The Inspiration of Setting … Delsora Lowe

Writing is all about setting. In this case, I’m not talking about the setting of our books or articles or poetry. But the setting in which we place our desk and computer or pad and pencil.

Oak and Sunset From My Window

Moon Playing Hide and Seek with the Oak

For me, visuals are important. I need the distraction of scenery or activity, even if it’s a scene of squirrels chasing each other around my oak tree trunk in the spring or gathering acorns in the fall. OR birds pecking the ground for bugs. OR the profusion of dandelions springing up across the brown turning to green lawn. OR the arrival of elementary-aged kids bicycling or skipping or skateboarding to school, wearing backpacks laden with who knows what.

All those common-day occurrences are fodder for the imagination. When I can’t think of a word or I can’t figure out why the heroes of my story are acting out or not doing anything at all, which is unacceptable in a story that must move along, these little distractions allow my brain to observe and become distracted. That little act of woolgathering helps to empty the mind and allow the muse to take charge and create.

But sometimes, the same ‘ole, same ‘ole just won’t do the job of releasing the muse. A change of scenery is needed. That can be taking a walk around the block, enjoying neighbor’s gardens to free up the brain, or getting away for a self-imposed, writing retreat weekend, where you can stare at waves pounding the rocky shore in New England. OR the vibrant sunsets dipping below the red rocks in Arizona. OR eagles flying over a calm lake surrounded by tall evergreens as far as the eye can see in the Adirondacks. OR the expanse of white sands meeting a blue sky of a North Carolina beach, with only the flight of native birds for company. OR a sunny day in Colorado with the range of snow-covered mountains as a backdrop.

Red Rocks of Sedona, AZ Painted by My Grandfather

Unfortunately, those types of retreats are a bit out of my budget. But, even a three-block trip to the local coffee shop to people watch while inhaling scents of dark roast, spicey chai tea, and cinnamon buns, can elicit memories and help create a new outlook on story.

So, when you’re stuck, or need a break from whatever activity is holding you hostage, take a mini-vacation around the neighborhood, or plan a weekend getaway to really rejuvenate your muse or relieve stress of the day-to-day drudgery that can totally shut us home-bound writers down.

To choose which I prefer, sitting at my usual writing place with the familiar scene or exploring new places with a view, is a toss-up. I know where things are on my desk (even though it is a frightful mess.) I know what I’ll see out the window as I gaze blankly looking for the correct wording. I know I can jump up and grab my favorite mug for a cup of tea, the flavor to match my mood of the day.

The Oak in Early Spring

But changing up my writing environment, puts a new spin on the world and makes my brain do a reset, opening up my mind to think differently. Observe a new prompt to jumpstart my stalled writing. Or bring me in contact with an overheard conversation or new image that will spark an idea for a brand-new story.

Hanging at the Beach

Both the familiar and the unfamiliar have a place in reenergizing our minds and souls, and jumpstarting our writer’s muse…or anything in your life that needs jumpstarting.

What’s your favorite setting?

 

The Love Left Behind

Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read   books2read.com/u/mglVqK

 

cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Two holiday books will be released this fall.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

Photo Credits:
View From Desk, Oak Tree, Painting: Photos by author
Kids with backpacks: Free Pictures Of Backpacks, Download Free Pictures Of Backpacks png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)
Thinking: People Thinking Clipart, Transparent PNG Clipart Images Free Download - ClipartMax
Steamy Cup: Clip Art - Free Steamy Cup - Google Search

SETTINGS and SEASONS by Writing Instructor Mary Buckham

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
Facebook: Mary Buckham
Twitter: @MaryBuckham 

A funny thing happened on the way to--my book's setting

A funny thing happened on the way to—the setting for my newest book.

The heroine, Mary, first appeared in my earlier book, Love & Mayhem, though she went by a slightly more exotic name befitting her scandalous profession. Both she and I agreed that when she retired as a courtesan, she would leave London, England, reinvent herself, and start a new life.

I had every intention of sending her to northern England, to a mill town where she’d pretend to be a respectable widow and set up shop as an art instructor to the daughters of wealthy mill owners. I began researching possible locations, spending far too long on Google maps, wandering the countryside, building scenes, building a new life for Mary.

But then I thought, why limit her options to the United Kingdom? Why not send her to a Commonwealth country, or a country in which the British had a firm foothold? She’d need a reason to travel further afield – she wasn’t that intrepid. Within five minutes I’d given her a cousin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who ran a teashop and needed help. Mary sold her fine gowns, her jewels (gifts from various gentlemen friends), and her small house, and sailed across the Atlantic.

Why did I choose Halifax? Because that’s where I was born and have lived a good part of my life. I didn’t live in the 1885 version, though much has remained unchanged to this day. The streets are still lined with buildings from that era, the fog continues to roll in off the harbour, and the hill up to the Citadel is just as steep. Even so, I needed to do some research. I learned a few things (like how to become a lawyer in that time) and I was reminded of the history I’d learned in school.

Mary had to learn quite a bit, too. She’d never baked a batch of tea biscuits in her life – the seagulls benefitted from numerous failed attempts. She was great at adapting, however, and has built a good life for herself, serving tea to the wives of professional men, and working on her art, spending her rare free afternoons doing watercolours in the Public Gardens, the finest example of a Victorian garden in North America (and one of my favourite spots in the city). And then she meets the hero…

In my real world travels, a funny thing happened on the way to—a camping trip. 

Once our boys were out of diapers, we’d go on short journeys by canoe into the backcountry for a few days of back-to-nature living. On one such trip when the boys were about 8 and 10, after portaging a half kilometre, paddling for a few hours, and setting up camp, we discovered a vital piece of the camp stove was missing. One of the rules in the park is, you can’t use a campfire for cooking – it uses too much wood (and is too polluting). A stove is vital. With only a few hours to sunset, my husband and eldest son set off to retrieve the missing piece (dropped near the car as we unloaded). Youngest son and I ended up sitting in the dark at the water’s edge with our flashlights, like a lighthouse beacon, guiding the wanderers back to shore.

Where have you travelled that things have not gone exactly to plan?

I'm super excited to share my latest book, released yesterday!

Mary Taylor abandoned her silk gowns and sparkling jewels when she quit her position as one of London’s highly prized courtesans. She’s determined to earn her living with a paintbrush rather than between the sheets. Starting fresh in a new country, she masquerades as a widow running a tearoom in Halifax while perfecting her art. But when she’s hired to finish the portrait of a handsome judge, she risks everything by surrendering to her lustful craving.

Finton Morash, youngest judge on the Queen’s bench, believes people are either good or bad. The dowdy widow painting his portrait is surely one of the former. After discovering the sensual beauty hiding beneath shapeless gowns, he wonders at her other secrets.

  

When whispers circulate about Mary’s nefarious past, she must find the courage to face the consequences. And Finton must decide whether love is worth the risk.

Available now from your favourite ebook seller!!

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Barnes&Noble | Kobo

Website:  http://www.luannastewart.com/

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