Writing Active Setting Book 1: Characterization and Sensory Detail Read Online Free Page B
Author: Mary Buckham
needs to know the type of tree, then show it. But if they don’t need that information, if it doesn’t add in some way to your story, then leave it out.
PART 3: Start creating your own library of books where the author creates the world of the story in enough detail that you as a reader feel you are on scene. Notice particularly how these authors use Setting to show characterization and sensory detail. Look at where and how much Setting detail is used.
Note : We’re always aiming for that balance in your story between no Setting or very little, and too much or unnecessary Setting.
RECAP
* A POV character that feels comfortable or at home in his or her environment will not see or notice the same details as a character who feels threatened or uncomfortable in that same environment.
* If your POV character is arriving in a place that hasn’t been described in depth earlier in your story, the reader will be more open to slowing your story pacing in order to orient or anchor the reader as to where the character is , but only if the Setting matters in some way in your story.
* The more narrative in your story, the slower your pacing, so thread your Setting details in judiciously and intentionally. If the piano in the corner of a room is meant to show the reader the environment of a character then add the piano. But if a couch and tables are described because they happen to be in a living room, and serve no other function, then refrain from allocating words to their description.
* Be specific in your details versus vague. A Ming vase shows more than a pretty vase.
Part 2
USING SUBJECTIVE SETTING DETAIL TO REVEAL CHARACTER
One of the ways that Setting can work harder in your stories is by using it to reveal something about the character viewing the Setting. Instead of stopping story flow to tell the reader Joe is a former Special Forces operative or that Fran loves children , you show this as you filter what they see through their experiences, personalities, backgrounds.
Here’s a generic Setting example :
The street was a block long with three-story buildings on either side. Most of them brick. One was built out of concrete. All had steps leading down to the sidewalk. Five trees had been planted along the outer curb and several cars were parked along the street.
Pretty bland and non-descript. The reader sees buildings , but not much else. But look what happens when we take our Joe and Fran from above and revisit this Setting :
Joe stood on the corner, with the widest viewpoint of the 400-meter long street running e ast to west. Buildings squatted, all of uniform height and width, three-stories on either side. Most of them brick , but one of Soviet-grey concrete. Hide sights for a sniper? Possibly, but nothing stood out. Several areas of vulnerability and strength — the largest areas of view, but no faces at the window s or along the rooftops. Good. Escape route would be dead ahead or behind, unless he could access t he buildings and use the roof. No alleys to create choke points, garbage cans that could contain a bomb, or loose items, backpack, boxes that could hide an IED. The types and number of vehicles were what he expected on a quiet street, except for the big van that could be surveillance, especially with its out - of - state plates and dark tinted windows. The one with leaves from one of the scrawny trees fronting the sidewalk littered on its roof, which meant it’d been there for a while.
Do you get a clearer image of not only the street , but of Joe and his background? The reader experiences the street on a deeper level and is right there with Joe, seeing what he’s seeing , and learning a lot about him from how he views the Setting .
Let’s see how child-loving Fran might see the same street.
The street stretched a block long with the sounds of kids of all ages sho uting and laughing, noise that zipped from the three-story buildings
PART 3: Start creating your own library of books where the author creates the world of the story in enough detail that you as a reader feel you are on scene. Notice particularly how these authors use Setting to show characterization and sensory detail. Look at where and how much Setting detail is used.
Note : We’re always aiming for that balance in your story between no Setting or very little, and too much or unnecessary Setting.
RECAP
* A POV character that feels comfortable or at home in his or her environment will not see or notice the same details as a character who feels threatened or uncomfortable in that same environment.
* If your POV character is arriving in a place that hasn’t been described in depth earlier in your story, the reader will be more open to slowing your story pacing in order to orient or anchor the reader as to where the character is , but only if the Setting matters in some way in your story.
* The more narrative in your story, the slower your pacing, so thread your Setting details in judiciously and intentionally. If the piano in the corner of a room is meant to show the reader the environment of a character then add the piano. But if a couch and tables are described because they happen to be in a living room, and serve no other function, then refrain from allocating words to their description.
* Be specific in your details versus vague. A Ming vase shows more than a pretty vase.
Part 2
USING SUBJECTIVE SETTING DETAIL TO REVEAL CHARACTER
One of the ways that Setting can work harder in your stories is by using it to reveal something about the character viewing the Setting. Instead of stopping story flow to tell the reader Joe is a former Special Forces operative or that Fran loves children , you show this as you filter what they see through their experiences, personalities, backgrounds.
Here’s a generic Setting example :
The street was a block long with three-story buildings on either side. Most of them brick. One was built out of concrete. All had steps leading down to the sidewalk. Five trees had been planted along the outer curb and several cars were parked along the street.
Pretty bland and non-descript. The reader sees buildings , but not much else. But look what happens when we take our Joe and Fran from above and revisit this Setting :
Joe stood on the corner, with the widest viewpoint of the 400-meter long street running e ast to west. Buildings squatted, all of uniform height and width, three-stories on either side. Most of them brick , but one of Soviet-grey concrete. Hide sights for a sniper? Possibly, but nothing stood out. Several areas of vulnerability and strength — the largest areas of view, but no faces at the window s or along the rooftops. Good. Escape route would be dead ahead or behind, unless he could access t he buildings and use the roof. No alleys to create choke points, garbage cans that could contain a bomb, or loose items, backpack, boxes that could hide an IED. The types and number of vehicles were what he expected on a quiet street, except for the big van that could be surveillance, especially with its out - of - state plates and dark tinted windows. The one with leaves from one of the scrawny trees fronting the sidewalk littered on its roof, which meant it’d been there for a while.
Do you get a clearer image of not only the street , but of Joe and his background? The reader experiences the street on a deeper level and is right there with Joe, seeing what he’s seeing , and learning a lot about him from how he views the Setting .
Let’s see how child-loving Fran might see the same street.
The street stretched a block long with the sounds of kids of all ages sho uting and laughing, noise that zipped from the three-story buildings
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