Setting is the time, place, and social environment for your story. Amateur writers generally ignore setting, except as a stage backdrop. Here are some tips on creating a memorable setting.
Setting must be a character in itself, not just a picture painted at the back of your stage.
- Make it familiar: choose a setting that you know, inside and out. This doesn’t always mean picking somewhere you’ve actually been, although in many cases, that is the best way to create a memorable setting. It does mean, however, that you need to do your homework. Buy maps of the city and study Google Earth to learn how your characters will get around and where they will live. Read travel articles. Study photographs. If you have created this location (as in science fiction, fantasy, or alternate world stories), create the maps as well. You should be able to tell a reader how to get from Point A to Point B as if you were a resident.
- Make it integral: don’t just plop your characters down in a convenient location somewhere. Choose a setting that will resonate with them, and with the story. Make it a city that will interfere with their goals or desires, or a country setting that provides natural tension or conflict. Pick a place that generates emotion. Create the only place that your story can take place.
- Make it memorable: you don’t have to spend paragraphs describing your setting. Add details that will stand out in your readers’ minds. Remember to utilize all of the senses, as well. Give your readers the sounds and smells and tastes of your city or town. Make it real with the little details that they’d get if they actually visited.
What is the most memorable setting you’ve read about?