Effective Story Settings

Effective story settings transport readers into the action. Some writers possess the ability to develop stories and settings concurrently. What they envision, they create in the minds of their readers. Other writers go into description mode and their readers develop mental pictures of places prior to occurrences of action. These two types of writing will be illustrated here with examples.

A story might take place at one of my favorite places in Colorado, The Seven Falls. I have seen this beautiful place from the bottom of the falls. I have climbed the stairway beside the falls. I have looked down over the falls from the top of Mount Cutler. As beautiful as it might be as a setting, the environment should never take center stage by being presented in isolation.

Example 1: Description Mode

“Colored lights create rainbows on the beautiful clear water as it tumbles wildly over the granite rocks of the canyon. Spruce and pine trees seem to jut magically out of giant boulders. Rising from the canyon floor, 244 steps lead to flower-decked banks alongside the crystal-clear stream. The creek, swollen with snowmelt, swirls angrily before plunging over the boulders.

Are you sleeping yet? This is way too much telling. The story’s protagonist needs to interact with this scene.

Example 2: Concurrent Development of Setting and Story

Tourists stop to stare as I sprint up the steps two at a time. My side aches; my head throbs; my legs protest. Cold water from the cascading falls sprays into my eyes.

Blinking the water away, I glance down the stairway. The man is getting closer. I can't see the knife, but his scowling face, lighted by a blue spotlight, says he is angry. I can almost feel the firm pressure of his grasp on my arm. Gasping for air, I try to move faster. Tears form in my eyes. 

"Stop her! Stop that woman!" The deep raspy voice rises above the roar of the water.

Beside the next step, a tall pine juts from the granite. I have no time to calculate risk. Quickly, I catapult over the railing and grab for a branch. Needles pierce my hands and scratch my face. I’m sliding downward.

Sirens are wailing. My back is screaming. I’m screaming. I hear a rumbling sound. 

“She’s alive.” The man’s face is blurred but I can see his lips moving. I think the patch on his shirt is blue and white. I can’t make out the fuzzy letters.

“Ashley, can you hear me?” The man’s voice seems far away. I focus on the lights reflecting on my beautiful Seven Falls. The water no longer rumbles but silently cascades down the granite rocks of the canyon.

Everything is fading away. I’m not afraid anymore.

This type of narrative engages readers’ senses and assists them with developing mental images of the setting at the same time characters are introduced.

Things to remember:

• Story details should be a part of actions and dialogue.
• Everything in the environment including weather, scenery, landmarks, time, and people factor into what characters think and how they act.
• Be aware of adjectives. They just might be the enemy that slows the action, destroys the scene, and causes confusion.

The Seven Falls at Night*

Happy Writing!

• Previous post about Story Settings

*Picture from SevenFalls.com

 


Story Settings

Many elements are important if readers are to become absorbed in a story. Being able to visualize the setting where a story takes place is just one of those elements.

In Child of Desire, I used some settings with which I am very familiar since I have been to those places. Of course, because the story took place in the early 1900’s, my first-hand knowledge did not include the time period. That I needed to research.

The following scene from Child of Desire occurs on the swinging bridge that stretches across the Clinch River in Scott County, Virginia. (The name of the river was not provided in the story.)

     “A single line of people stretched from the hill above the narrow swinging bridge, across the bridge, and to the grassy knoll above the schoolhouse. Every head was turned downward toward the river, every eye stared at the muddy, swirling water, and every face was somber. Amanda slowed to a walk and looked questioningly to her neighbors and friends. No one spoke.

     The bridge swayed slowly from side to side with the movement of the crowd. The swollen river below roared and surged outside its banks.

     In the center of the bridge, Mrs. Lawrence, Sam, and Mark stood clustered together. Sam held his mother in a tight embrace, and her head lay on his chest just below his shoulder. Her face was pale and tear-stained. Mark stood back from the railing and gripped his mother’s coat sleeve with one hand while he held the back of his neck with the other. He sobbed pitifully, and his shoulders shuddered as though he had suddenly been seized by a chill. Sam, standing a full head taller than Mark, reached around his mother intermittently to stroke Mark’s hair.”

Below is a picture of this swinging bridge with family members, Coleen Powers Walker, Johnathan Walker, and Jennifer Walker, as they bravely crossed to the other side. The picture was taken during our 1988 family reunion in Southwest Virginia.

This swinging bridge existed in the early 1900’s, the period in which Child of Desire takes place, and it is still there. Over the years the bridge has been reinforced and rebuilt to ensure the safety of those who cross.