Making Setting Important

In writing, it’s fun to compare and contrast things–people, objects, places, settings, to make them different, more interesting. Here is a case in point: Rhinos can be plain… boring. If they’re just… standing around. Doing nothing. But when I was at the Omaha zoo, the rhinos were bathing and it intrigued me. It was near freezing out at Thanksgiving time in November, so it seemed ironic that they would take a bath, not to cool down!

Before this, I was visiting the Waco zoo, and this is what I found–rhinos sleeping. So??? But it was the turkey vultures perched on top that intrigued me. My friend, who was with me, told me the rhinos were merely statues. I told her no, they’re real. She couldn’t believe it. We watched for a long time, until she saw one’s ear flutter. And then satisfied they were real, we moved on.



And here is further proof that the rhinos are alive and well in Texas. It was feeding time at the zoo.



Finding something interesting in a setting is like writing about something interesting. We want to focus on that–and not on the mundane, or it will make our pictures, and our writing just that–mundane.

Review: A Seal Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear.

A Seal Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear
Series: Heart of the Wolf (# 12)
Release Date:  September 24, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 384
Source: book provided by NetGalley for review

Have a super great day!
Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality.”
www.terryspear.com

The Why and When of Setting

When it comes to setting I love to take snapshots galore as references before I begin writing a new story. I like my settings to stand as an additional character. My current WIP takes place in a rural location forty miles from my home, in the northern hemisphere. Sounds like a simple choice and one easy to research.

But no setting is static. I came up with the premise and I needed to decide what season the story would open with. A secondary character is a four-year-old girl and the plot centers on family. I considered each season and the effect on the area and my characters. Only one suited the story opening. It’s November with dry grapevines, brown hills and a gray sky overhead. Thanksgiving is two days away.

Here are the dry grapevines and the brown hills.
Unfortunately I had blue sky instead of overcast on this shooting day.



Take a little girl raised in the southern hemisphere and plop her into a pastoral environment totally different from the high-rise city life she’s known. The major holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas now offer plenty of opportunities for action and reaction. To her Christmastime means swimsuits and beach outings. This timeframe works perfect in conjunction with the heroine’s plight. It highlights her dysfunctional family and her own dreams.

One month later heavy December rains greened the slopes. Workers have pruned the vines.

I place my stories in small towns or rural locations. They interest me and I vividly “see” my characters there, living their lives. Perhaps my own small town is a primary factor. Small details are telling.
I spotted a simple outdoor Christmas snowman with a cowboy hat and knew I could use it as a device in my story.


There are as many settings as authors in the world. What are your thoughts on setting? Do you have a favorite one?

Starting with the Setting

Last week my crit partners were discussing which comes first, the plot or the characters? Everyone seemed to have a process, which they were capable of explaining in great detail. Except for me. The character-or-plotter-first question left me completely befuddled.


For the record, I am a total pantser. I see scenes play out in my head and I write what I see. Any other method leaves me confused. I can only fill out character interviews and plot points after I’ve finished writing the book. I’ve always been a little embarrassed when other writers talk about process because I didn’t have one.

Until last weekend, when we vacationed in the mountains of Idaho. I was watching kayakers fly over the whitewater on the Payette River when the wheels began turning in my head.

Who was the first guy to try to navigate that stretch of the river? What horrible thing was chasing after him to make him decide he’d rather chance the rapids than stick around and get caught? What if he wasn’t a man but a woman? And what kind of woman would voluntarily jump into that freezing river?

As the pictures began to form in my head, I realized I do have a process, and it begins with the setting. Once I know where and when my characters lived, everything else falls into place.

From characterization to plot and dialogue, every element of the story is influenced by its place in space and time. While it’s true that some goals, like the pursuit of love or money, are universal, the obstacles and conflicts will vary based on setting. The same character, dropped into a different locale, will behave differently.

Setting doesn’t just decorate the story. It is the story.

If you are stuck writing a sagging middle, try changing the setting. It will instantly liven things up.

If you are staring at a blank page and have no idea where to start, try this: Pick a setting. Any setting. Choose the character who is the least adapted to live in that setting. Now you have instant conflict, instant story. That’s why the fish out of water story never gets old.

I would love to hear your process stories. What comes first? The characters, plot, or setting? Do you like to mix it up, or do you always set your stories in the same time and place?