Greetings, Wizard Writers!
Can you imagine Harry Potter without Hogwarts? How about The Hunger Games without a fully-formed Panem? In writing, whether you are writing about your cozy hometown in Wisconsin or some faraway sparkling planet, setting is everything. This is where your reader exists while lost in the depths of your book, and you want them to love that place, connect with that place, and know that place. You want them to return to that place again and again because there is comfort and familiarity there. You want them to contact you with requests for more of that place (or better yet, write about wanting more on social media). So let us enter the magical kingdom where the Wizard of Writing lives, knock on the castle door, and further explore the matter of setting.
There are quite a few fantasy lands that spring to mind when we think about unique settings in books: the aforementioned Hogwarts and Panem, Narnia, Oz, and Middle Earth. We might also think of real places like the American South in To Kill a Mockingbird or New York in The Great Gatsby. It does not really matter that The South and New York are real locations and Oz is not (unless you happen to have a witchy neighbor and live in a tornado-laden area), what matters is that the reader suspends his or her belief and settles into your land, wherever it may be.
So how is this accomplished? First, sit down, relax, and close your eyes. Immerse yourself in this land. If it exists in real life, look around in your mind’s eye. What are the landmarks here? Is there a special park or meeting place in town? What are the residents like? What is the best restaurant in the area? What do children do when it gets hot outside? How does it smell in the area? Is there one grammar school or five grammar schools? What does it look like at night? Are there a lot of trees? What kind of trees? These are just some questions to get you going as you look around your area.
If your land is fictional, let your imagination run wild. Sit down, relax, and close your eyes. You might also want to burn a candle, light some incense, drink some funky tea, or listen to some chill-out music. Are we on earth or someplace else? How is this land accessed? What does the sky look like? Are there birds? What language are people speaking? When you touch a rock, is it hot to the touch or ice cold? What do people wear there? Are there buildings or formations? Is there a moon? What color are the flowers? Who runs the land? Are the residents happy to be there? Let yourself go with these questions as you look around. When you’re done with this, jot down what you saw and how you felt while exploring.
Setting is important as it forms the backdrop of your story. It’s where your reader will stay and where your reader will connect with your characters. Even if the story fluctuates in setting, it is still important to list as many details of the area as you can while remembering that the reader will fill in their own blanks as well. Always be descriptive, unique, and colorful. Be accurate and factual in describing your location if applicable. The reader cannot help but settle into your world this way, and hopefully, they’ll put their feet up and stay a while.
What is your experience with writing settings? Do you have any tips?
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