The Importance of Setting



From Wikipedia Creative Commons.


Oh look, I'm using an image today--yay!  (Usually I just don't feel like doing the whole free-image-search-attribution deal.  Indolence!)

Okay, so here's a thing I could probably lose entire months getting lost in: worldbuilding.

But first, let's talk about setting.  (Aaaaaawww...)

Setting is important.  It is where your story takes place. (Really?!) It also refers to the time frame during which the story unfolds.  Without setting, your characters, and your readers, have no frame of reference, no context from which a "story" may even be derived.  No grounds for constructing a meaningful experience upon.

Place.  Time.  Context.  Together, they help to create story orientation.  (I just got this image of a Captain Planet-like team putting their superpowered rings of storytelling together in a big circle, declaring, "Concept, plot, character, setting, theme...Story!" [Insert bubbly, make-believe theme song here.])

Setting can be as ordinary as a barber shop somewhere in a post-WWII American town or as outlandish as a foreign alien planet where gargantuan, mobile, carnivorous plant species coexist with the indigenous lavender-skinned humanoids with sweat glands that secrete a natural repellent, making them inherently "unappetizing" to their feisty plant denizens.

Of course, perhaps for your protagonist that little barber shop doesn't seem so ordinary anymore after he inadvertently (it seems) discovers a small, odd-looking chest hidden beneath some floor boards, locked by a key of unknown whereabouts and origins; and perhaps those flesh-eating plants and that lavender skin are just as commonplace as the next pebble on the ground, though not so common as that new, benevolent yellow plant species that suddenly popped up in the forest this morning and seems to respond, out of tentative interest, to only one humanoid native in particular.  It all depends on the perspective of the characters you choose and the plot they're involved in.  All these things are dependent upon one another.

And that is the beauty of story.

However usual or unusual your setting may be, I firmly believe that it must be unique to the story being told.  If it doesn't make a hill-of-beans difference whether Mary discovers herself in Plano, Texas or on the Moon, then perhaps that writer has got a bit of story-soul-searching to do.  A setting that does not participate with its characters, plots and themes, or has no connection to the other elements of the story, is just an inconsequential place setting at which the writer may be left alone to dine.  And maybe you don't believe this to be true in real life, but wouldn't you say that in every great story all things happen for a reason?  That nothing--no detail of setting or plot or character or anything else--is ever left to chance?

Think about it.  Would Jane Eyre's story be the same if it were set in modern-day England?  Would the tales of Jedi Knights be nearly as epic were they placed on a single planet during a time in which space travel was not yet possible?  I should think not.

It's All In the Details

In my current WIP the elements of earth, metal, wood, water, fire, air and aether/void play a tremendous role in the overall color and flavor of the story.  Not only are they the categories for elemental powers used by some of my characters but also personality types.  I'll use word associations that are evocative of the elements to describe my characters, according to whichever element I've linked them to.

For example, my protagonist Voi is linked to the element of air.  Her entire way of being, even some of her thought processes, mimic or relate to the characteristics of air--a passion for air travel, for example, and a tendency towards flightiness, even a fickle and child-like nature.  Now, not everything she does is filtered through this one element, however, because people in real life aren't one dimensional like that, but I do make it a point to carry out the personification of the elements through my character's actions.

(I definitely think this has the potential to get pretty hokey and cliché, depending on how it's done, but that's something I've had to work out in my own writing style.  The popular axiom of "show, don't tell" is probably the easiest way, I think, to avoid this trap.  Showing Voi fleeing from situations rather than conveniently narrating the fact that she is, in fact, a sylph-like creature prone to capriciousness.  And so on and so forth...)

If God is in the details, and the author is virtually a story's god, then why would he leave the setting (or any other story element, for that matter) to chance when ultimately he is in control?  Though, you also know what they say about the Devil fitting somewhere in there, too, so the moral of that story is: It's not easy playing God for a day, or 365 of them, or however many days it takes you to write a novel (because let's face it, this is what writers essentially do when they write, isn't it?), though if you care about writing a quality story, then you'll give every ounce of it its due amount of attention to detail.

Perhaps you are thinking now, "That's some high talk...coming from an amateur."

Look, I'm not saying I'm some master at all of this, 'cause I'm not.  Like any other art form, I think learning to tell a story with attention to detail is a continual practice, though I think it is important to do so and it is something I am actively pursuing to the best of my ability--barring the fact that I am not (yet) published.

[Obligatory Hiatus]

All right, all right, so by now you've probably realized that I like to write loooong-ish posts.  I've already written like a three-part series and just decided to chop it into pieces.  (Did I tell you that my manuscript at this moment is sitting at just under 200K words?  Um, yeah...I am seriously considering labeling it as an "epic fantasy," at this point, though I'm not 100% sure if it belongs there.)  I'm verbose like that, and I really can't help it.  Apparently, I've got a lot of freakin' stuff to say.

I understand that people generally need to eat large beasts in small bites, though, so tomorrow I'm gonna post the rest of my thoughts.  (I don't really want to get into the habit of posting in Parts I, II, III, etc. like I have already, twice, 'cause oddly I don't really feel I have that kind of privilege.  Couldn't exactly tell you why.)

But since we've come to this hiatus now...I've got some questions for you!

