Writers need to juggle a number of details when creating story from concept to novel ready—plot structure, characterization, point of view, dialogue, pacing and more. So it’s easy to understand how many writers can overlook establishing and maintaining the overall context of where the story is unfolding for the reader.
The more we, as writers, get into a story the easier to overlook what might be missing on the page. Some writers think that indicating the story is set in Melbourne or Texas or Katmandu in the spring is enough context, forgetting that most readers might have no reference as to what these settings look like in any season, and more importantly, how do the characters in the story relate to both place and season. A character born and raised in New York City would have a very different impression of a Texas spring than one born and raised in Texas.
Assuming that all readers know what you, the writer, mean by a specific time of year in a specific location leaves the overall story context vague and marginalized, if not in error.
Example, in the early draft of a story a writer from southern Alabama wrote her female character as wearing a sleeveless dress outdoors in early March in Chicago, where the average temperature in March is 450F in the day, definitely not sleeveless weather. This classic error happens when the writer makes an assumption that the Setting context, including season, is the same regardless where you live. March is spring thus it must be warm enough to wear certain clothing.
Another issue that trips up a writer is forgetting that a specific time of year in a specific location also involves the quality of light, when the sun rises and sets, which can confuse a reader by causing them to wonder why the characters are outside doing something when, where the reader resides, at that time, it’s already after dark.
Orienting the reader can be a simple telling statement such as…In November in southeastern Texas darkness falls around [time] —followed by a specific showing detail such as—preceded by the fiery red and orange sunsets the POV character has come to love. Or contrast the season and seasonal expectations with her childhood home in Nova Scotia. This uses the time of year as an opportunity to learn a bit more about the POV character and the specific details to bring your reader deeper into the story. They can now see the time of day and won’t be pulled out of the story wondering why the character is outdoors when in the reader’s world, it should be dark.
To make your story reveal stronger context, make it easier for the reader to understand:
- Overall Setting location
- Specific clarity about time of year or season
- Specific details versus vague—Artic chill vs it was chilly
Be sure to:
- Show plus Tell how the different POV characters experience the location and time of year, using it to reveal characterization, back story, and how the Setting impacts them.
- Be aware your reader may have no reference to the location, time of year, weather and light in your story’s Setting. Don’t leave them guessing.
Setting, including seasons, is an outstanding opportunity to make your story richer and more intriguing to your reader. Use the revision process to layer specific details, enough to build the larger story context and your readers will thank you.
BIO:
USA Today bestselling author, Mary Buckham writes the best-selling WRITING ACTIVE series for writers – WRITING ACTIVE SETTING and WRITING ACTIVE HOOKS. She is also the co-author of BREAK INTO FICTION® with NYT author Dianna Love. Mary is nationally recognized for her online and live writing workshops for writers of all genres around the US and Canada, including the Power Plotting Webinars.
Mary doesn’t just teach writers though. She practices what she preaches, writing Urban Fantasy with attitude. Do you love romance, danger & kick-ass heroines? Find it in her Alex Noziak or Kelly McAllister series!
Author and
Writing Instructor
www.MaryBuckhamOnWriting.com
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16 comments:
Mary, First Thank You for being our guest this weekend! I appreciate the reminders (I have several of your books and have attended your workshops at conferences) because I'm the writer whose first draft wouldn't even mention what the character wore and maybe not even the city! I'm fortunate to have a fantastic "first reader" who brings me face-to-face with my oblivion with questions like "How did she get to the kitchen? She was in the basement in the previous paragraph." Or "Are all of your characters nude? You never mention they have clothes on." As I move back into a writing routine having taken a sabbatical for too long, pulling your books off my writing resource shelf is first on my list.
Your workshops and books have made me so much more aware of the ways to weave setting into my stories and choose telling details to make setting work double and triple-time. This great post is a good introduction to some key concepts. I hope readers will dig deeper into your books and/or attend your workshops. They will be so glad they did!!!
Thank you for Guesting at RTG.
Hi Mary, Good refresher for those of us who have been writing a while and good information for a beginner. I visited Iceland in June and discovered its finnicky weather but my story set there had to be in September, due to the event in the book. I asked the guide I made friends with what the weather would be like in September. He said just like June only less sun and not as vibrant colors. That helped me make the weather easy to show even though it was a different season. Thanks for hanging out with us today.
Mary,
I've read several of your books and attended the workshop in Portland, OR. I've also taken classes through your writing academy. I've learned so much over the years from you.
Setting and weather are so important and thanks for the Reminder on that.
Do you have any online up coming classes?
Glad you are here today.
