Setting the Scene

Setting the scene in a story is an integral part of making a story a place where a reader can feel the world is fully realized and believable. Many new authors struggle with how much is too much when they write in descriptions of scenes. One of my favorite authors, Anne Rice, is spot on (for my tastes) at wording in a tangible reality complete with scents, specific details, and images that the character would notice. As an artist, there is always a point at which I must stop or risk overdoing the image I'm creating. The same holds true in writing. When you begin to write a scene, remember these simple tips to help you gauge when to stop.




WHAT DOES MY CHARACTER SEE?

Get into your character's head. That's where you want your reader to be. Show the senses (feeling, touch, taste, smell, sight, sound) in just enough words to draw the reader into your character's setting. Would your character notice the center of the flowers in the pot he is standing by, or would he gloss over the details and notice the sweet center of some sort of white flowers there. A lot has to do with what's important to your character and theoretically how much knowledge your character has of what's around him or her. If he has never seen or learned the name of a rose, to him it's just a flower. If he doesn't know the name of the Parthenon, to him it's a big marble ruin. Writing what your character sees is like writing what that character writes. You may very well known Latin names of flora and fauna, but your assassin who never graduated high school doubtfully will not. Stay in his head and keep it real.



IS A DESCRIPTION NECESSARY?

If your character is looking at the cabin where he's about to hide away for the night to escape a feral bear that's hot on his tail, then you better describe what the place looks like, at least in enough detail to give your reader an idea of what the character sees. Your character may be rushing through the trees when he sees a run-down shack of a log cabin, its mortar missing, its roof half caved in, and the door gaping open to reveal darkness. Or he may stop and take in more details. The overgrown garden by the open door. The worn footpath likely used by deer now instead of people. The broken window pane. Cobwebs. Bear tracks. A splash of blood on the door jamb.



WHERE TO PUT A DESCRIPTION

Certainly you'll want a setting woven into that first paragraph or two of your chapter. Tell your reader right away where that character is. Also, as your character moves about or notices things around him, you'll need to fill in. Next time you read a book, pay close attention to the setting. Did the author leave you and the character in a blank white space? Or do you feel like you're right there in the middle of everything, immersed in experience and a world apart from your own?



RESEARCH

If you're going to write your character into a real life place, you better describe it well enough so that readers who know it won't laugh at your descriptions. If you haven't been there and likely won't be going there to take notes anytime soon, look it up online or in a book and write from the facts you find. Citing roadways or landmarks? Why make them up when there's so much truth available to base your setting in? Unless of course, your whole world is fiction. Stephen King does it well with Derry, Maine. Why? Because it's a place he made up but it's based on places that are real, that he has lived in and knows well enough to write realistically.



Writers that follow these very basic of guidelines will succeed at taking their readers into their stories, which is right where we all want them to be. If you have a tip or a complaint about settings, do comment and share!