Once you have established the general place and time of a novel there remains the specifics of where the majority of action takes place.
Eager to supply a healthy amount of action and avoid writing a stagnant and boring read, young writers often craft a story that holds a infinitesimal number of places where the major points of action take place.
This can and does usually result in confusion for the reader. She or he has no idea where various and important occurrences are taking place.
In the fast-paced movement and flow of action each place in setting does not receive an equal and balancing amount of page time. The reader does not get to experience the presence of the protagonist and the protagonist’s personality in and as reflected in each setting.
John Truby in “The Anatomy of Story” suggests that writers choose 2-3 specific settings within the context of the larger place wherein, and as the canvas upon which the major and important actions of story, and interactions take place.
Establishing 2-3 places where important milestones in the novel occur allows for an amplification of texture, intensification of dialogue and action that facilitate a development of character and that drive the plot towards climax, transformation and epiphany and/transcendence.
Revisiting scenes in the cycle of character actions and interactions allows for the reader to notice through the eyes of the major characters symbols and signs held within the context of the settings that indicate not only more about the specific settings and what they have to say regarding character, but also what changes the character is undergoing.
Setting as scene through the eyes of the major character reveals much about the character’s personality, motivation and drive.
When viewed in the setting over a number of scenes the backdrop of setting becomes a sounding board or canvas, if you will, reflecting the changes, both inner and outer, that the character is undergoing as a result of her or his decisions, and choice of actions.
Setting is more then than simply the place and time wherein a novel takes place. It also encompasses the specific places within
the general location, rooms, buildings, offices and such that reveal intricacies of, and about the characters moving through and within them.
How much thought do you put into choosing and establishing setting for your stories and/or novel?
Describe the setting of one of the most memorable novels or stories you have read?