How important is the setting in your current work(s) of storytelling art?  How is it connected to the other elements of story--your characters, themes and the plot itself?  Is it something that's more of a background element, or is it one of those things you want to showcase?  (Neither is it necessarily good or bad, I don't think, though I am curious.  It probably depends a lot on your genre, too.)

Getting to Know Your Story - Part I

So let's say you've got this fantabulous idea for a novel, right.  So then the first step, naturally, would be to start writing about it.  Riiiiight?

Err...if you mean start writing the actual novel, then I'm afraid not.  I'll explain why.

READ the INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.  Please.

I can be a real stubborn one.  I'm the kind of person that will purchase one of those self-assembled furniture pieces from places like Target and IKEA and refuse to read the instructions because I'm smart and can figure it out by myself, thank you very much.  My dad's an engineer (electrical, actually).  Works in the aerospace industry.  I'm sure he passed down some of his figure-it-out mentality to me through the bloodline, even if it's just a fraction.  Convicted of this, I set my mouth in a grim line and put those insulting pictorial instructions with those ridiculous smiling faces aside.

Of course, I usually end up regretting it later.  "What?  Where did that piece come from?"

Disassemble.  Insert missing piece.  Reassemble.  Scowl at own stupidity.  Smart, eh?

Shut up, I tell my snickering subconscious.  Shut the frak up.

*   *   *
Not surprisingly, I've taken a similar approach to writing.  I like to learn things the hard way, apparently.  Make mistakes.  Make a fool of myself.  Gain incredible insights along the way.

The latter is the greatest part, the part I never regret.  The same can be said for making some mistakes along the way, though a good number of the mistakes I've made probably could have been avoided.

Here's where I'm going with this: There are instructors out there in this big wide world who have set aside time out of their daily bustling lives to provide useful tips, guidelines and storytelling commandments, either free of charge or for an affordable rate, to would-be writers who think they'll have no trouble figuring it all out on their own by doing things their way.  (This page is proof.)  Writers like me.  And, perhaps, you.

I think it's quite possible to figure it out all on your own, but if you're not a very patient, dedicated, or disciplined person you'll burnout long before you've even gotten a quarter of the way there.  Lucky for me, once I've dedicated myself to an endeavor I don't quit easily, but I also don't like floundering around like a fish out of water for long and will eventually turn to someone for help.  But only if I can't figure it out by myself first.

Call it a character flaw, but I really do like to figure certain things out on my own.  There's a sense of achievement that comes along with that.  I'm sure you've experienced this for yourself at one point or another.  You'd understand.

Okay, so maybe there's stuff I should learn before attempting a novel.  So what?

If you're not convinced you need to get yourself edumacated before you set out to start a novel with any hope of potential amongst other readers besides yourself, then I'm sorry; I can't help you.  No one can.  If that's what you want, to figure it out on your own, then more power to you.

On the other hand, if you are new to this writing thing, want to benefit from those who've been there and learn more about storytelling before you embark on the incredibly ambitious mission of writing a novel (or any story for that matter), then there are a few places you can start.

The first: remember that page I mentioned earlier, that orange link?  (At least I think it's orange, unless you already visited it.)  That would be a good start.  Or, if you have a favorite author(s), why not check out his/her website or blog?  They might even have free writing tips to share with you.

There are also some books out there that you might want to consider.  If you've read some of my other posts, then you already know that I'm a biased writer in that my focus is on the fantasy genre.  With that said, there are a couple of books I've read and thought were helpful without them being limited to fantasy writers.

How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey was one.  It gives you some basic things to think about before you start pecking away on your keyboard, relentlessly churning out fiction into your poor word processor during ceaseless nights, and perhaps even, days.  (Sometimes you get that into it.)  The Key, by the same author, was also useful to me in understanding the archetypal Hero's Journey and character types but also cliches, how to avoid them and how it's possible to mix character roles to create more complex characters.  Also, check out Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.  It goes through the basics of how to put a coherent sentence together, but it also talks about how to appropriately use certain misused words and phrases like lie and lay.  Style and grammar all wrapped up into one.  It's a good reference book--one I still like to thumb through.

...and that's where my book-reading advice stops short.  Like I said, I am of the figure-it-out variety, so I didn't read too many how-to books before I dived back into the process of writing.  Most of my research, when I hunkered down and did some, was actually done online.  However, if you prefer books to online articles or want to mix up your educational-things-to-read list, then there are many bookstores out there, online and in-person, that make it easy to search for instructional books and make personal judgements as to which ones might help you the most.  This is especially easy online, where you can also browse other reader's reviews on books you're interested in and read their takes on how helpful those books were/were not.  That's personally my favorite way to go about purchasing books.

Alibris, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders are all great places to search.  I'm sure there are more out there, but those are the one's I've tried.  (Amazon is probably my fave. :D)

Learning about writing is a lot like homework in college: No one's gonna keep looking over your shoulder to make sure you're doing it.  Either you learn the material or you don't.  That's how I feel about it, anyway.  In essence, I think becoming a (creative) writer is just one of those do-it-yourself kinds of things.  That doesn't mean there aren't mentors out there who can give you pointers and advice along the way, though.

Now, to the Point.

Hm, this post is getting long, and I've barely brushed the titular topic!  You know what?  Here's what I'm gonna do: Consider today Part I.  Tomorrow, I will post Part II.

"Soooooooound good?"

"Yes, sir!"

(Thinking of Inglourious Basterds there.)