The story of the setting
Often we think of the setting of the story as merely the backdrop against which the action happens, but it can be much more than that. Your setting can be part of the story too.
We can use our setting to create the atmosphere of the story. It can help to set the mood of the piece. Think of all those old horror films with dark and brooding Gothic castles in their establishing shots. The landscape was very definitely part of those stories, and it was telling us that something bad was going to happen there.
An exercise I often give to my creative writing students is to ask them to write about a beach on a cold winter's day. This usually produces stories on the theme of some kind of loss. Usually it's the loss of a lover, but sometimes of siblings, parents, or a child. Only rarely does a writer juxtapose the cold of the setting with the feelings of the character and produce something hopeful.
Another exercise I give to my students is to ask them to write about a character's room. Usually what emerges is a focus on the objects that mean most to that character, and an explanation of why they're important. The room has already become part of a story.
Setting becomes character in a dramatic way where characters are trapped somewhere in a storm, or thrown together as the result of some kind of natural disaster. Stranded characters who can't stand each other, but who are forced to work together to survive, can make for a great story.
Setting, action, and characters should all be closely intertwined. There must be a reason why you send your characters to specific places. The best reason is to make the setting an essential part of the story, to use that place to help you to define the character and what he or she does.
We can use our setting to create the atmosphere of the story. It can help to set the mood of the piece. Think of all those old horror films with dark and brooding Gothic castles in their establishing shots. The landscape was very definitely part of those stories, and it was telling us that something bad was going to happen there.
An exercise I often give to my creative writing students is to ask them to write about a beach on a cold winter's day. This usually produces stories on the theme of some kind of loss. Usually it's the loss of a lover, but sometimes of siblings, parents, or a child. Only rarely does a writer juxtapose the cold of the setting with the feelings of the character and produce something hopeful.
Another exercise I give to my students is to ask them to write about a character's room. Usually what emerges is a focus on the objects that mean most to that character, and an explanation of why they're important. The room has already become part of a story.
Setting becomes character in a dramatic way where characters are trapped somewhere in a storm, or thrown together as the result of some kind of natural disaster. Stranded characters who can't stand each other, but who are forced to work together to survive, can make for a great story.
Setting, action, and characters should all be closely intertwined. There must be a reason why you send your characters to specific places. The best reason is to make the setting an essential part of the story, to use that place to help you to define the character and what he or she does.
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