Below is a compilation of the main points I’ve talked about in my articles/posts about story setting. The articles each was pulled from is given in each bubble. The links are given below the table.
Category: Description
Setting Map
Where Do You Write
Finding the best place to write is up to you. There’s no right or wrong setting. Whether you are writing an essay, poetry, short story, novel, or journal entry doesn’t matter.
Sitting on the beach, looking out at the sunset, and hearing the waves hover over the sand as they reach forward, will open your creative mind.
Imagine sitting and looking out at the mountains pictured above. Such a rich environment filled with so many possibilities abound.
Now this photo could go either way. Perhaps something romantic is brewing. On the other hand, maybe there is sinister intent going on.
Whichever setting you are in writing, take in your environment, work with it, and mold it to suit your creative juices.
Description: Nip and Tuck
In a previous article I wrote on August 14, 2023 entitled, Description and Setting, I spoke about the importance of using description to give the reader a picture; whether seen, heard, or felt. I also made mention of the fact you shouldn’t over describe. Write your seen first then do some ‘nip and tuck’ afterward. Below you will find a list of some ‘nip and tuck’ ideas.
| Description Type | Nip and Tuck |
| I viewed the mountains on the horizon. | The dark, grayish mountains hovered on the horizon with daggered peaks draped with snow. |
| Ella walked down the dark street at night. | The night sky’s cloud cover rendered Ella’s surroundings along the lone gravel road an inky black and thick with a dewy mist. |
| The front yard was well kept. | Dawn continued strolling down the sidewalk peering at the house number of each. She’d never been to Sandy’s house before. Most of the front yards sported grass in need of a cut. Then she spied the right house. It had to be, since the front lawn stood out like an outdoor museum. She stopped in front of it, glanced at the house number, and smiled. Yup, this was it. |
| My elbow hurt. | I bent my arm, and a sharp, stabbing pain screamed at me. |
| I opened the old door. | The ancient door snarled in defiance, as I opened it. |
| The two friends fought. | Wild fists flew, as Danny and Eric continued their reckless battle. |
| The nightmare bothered me. | I lifted the spoonful of cereal to my mouth but stopped midway. The tap, tap, tap, that echoed inside my nightmare continued to hold me hostage. I jumped at the sudden pounding on the back door. |
Description and Setting
Describe your setting within your story in such a way that the reader sees, feels, smells, and maybe even hears your created setting. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use many many words to describe it. After all, you don’t want the reader to put your book/story down. Just choose your words wisely. Test out what you wrote on a friend and see what they think. I tried to read a book by a very famous author (whose name I won’t mention) and put it down because they over described. I lost interest fast. The movies were better.
When I’m describing a setting, I imagine I am actually there. I use action verbs. For tense there are times when linking verbs must be used. I try as best I can to use descriptive words that pack a punch (so to speak). Also, try to create intrigue, mystery, tension, or another type of feeling as you’re describing (this will depend on the type of scene you’re creating).
Description isn’t as hard as I might be making it out to be. Just write your scene, then do some ‘nip and tuck’ later to tighten things up.
Other Words for ‘Walk’
There are times in our writing a story when we want to use another word for walk, especially if we want to depict a certain way the character is walking. If the character is angry, we don’t want them to walk away. Instead we might want them to walk away angry, but what words can we use to depict the action and at the same time convey the emotion the character is feeling. Simple, don’t use the word ‘walk’. Use something else. You will find a list of other words for walk along with the emotions they represent.
Angrily
stomp
tramp
careen
stalk
flounder
skulk
Relaxed/Sadness
stroll
saunter
amble
wander
meander
ramble
traipse
dally
Excited
skip
prance
with quick steps
trot
hasten
Confidence
parade
sashay
swank
flounce
stride
stalk
Identifying with Characters
When I’m reading a book, I like to be able to identify with the main character(s), empathize, get to know them, and miss them when the book is finished. This means the author must create them in such a way that they become ‘real’ to the reader. I know, that might sound silly to some, but it isn’t.
To start, the main character(s) is introduced at the beginning of the book (typically in chapter one). Then, throughout the book this same character will or should convey their feelings. Now this should be done in such a way that not only tells the reader how they’re feeling without literally telling them but also show how they’re feeling. This humanizes them and makes them real to us (the reader). (See linked article at the end of this post)
Throwing situations at your main character that draws out these emotions is the key. BUT make sure the emotion(s) fit the situation. You don’t want your male who is madly in love with his girl friend to lack in devastation if she breaks it off with him. This will cause us readers to roll our eyes. You don’t want that.
You want to hook your readers not repel them. Do everything you can to draw them in to your story world with your characters by their side. Make them your readers’ best friend.
For more on character emotions, please refer to my blog post Emotions from April 28, 2021.
Narrative
When reading a book, I enjoy the story’s visuals brought on by the author’s well crafted writing. Narration can be boring if it isn’t spiced up with words that get the readers attention. Believe me, I’ve read some books that were boring in parts because there wasn’t any ‘flavoring particles’ in the narration. It was just relaying information. I get that information must be conveyed to the reader somehow, but there’s a way to tell/show that entices the reader to keep reading. Make it interesting.
- Keep linking verbs to a minimum and use action verbs instead.
- Use words that depict feeling. Example: The hammering continued its incessant bang, bang, until I my teeth ground. I shot out of my chair, stomped to the window, and opened my mouth to scream at the culprit wielding the damn thing. But then it stopped. Everyday for the last week someone next door hammered like that all day. Yet, when asked what they were working on, the answer was “not a damn thing.”
Below is a paragraph taken from my second book entitled The Cross’s Key. The character’s name whose point of view this paragraph is from is Kyle. He’s in another realm called Between Time, and he’s looking for a particular cave.
‘As he walked, thoughts of his last conversation with Nadira haunted him. Didn’t she have confidence in him? What if something did happen to him here, and the Quivicar was out of reach? How would he get a message to her? He glanced at his left palm. The Quivicar sat nice and mesh with the inside of his hand, an anomaly that occurred when it was in use, so it was unlikely to move. The edges of the inner workings of the artifact glowed a feint golden light.’
However you make your narration interesting, whether using action verbs, words conveying emotion, or by any other means is up to you. But keep your reader turning pages.
The Dark
Standing in the dark, does your imagination run wild? Yes? Good…let it. It will serve you well. Add to that the pack of tense, fearful emotions felt at the time. Remember the experience as you’re living it. Then write it down to use it later in a story.
Story Tension
Tension within a story is the sense that something ominous/foreboding is around the corner. What are some ways you can create tension within your story?
Forms of Tension
- Increase conflict between your characters.
- Make the situation worse for your character(s). Ahh, the tension of the task. Don’t make what your characters have to do easy. Don’t allow them to get what they want right away.
- There is tension in surprise. Readers like to be surprised, whether it’s good or bad. Prolong it. Keep stringing them along until just the right time.
- Create an air of mystery. We all love a mystery.
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 