The Craft of Writing, Part Three: Setting

Hello, my dear readers! I apologize for not posting anything last week. Unfortunately, my grandma died, so I flew back to Indiana to attend her funeral. It was quite nice, with the whole family together sharing good memories of her. And afterward, my cousin even commemorated her by combining her picture with one of her old sayings and turning it into a meme.

Now returning to our current series on the craft of writing…

So far, we’ve discussed two of the most important aspects of a story: plot and character development. Now it’s time to complete our triumvirate by focusing on the setting. The setting is actually pretty easy to explain: put simply, it’s where the story takes place. If it takes place on a beach, then you’d have a tropical setting. If it takes place in the North, then you’d have a colder setting. If it takes place on the island in the TV series, Lost, then…well, I haven’t quite figured out what the heck is going on there, so that setting befuddles me.

That being said, the setting doesn’t have to simply be a physical location with climate conditions, like Chicago in mid-winter or the Amazon River during the spring. In more fantastical or memorable stories, the setting often consists of a mythology of sorts, or some sort of historical setting, like the end of the world or the Revolutionary or Civil War. Or, on the other hand, one can have a very well-developed past that insinuates itself into the story by raising issues in the present. The past is rarely at rest, as some say. The historical setting is most obvious in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, whose richly developed mythical history of Middle-Earth constantly influences the events of books like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Another example is the world of Westeros in George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series (speaking of which, is it a requirement that legendary fantasy writers have two middle names starting with R?), in which the highly detailed history holds a grand influence on the lives of the characters.

A rich history is not absolutely required, though. Take the Harry Potter series, for example. While there is a rudimentary historical setting (the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort), the series’ mythological shortcomings are overcome by the sheer richness of the environment itself. And again, I don’t just mean the weather. Instead, I refer to the culture of the wizarding world, which we find to be fascinating, developed and constantly surprising the awed reader.

Culture, history, mythology and location…all of these are elements which you can choose. You can mix and match them, or strain for all of them, but to ignore all of these and thus leave the setting as bland and uninteresting will ultimately work to the detriment of your fiction. Now this being said, let the writer be warned: as you develop the setting for your story, you must above all else ensure proper continuity. As we discussed with the plot, you want to avoid the plot holes. Don’t make a big deal out of a famous ancient queen if you’ve already stated that your world has never had a ruling female. Don’t have characters lounging on a beach only to walk a hundred feet into freezing snow (unless bizarre weather phenomena are a part of your setting, in which case, go for it, but explain as you do). Don’t make your characters undergo a long journey in a world where teleportation is a viable option. And don’t have the population praise superpowered heroes in a world where superpowered individuals are violently persecuted (yes, I’m talking to you, Marvel). It’s simple continuity, and if your setting ever contradicts the plot, the characters or itself, then that is bad storytelling which will turn away your many potential readers.

Make it fantastical. Or make it creepy. Or make it fascinating. Or make it complex. Whatever the genre of your story, make your setting be a rich and perfect match that will enthrall your readers and pull them into this special world which you’ve created. And if you’ve done your preparations well enough, the reader will never want to leave. After all, how many of us spent our pre-teen years desperately waiting for our letter to Hogwarts?

Until next time, friends…

Stay tuned for my next blog post, in which I share how to sharpen your story with a concept called “pacing.”