5 Tips for Setting Description
When it comes to describing a new setting, many great writers have hearkened it to “painting a picture,” and this is great advice. You want to inspire imagination and give the reader the cues to visualize the world you’re creating accurately. What you don’t want to do is take this advice too literally and over describe your setting in a reader-ready draft.
Bear in mind as you read these tips that these encourage succinct, economical writing. Obviously, everyone’s style is different, and some writers will include more description than others. These are simply suggestions for those who feel they’re overdoing it.
Tip #1: Avoid Overdoing It by Overdoing It
To control how much you describe your setting, you have to know it really well. So in your first draft or in a separate document/notebook, give into your instincts to over describe your setting. Write as much as you can about it. Make a map, or a floor plan, or use design simulators to visualize the space.
One reason we tend to over describe our characters’ surroundings is because we want to be clear of it ourselves. By doing this ahead of time, outside of your draft, you can go into your actual story with a clean slate, and it’s easier to only include setting details that are absolutely necessary.
Tip #2: Put On Your Character’s Shoes
Define the characters that will be present in the scene that introduces your setting for the first time. Regardless of point of view, think about what aspects of the setting these characters actually see. Imagine your are standing where your character is standing. Do they see what’s on the other side of the mountain? Do they see how messy the kitchen is when they’re in the garage? Do they see their office when they’re sitting in traffic? More than likely, no. So resist the urge to describe a setting the character can’t currently see.
There are exceptions, particularly if you’re using setting to foreshadow or present dramatic irony, but as a general rule, try to limit the settings you’re describing to the space your character is currently occupying. This doesn’t allow for exposition, so let’s move on to…
Tip #3: Start Small and Build
When it comes to complex settings like fictional countries, planets, or even complicated political structures, well-placed exposition is key. Help your reader out by feeding them details small enough for them to swallow. Before explaining Panem as a whole, Suzanne Collins worked on establishing District 12.
What you’re doing is giving your reader some time to make themselves at home. When you move to a new city, it’s common to start by navigating the areas surrounding your new home, especially areas that you will frequent often, and then branching out to the rest of the city. We remember things easiest when we build on existing knowledge. A reader will understand the governmental structure of your country easiest if they already have a city they’re familiar with to factor into that structure.
The scale of this will vary depending on your story. Sometimes you can cover small to large within a few pages and other times, you need a few chapters. Allow yourself some flexibility, but do your best to start small with your setting and add to it as a reader begins to get comfortable.
When a sentence will work, don’t use a paragraph. Use comparisons and character judgements to help with the description. “Her apartment looked just as he imagined an artist’s studio would look: small, dimly lit, and overflowing with unfinished paintings.” That sentence creates an image in your mind without describing the color of the walls, the number of windows, the state of the furniture, or where the kitchen is (and how the kitchen is maintained - save that description for when they eat or make food).
Even if you disagree with that description of an artist’s apartment, you can add your own adjectives to paint a different picture. “Her apartment looked just as he imagined an artist’s studio would look: open, industrial, and lit by waves of sunlight through every large window.” Same comparison, different picture. Using an artist’s studio in your description takes advantage of a reader’s existing knowledge and it helps you paint the picture with less words.
Tip #5: Don’t Waste a Reader’s Time
A setting is only as great as the action that occurs within it. Don’t spend time describing a setting that doesn’t house a scene where something important will eventually happen. This could be a huge, epic fight scene or a turning point for a character relationship. If you’re taking time to describe it, and a reader is taking time to read it, it better be significant.
For example, if you’ve got a character who is about to leave town on some great adventure, don’t spend an exorbitant amount of time describing her living space at the beginning of the novel. A character’s home can reveal a lot about their personality, but setting is not the only way to show character. Give the reader any details they need to understand the scene and then move on.
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