didacticism, not so sure!), and useless information, among others.
Chapter Twelve: Finally, putting it all together. Finding a time that's set aside just for you to write, using little reminders and notes on your settings, as well as a few notes on the revision process.
I hope being able to see exactly what each chapter tackles will help you make an educated decision on whether or not this book is for you. One of the aspects that sold me, was that it isn't just a manual on how to describe a gorgeous sunset or a dusty, old library, it discusses (and in some cases itemizes) all of the tools, devices, do's and don'ts you will need to use, remember and pull out of your bag of tricks in order to craft a successful novel. And not successful in a monetary or publicity sense, successful in that it does what it is meant to do, tell a story.
-Jace
April 13, 2011
After having read five or six books recently this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. Highly instructive and informative. A real gem!!!!
March 3, 2009
After starting the journey of becoming a published author years ago, I've come across many "self-help" books on how to write a novel, and my experience is that 90% of them are a load of rubbish. This one fortunately for you and me, is not.
If you're serious about becoming a writer and you've already begun the journey, then this is one for the collection. I'm not positive that you will come back to it afterwards like Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein or your English Grammar reference book, but it will help you write/tell your story better.
Specifically it gives you examples of how to:
1. Show vs Tell (a common problem with most new authors)
2. Description (description for literature vs description for popular fiction)
3. Characters
4. Timing
5. Grammar (a very brief section that you'll probably already know if you've been writing for some time now)
There is other useful info as well, but these are just a few.
Lastly, unlike most authors in this genre, he does not solely reference his own books. He uses a wide range of writers encompassing literature as well as popular modern fiction.
If you're serious about becoming a writer and you've already begun the journey, then this is one for the collection. I'm not positive that you will come back to it afterwards like Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein or your English Grammar reference book, but it will help you write/tell your story better.
Specifically it gives you examples of how to:
1. Show vs Tell (a common problem with most new authors)
2. Description (description for literature vs description for popular fiction)
3. Characters
4. Timing
5. Grammar (a very brief section that you'll probably already know if you've been writing for some time now)
There is other useful info as well, but these are just a few.
Lastly, unlike most authors in this genre, he does not solely reference his own books. He uses a wide range of writers encompassing literature as well as popular modern fiction.
October 12, 2019
If there’s one thing I learned from this book, it’s the art of Wordsmithing; the careful selection of words and phrases to enhance the readers’ experience. This technique can greatly improve the craft of a writer. I will re-reference this book from time to time. It has many useful examples and is perhaps a great source for getting ideas for my own work. I highly recommend this book for authors to be!
November 16, 2020
I actually had a really enjoyable time reading this book in the Write Great Fiction series. It wasn't by James Bell the way the others have been. It was a fresh voice and personally I enjoyed Rozelle's style more than Bell's. He was clear and his humor added to the teaching.
As to the content itself, it is very clear and user friendly (i.e. the succinct chapter reviews added in the back of the book for future reference).
Overall I was not disappointed.
As to the content itself, it is very clear and user friendly (i.e. the succinct chapter reviews added in the back of the book for future reference).
Overall I was not disappointed.
September 10, 2017
I learned a lot but a book has to hold your attention in order to inform you. It was easy to get distracted from this one.
June 29, 2013
I have both this version and also the older Elements of Fiction writing book on 'Setting' by Bickham. Both were excellent, but I found the older version to be slightly more helpful in fleshing out the setting-as-a-character in my epic fantasy work. This is the newer of the two and it relies more on internet-research. When it comes to setting, there is nothing like being there and speaking to people who have been there to get a 'feel' for a place, I have discovered. But once again, both books were excellent. For me, I preferred the older version.
December 6, 2009
Good book. All of the titles in this series are worth buying if you want to get published.You have to learn the techniques of what makes a novelist succeed in the 21st century - or carry on writing tomes for yourself.
April 3, 2018
Description has been a bit of a weak spot for me. This has been pointed out by my editor and, at times, by the odd reader so I was aware I needed help. Being a bit of a fan of Readers’ Digest books, I grabbed this one while looking for my next book on writing (I try to always have a book on writing on my currently reading list.)
I’m actually satisfied with this one, and found it better than some other RD offerings, if only because this one mostly delivered on what it set out to do without getting too boring except for the odd chapter and without depending on very specific literary/cinematic references to be understandable. I mean, this book does at times depend on references, but most of the time the text it’s referring to is reproduced right there so you can see most of what the author is referring to.
Not that the book never misses the mark. The thing here is, this is a general guide on description and setting. The chapter where it attempts to help with description on specialized fiction might as well not be in the book, for it becomes so general and at times detached from the actual genres it might as well not be there.
For me, it was very useful – but I was looking for ways to make my writing richer, and trying to learn how to more naturally insert description into my writing. If that’s what you need, and I’m sure I’m not the only author who could stand to learn a thing or two on that, go ahead with this. However, if your issue is not being sure on how to write a specific genre, skip this one. Whatever specialized information it has is too vague to be at all useful.
I’m actually satisfied with this one, and found it better than some other RD offerings, if only because this one mostly delivered on what it set out to do without getting too boring except for the odd chapter and without depending on very specific literary/cinematic references to be understandable. I mean, this book does at times depend on references, but most of the time the text it’s referring to is reproduced right there so you can see most of what the author is referring to.
Not that the book never misses the mark. The thing here is, this is a general guide on description and setting. The chapter where it attempts to help with description on specialized fiction might as well not be in the book, for it becomes so general and at times detached from the actual genres it might as well not be there.
