Seven necessities in every scene; setting that will make you faster at writing.
Setting is everything in fantasy. If it’s messed up, you’ll have characters talking a blank space. We call that the white room syndrome. To give your fantasy punch, flavor, and flair, you’ll need to weave settings that create sensation and psychology. When you and your characters want (or really don’t want) to be in a certain setting, you’re giving your writing pace unstoppable momentum.
Creating good setting is part and parcel of plot, theme, and impact. If used properly, setting will excite more than just the imagination: it will bind your readers in and it will make you stomp on the gas because you as the author feel like you’re there.
What’s not to love? Fantasy tips designed to help you write faster.
So let’s dive right in.
When you create a setting, try to add these seven things.
- What’s the light source? Are we viewing a room illuminated by bars of golden sunlight falling on the floor? Or do we see by the light of a torch hissing out black smoke?
- What does the place smell like? Humans are remarkably good conjuring smells in their nostrils. Do things smell bad in your fantasy? Of course, it’s up to you if you describe every person’s body odor and every waft of the privy.
- Can you make this scene delicious? Are there berries hanging from every branch of the bushes? Is there a full pot of chamomile tea waiting for us to sit down?
- Who is in this setting? And how are they affected by this location? Are they overweight? Ragged and thin? Sun-beaten? People are products of location and who is standing there can tell us so much about where we are.
- Rate the physical pleasantness of the setting and consider how that changes the pace of your story. A cold drafty room? We’re not going to sit around and talk. But if you have a warm greenhouse in the cool of February, the characters will want to loiter. Set the setting up for the effect you want it to have.
- What feel is in the room? Does it remind you of over-due homework? Or does the setting conjure all of the carefree feelings of a summer lark? Pleasant or painful? Does a pile of paper on the table tell of over-due taxes and all of those miserable feelings? Does the dagger that’s been buried in a portrait that screams “Get out of here before you die.” Or does the sweet lingering of vanilla perfume beg for relaxation?
- Provide mystique for your reader to feed on. You want your readers and your characters to be intrigued and a little mystified. Is there a perfectly-ripe apple sitting under a thick layer of dust? Or a pair of glowing green eyes on the other side of the clearing? Add something that begs the question how.
Overall, try to add sensation and psychology.
Write down what you feel with your senses.
And then add what you feel inside.
And your stage is set!
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Until next time,