Judith ~ Thank you for hosting me and for sharing your personal experiences. I too tend to leave all my characters naked instead of dressing them! I realized a number of years ago that a lot of writers struggle with either having too much Setting or too little, and there was no book I could send them to as a tool to go deeper with their writing. So I wrote the book . It's not where we start as a writer but how we keep learning and challenging ourselves to become better. Thank you again!
Hi Sarah ~ Thank you for your very kind words about my books and workshops. Once I dug into Setting, and studying how it was used so powerfully by writers across multiple genres, I couldn't wait to share the information. Working one on one with students in live and online classes taught me so much more and showed me how someone could take a generic or invisible setting and with a few, well chosen and intentional words pull a reader deeper and deeper into a story. Setting can reveal so much so I'm delighted to be asked to blog today about one of my favorite subjects!
Hi Diana and thank you for the support, committing to your writing via the learning process and asking a great question. Yes, I'm always teaching and this month is deep into a four-week course on using Body Language on the Page. Next Month is another four-week course on Plotting for Romance Writers. Every month I offer at least one 90-minute webinar and I have a number of self-directed courses [that you access when it works for your schedule and can revisit them as many times you want] that involve both craft topics and motivational topics. They can be found at Mary Buckham On Writing. Here's an easy link to get the details: http://bit.ly/MaryBuckhamClassroom
Thank you again for asking and for committing to your own writing by learning, exploring and challenging yourself. Cheers!
Hi Paty! Loving to see you again and thank you for offering the RTG blog to help so many writers. You're spot on in understanding the nuances of Setting and Seasons in a specific place during a specific time can bring that degree of realism and authentic accuracy to our stories. It can be very frustrating for a reader to be yanked out of a story because they have lived or visited a specific location and the writer got the details wrong. It can break the trust between a reader and author. With the internet to connect us with people who live in Iceland or Dallas or Edmonton, there really is no excuse not to take the extra step to get the details right. On the other hand I do love research trips and Iceland sounds like a whole lot of fun! Thanks for sharing.
Fabulous article full of great reminders. One of my favourite parts of revision is adding the extra details that bring a setting to life.
Thank you. You certainly made me look at settings differently. So very true, what passes for spring in Texas is so different from say New York. Sights, smeels and sounds are also different.
Hi Luanna ~ Thank you for jumping in here to the discussion. I'm so envious because revisions are a step I've trained myself to appreciate but I've never been able to say they are a favorite aspect of writing. Yet we need to be able to revise. To challenge ourselves as writer to go deeper into our stories and layer in all the lovely elements that can take a story from an okay first draft to a stellar story our readers can't put down! In appreciation ~ Mary
Hi Marcia ~ you're spot on in your observations and I'm delighted that what seems like an of-course moment can quickly become an automatic understanding of what we might be missing on the page. When we're working that first draft we're focusing on big picture elements, and rightly so. I know I have my own check list of elements I double check in my own work because there are specific issues I stumble over or forget to add. Each of us could craft our own checklist because none of us forget or overlook the same details to bring to life. It's part of the process of writing, as long as we don't beat ourselves up with expectations of needing to do everything in the first or second draft. Thank you for sharing and for visiting the blog. It's very much appreciated ~ Mary B :-)
Thanks or the excellent advice, Mary! We Alaskans run into this kind of thing all the time. It's always good for writers to do their research, then show us the setting details in the writing.
Mary, SO wonderful to see your post! I'm fortunate in that early in my career, I took a three day intensive workshop where the other students and the teacher (it was limited to 12 people) provided feedback on the first three to four chapters of each persons novel. I was told that all my characters lived in a white room. It was true! Even in real life I just don't notice things like settings, what people wear or even what they look like. My brain goes to thoughts and feelings. After that workshop I always had a picture board of what my characters looked like, where they lived, how they dressed and it made all the difference. I also realized how much setting impacts those thoughts and feelings that are so important to me as a writer.
Speaking of loving your books, my two favorite nonfiction books of yours are Writing Active Setting and Writing Active Hooks. Both are invaluable for all writers.
Yikes Lynn ~ Way behind on seeing your post. My apologies! One of my favorite Alaska writers that nails using her setting is Dana Stabenow. Love. Love. Love how she uses settings in all of her fiction. I always learn something from her. Thanks for stopping by and enjoying the blog!
Maggie Lynch ~ Always a delight to hear from you and learn from you, too. I had to study settings because I was a white room writer early on and obviously all my stories took place in a nudist camp too because no one wore clothes. Unlike you though I wanted to jump into the action and the chase scenes :-) Really, really fun to see you here even though it took me a while to reply. Bad Mary! Cheers and take care!!!
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