Setting the Scene

Ok - so I'm a few days late - oops!

From past critiques, I have been told that my description of setting is pretty good. Ok, so I can paint a picture (which, by no means is a small task), but blue skies and fields of green do not a story make.

So from these comments from fellow writers, I started to wonder – how do you set a scene?

First and foremost, the setting has to be COMPLIMENTARY to the scene, NOT the focal point. To show an impending doom, have a dark and stormy sky. To show happiness and new beginnings, weave in bright sunshine. You get the drift.

Sometimes a writer falls into a pitfall, one where the writer already ‘sees’ the setting and instead jumps feet first with an action sequence or dialogue. The reader wants to know where your characters are, how they interact with their environment, how they see the world, their feelings about their surroundings. How do the FEEL about the rain (do they LOVE rainy afternoons or do their moods turn sour). You can tell a lot about your character in their observations of their surroundings. Let the reader EXPERIENCE the scene through the five senses (you don’t have to use them all, but two or three can be quite powerful). For example, let’s take a subway.

One character might see the subway as a sinister place, full of germs, blank faces, and dark corners, a suffocating force which presses down on them during their daily commute. Think how the setting might affect her sense: the loud, discomforting noise. The rushing of the air through the portals, serving to only coat her in the unknown. The thick scent of grease and underground.

A different character might view the subway as freedom, a way to quickly travel from one location to another, a place of wonder and intrigue. She might raise her face to the cool blast of air whipping through the tunnels. Enjoy the blend of cultures presented by other riders. Feel a sense of belonging, or connection, in such a large city. She might be fascinated by the clips of conversations or music she hears.

The first character might be the mousy, quiet, stubborn type who deals with the world only because she has to in order to succeed, and she refuses to let something like the subway prevent her from her dreams.

The second character might be the power hungry business woman or the easy, free-spirit. Either case, the world is their oyster and the subway is their transportation to the top.

See? So much can be SHOWN (ahhhh – the devious ‘Show Vs Tell’) about your character depending on how they see the world. But the scene is set!

Of course there is always the omnipresent view of scenes, but a reader really gets excited about learning about the characters. So weave in their views of setting as much as you can.

Remember - keep reading!

I'll continue my "To Horoscope or Not To Horoscope..." blog next week with Part II of the installation. Stay posted!

Shada