Gabe Redel's Blog: FRYING POTATOES BLOG - Posts Tagged "setting"
Haunted House or Doll House: How Setting Defines a Story
It's good to know what's in your setting. And, then again, sometimes it isn't good to know what's in your setting.
In a story that is driven mainly by the plot, the setting could be the most important part of the story.
Think about this: In a mystery, a detective is trying to find the murder weapon. He knows that the murder took place in the bedroom, but he doesn't know how. Was it the broken mirror? Was it the pillows by suffocation? Was it the candlestick? The only thing the detective knows for sure is that it wasn't the kitchen chair.
Think about this: In an action adventure story, the explorer needs to find a way to get to the middle of the Amazon Forest. If he or she starts out in New York City, then it probably wouldn't be much for him to get on a plane from JFK and fly down to Brazil. But if he is on a ship in the middle of the ocean---one that's about to be attacked by warbirds---then that might make it a little more difficult, perhaps a little more interesting as well.
Think about this: In a sci-fi/fantasy story, the hero needs to find a way off of the alien planet that he or she is on. So, what kind of planet should we put her on? If the planet is well inhibited, then she could probably get on a spaceship at the nearest airport and fly away. If the planet is barren, then she may need to look for help by sending out a distress signal. If the planet has low gravity and strange erupting geysers, then she may want to build a raft and let one of the geysers shoot her off the planet.
Depending upon what you---the writer---puts in the setting will determine what type of story you will write. A character trying to get off a barren planet will be a story of struggle and isolation. A character trying to get off a modern, well advanced planet could take on a variety of shapes. A character trying to get off a planet with strange environmental phenomenons could be a story about discovery and science.
I started out this blog saying that either knowing or not knowing what is in your story's environment could either be helpful or hurtful. Sometimes it is good to keep the setting vague at first. That way, when an idea strikes you in the middle of your writing, you can add an item into your setting that will help propel the story forward. But if you define your setting immediately, then there will be no room for creativity later down the road. However, it is important that the setting is complete. So, a good strategy for creating a setting is to give it general guidelines to start. Say that it is a forest or a big ship or a barren planet, but don't give exact details until you know for sure what you want to put in it.
In a story that is driven mainly by the plot, the setting could be the most important part of the story.
Think about this: In a mystery, a detective is trying to find the murder weapon. He knows that the murder took place in the bedroom, but he doesn't know how. Was it the broken mirror? Was it the pillows by suffocation? Was it the candlestick? The only thing the detective knows for sure is that it wasn't the kitchen chair.
Think about this: In an action adventure story, the explorer needs to find a way to get to the middle of the Amazon Forest. If he or she starts out in New York City, then it probably wouldn't be much for him to get on a plane from JFK and fly down to Brazil. But if he is on a ship in the middle of the ocean---one that's about to be attacked by warbirds---then that might make it a little more difficult, perhaps a little more interesting as well.
Think about this: In a sci-fi/fantasy story, the hero needs to find a way off of the alien planet that he or she is on. So, what kind of planet should we put her on? If the planet is well inhibited, then she could probably get on a spaceship at the nearest airport and fly away. If the planet is barren, then she may need to look for help by sending out a distress signal. If the planet has low gravity and strange erupting geysers, then she may want to build a raft and let one of the geysers shoot her off the planet.
Depending upon what you---the writer---puts in the setting will determine what type of story you will write. A character trying to get off a barren planet will be a story of struggle and isolation. A character trying to get off a modern, well advanced planet could take on a variety of shapes. A character trying to get off a planet with strange environmental phenomenons could be a story about discovery and science.
I started out this blog saying that either knowing or not knowing what is in your story's environment could either be helpful or hurtful. Sometimes it is good to keep the setting vague at first. That way, when an idea strikes you in the middle of your writing, you can add an item into your setting that will help propel the story forward. But if you define your setting immediately, then there will be no room for creativity later down the road. However, it is important that the setting is complete. So, a good strategy for creating a setting is to give it general guidelines to start. Say that it is a forest or a big ship or a barren planet, but don't give exact details until you know for sure what you want to put in it.
