A Storyteller’s Swiss Army Knife? The Setting

Writing the Urban and Rural Setting Thesaurus books taught Becca and me something big: that the Setting really is the Swiss Army Knife of Storytelling.

Whaaaat, you say?

It’s the truth.

 

Check out all it can do:

 create conflict or tension
 foreshadow a coming event
 encourage an emotion-driven action or choice
 remind a character of the past (good or bad)
 poke at an old wound
 challenge the hero to face his fears
 recreate a wounding event so the hero can navigate it successfully & let go of past pain
 show or reinforce the story stakes
 characterize one or more characters
 display symbolism or motifs that reinforce a deeper message or meaning
 reinforce a specific mood
 help steer the plot
 test through obstacles and setbacks
 give the setting an emotional value & deploy emotional triggers
 deliver important backstory

(click here to save this as a checklist)

Are you suitable impressed? I hope so!

The setting is versatile. It allows us to show, not tell in so many important ways.

Learning how to use it fully is one of the best things we can do to elevate our writing. To see an example of setting in action, pop by Seekerville to find out How The Setting Can Steer Your Plot.  There might just be a giveaway involved…*wink*

And, if you are rounding the horn into Fall with plans to give your writing career a boost by attending a writing conference, stop by Writers Digest where I show you how to get more out of your conference pitches, workshops and networking opportunities by thinking like an extrovert…even though you happen to be an introvert.

I hope everyone is back in the groove of writing now that September is here and those precious bundles of ours are back at school. Becca and I are climbing back to full speed here at WHW, rolling out a new thesaurus on Saturday, planning out some amazing new tools at One Stop For Writers with the talented Lee Powell, and plotting our next book, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.

Here’s to what comes next–happy writing, all!

 

Image 1: Skeeze @ Pixabay

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