For me, it was very useful – but I was looking for ways to make my writing richer, and trying to learn how to more naturally insert description into my writing. If that’s what you need, and I’m sure I’m not the only author who could stand to learn a thing or two on that, go ahead with this. However, if your issue is not being sure on how to write a specific genre, skip this one. Whatever specialized information it has is too vague to be at all useful.
December 31, 2017
Books that offer writing help are like Road Maps: Their value and usefulness depends upon where you are. Since I had questions about how to effectively create a sense of place, this book had some great ideas. But it goes further, giving hints on character descriptions and using all the tools in a writer's toolbox. More info than I needed.
Ron Rozelle does a good job of presenting the information, with some telling examples, and a fine appendix that reprises what was said earlier in the book. He wanted the reader to have no excuse for not understanding what he was communicating. He does a fine job.
So, this is a fine book that covers many of the fundamentals, although there are other books that cover them more completely and with more enthusiasm.
Ron Rozelle does a good job of presenting the information, with some telling examples, and a fine appendix that reprises what was said earlier in the book. He wanted the reader to have no excuse for not understanding what he was communicating. He does a fine job.
So, this is a fine book that covers many of the fundamentals, although there are other books that cover them more completely and with more enthusiasm.
January 12, 2018
This book covers the main points and strategies for writing description and setting, but it didn't have a lot in the way of technique. He used a lot of examples, and sometimes would simply say, there. Read more like that. I also didn't find the exercises very useful. They were rather involved, and would have been more useful if I hadn't been in the midst of editing my work in progress.
Another thing that made me frequently start skimming was that the author was wordy and long-winded. He took paragraphs to get to the point at times, and often interjected with irrelevant asides. I think he was trying to establish a conversational tone, but it just seemed to get in the way.
So, my final opinion is meh. You can find a better book to help you with your writing.
Another thing that made me frequently start skimming was that the author was wordy and long-winded. He took paragraphs to get to the point at times, and often interjected with irrelevant asides. I think he was trying to establish a conversational tone, but it just seemed to get in the way.
So, my final opinion is meh. You can find a better book to help you with your writing.
March 30, 2019
Outstanding book on the writer's craft. Lots of helpful examples.
This book is very instructive for both beginning and experienced writers. If you are already a writer, this book will give you lots of ideas that will make your manuscript even better. One thing I really liked was that when the author shared a particular tip, he quoted examples from noted writers that illustrate how they put that skill into practice in their own novels.
This book is very instructive for both beginning and experienced writers. If you are already a writer, this book will give you lots of ideas that will make your manuscript even better. One thing I really liked was that when the author shared a particular tip, he quoted examples from noted writers that illustrate how they put that skill into practice in their own novels.
January 1, 2020
This Write Great Fiction series is awesome and probably my favorite set of writing books after reading hundreds of fiction writing books over the years.. Especially the Summary in the back of each book. But don't let that fool you into thinking you shouldn't read the full book and simply skip to the summary.
January 31, 2022
A book concentrated on bringing description and settings into your stories.
There is a lot of helpful technique, and advise in this book. You are given exercises to practice what has been presented in each chapter.
What I also appreciated is the guidance on what not to do, what to keep out, what to avoid.
There is a lot of helpful technique, and advise in this book. You are given exercises to practice what has been presented in each chapter.
What I also appreciated is the guidance on what not to do, what to keep out, what to avoid.
April 16, 2022
It has some good easy to digest info. However it is a bit outdated, changing to more neutral pronouns, they/them/the reader/the writer etc would go a long way to making it a better read. Maybe updating "Palm Pilot" to "smartphone" would be good too, haha, so many youngins likely don't even know what a palm pilot is!
January 5, 2024
Description and Setting was insightful and had my brain working in overdrive the entire time I read it, and even well after. The exercises have me thinking each time I open my laptop to work on my story. I know what to look for when I revise what I had written before reading this book and know that what I’ve written since is stronger than it would have been without Ron’s work.
February 7, 2018
One of the better craft books I've read and like the others in the Write Great Fiction series has lots of helpful information. I particularly enjoyed all the references to wordsmithing. Being a wordsmith is the ambition of all writers I think. If you are into writing I recommend this book.
October 7, 2018
I think this is a great book for any writer who wants to improve his craft. It is focused on how to do better descriptions and set your story with many examples and lots of practice exercises to apply to your own manuscript. I know my novel is going to be better thanks to this book.
December 27, 2017
The more I can learn about writing the better. This book is easy to follow and understand. It will definitely improve anyone's writing.
August 7, 2018
The book is great!
August 8, 2018
Must read, if you want to know anything about the practice of description & setting writing. Easy and informative read. Great reference.
September 5, 2018
Book has a lot of practical advice, however it's missing wow factor.
November 5, 2018
Good exercises to get you writing better descriptions and settings.
November 18, 2018
If you're a beginner and need help description and setting this book will be helpful to you.
An excellent guidance manual on how-to with examples.
An excellent guidance manual on how-to with examples.
January 11, 2019
Excellent book for learning about the art of writing.
February 7, 2019
Good concrete examples on what to do and not to do while crafting your story. Very helpful.
May 7, 2020
Description & Settings in 195 pages.
August 5, 2020
These series of books set me off on the right trek in understanding how to write better. Easy to read. Easy to understand with concrete examples.
September 14, 2020
I read this for the writing course I am taking. I got so really good information to help me with my stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews