Setting is a vital, yet often underused element in story. Setting allows for the interaction between characters and their environment, and it weaves together a vivid world for your reader to drop into.
In this episode, I’ll share four ways to bring multi-dimensional setting into your scenes.
We’ll explore how setting influences character development, and gives the reader an immersive experience. So your setting doesn’t serve as mere backdrop, but transports readers into the world of your story.
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Episode at a glance:
[01:33] Setting is a core element of your scenes. It’s a great opportunity to set the tone or the ambiance of a scene, to create mood and reveal character. Its primary purpose is to contain the actions of each scene.
[03:33] 1 Geographical location.
Where in the world is your story set? This is the one thing you want to decide as quickly as possible because it will have more bearing on your characters than other details of setting.
[06:31] 2. Time Period
When does your story take place? What’s going on politically socially, environmentally?
[10:11] 3. Places
These are houses, rooms, bars, stores, bedrooms – any place your characters live and gather. By describing the state of a house or the state of room, you can reflect the soul of a character, create mood, or ambiance.
[13:07] 4. Culture
Culture influences how people behave, their beliefs, and their self identity. There are accents manners of speech, political values, folklore, social or religious traditions, or maybe a lack of tradition.
[16:33] As essential as setting is, if it begins taking up too much narrative space or too much focus, it’s going to distract from your characters and your story.
Learn how to launch a scene with a brief description of setting, and weave details of setting into the action.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Episode 149: 5 Essential Elements To Make A Scene
Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Bright Angel Time by Martha McFee
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Sideways by Rex Pickett
A Crime In The Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne
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