Hello, do you have any advice for writing settings? I have trouble describing places and backgrounds.
HelloWhen it comes to settings you have to consider the followingGeographyWhere does the scene takes place? Is it a closed place, an open one? What are the elements involved?Find the best place for your scene, then picture it as whole. The best way to avoid exposition is to show it through you characters, how they react to the place, how it makes them feel, and how the place intervenes in the scene.
TimeAt what time does the scene takes place? Is it late at night? Sunrise? During a whole day? This is for the lightning mostly, natural light and artificial light makes us feel different, this can also affect your characters, as it also modifies the lightning of the place where your scene is taking place.
ContextIs there a socio-political context of the place? Your setting can be a neutral place, one that carries a context, a liminal space. They can affect your characters as they represent different things. If your character goes back to their childhood home, there will be a different feeling if a characers non-involved with the place steps in the same house. Places with political history (genocides, massacres, assassinations, among others) hold history in their walls, when writing about a place like this one be respectful. Liminal places affect characters in a different way, as they create a sense of vacuum in time and space. They also have sociocultural and psychological implicances.WeatherA place during a sunny day doesn’t look, or even feel the same during a rainy day. Weather affects some people more than others, some of your characters will love warm weather while some other might like cold weather.Also consider:Your current moodWhether we like it or not, our current mood affects our writing. Sometimes the curtains are blue because we want them to be blue, sometimes because there’s a deeper reasonCurrent weatherLike the previous one. If you’re writing your scene without planning it first, there’s the chance (not always though) that the current climatologic conditions will reflect on it. Tips:Show, don’t tellIt was a sunny day in the city. Ok, but what else? How do your characters feel about it? How do they react to the whole scenario?POVChoose a POV, from there, show us the world and how the places change. SensesDon’t use only the eyes of the characters to show the world. Use all of their senses, or some of them. What does the place smell like? What sounds do they hear? What about their balance? SymbolismSometimes a place is more than a place. Not every story needs this kind of symbolism.Links:
Our tag
6 ways to bring your setting to life
6 effective setting examples and tips
8 tips for describing a story setting
How to describe settings (without putting your reader to sleep)
Good luck,Lia
