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To be honest with you, this is one area I have been extremely weak in. I’ve always had a hard time describing settings. I write historical fiction, so that’s part of it because I have to try to figure out what the setting even looks like. So I usually do the lazy thing and don’t describe it at all. Then I read Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland and she shared some things that made me realize that what I’d been doing was a really bad idea. Here are a few things she said.

·         Don’t hurry so much that you neglect the foundation. The setting is your foundation and no house (or book) can stand without one.

·         Changing the setting can change the tone. You wouldn’t write a creepy thriller scene in the middle of the day on a crowded, sunny street. You would put them in a dark, back alley in the middle of the night. Make sure your scene is in the right setting.

·         Stage at least one scene in your character’s personal surroundings. Maybe this is in their bedroom and you describe some of the things in there. The posters on the wall, the hand quilted bed spread, the clothes strewn across the floor. These are all things that hint at the character’s personality.

·         Every scene must matter. This is where introducing the stakes comes in. Each scene must have something to move the character closer to the end goal of the book. Does that mean we can’t include a conversation with a friend? Depends, will that friend have something to do with the end of the book? If yes, then go ahead and include it. If no, you probably won’t want to put it in the book.

How have you introduced your settings and/or stakes?

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