An idea for a setting might be decided in advance or it will develop throughout the progress. One is based off a real-life place while others might require more imagination and improvisation.
Whatever it is, not choosing the right setting can be disastrous and result in a seemingly rushed and messy situation. Here are some questions that you want to ask yourself when deciding on a right setting of both a general story and specific scenes.
1. What is the common setting for your genre?
For the general setting of a story, it would be easier to refer back to the novels in the same genre as yours and look for the similar pattern.
An easy example I can give is the similar setting of the 2 successful young adult dystopian novels I read when I was in junior high school, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; Divergent by Veronica Roth; Matched by Ally Condie.
These stories have a common setting in which a character or organization plots a rebellion against the government sometime in the future. If you’re able to develop the general idea you can research for potential names and even design what the place would look like.
2. What location would support the scene of this story?
Like the actions of a character, your choice of setting can tell a lot more about your story than just a description. Not only does a setting gives information but it can also foreshadow, symbolize, characterize, captures emotion, and provide tension.
For example, when introducing a main character I might choose to put her in a café with things that she likes (camera, cake, etc.) and depending on the weather or situation, the café can set a general mood that suits the scene.
So before choosing a setting, ask yourself again: what is it that you want to show from this scene? What is your purpose?
3. What mood do you want to convey?
Just like what I’ve mentioned in question 2, what your reader feel about a specific scene does not only depend on your characters. If your character is currently happy, you wouldn’t want him to be in a dark, grimy place.
Think of what colors gives an emphasize on the mood, what kind of weather, is the place big or small, urban or rural?
4. How will your character react to it?
Are they new to the place? Or maybe they’re used to come to the place at a certain time. You can tell a character’s backstory through your setting by thinking of what association the character have with certain places or time. Do they have a trauma? Or maybe a delightful memory?
5. Did you brainstorm already?
Lastly, there are hundres, even thousands of setting combination you can make. It doesn’t have to be real, it can be fictional. On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be original, you can refer back to movies or novels you liked!
I think that many beginners like myself would immediately pick the first setting that comes to their minds. However, brainstorming with the 4 questions that I’ve written may help you unveil something you’ve never thought of before.
Try to defy the rules and be as imaginative as you can. Grab a piece of paper write the scene title in the middle, and write all the setting types you can think of until you get the perfect one. Still not perfect enough? Combine what you’ve come up with and those you can research online! You can also find concept illustrations on Pinterest or Google. Or maybe you can listen to specific music that depicts your scene well.
So before choosing a setting, keep all these 5 questions in mind. You don’t have to hurry but be sure to think about the numerous possibilities you can make.
Until then.
Featured image: https://twitter.com/metlx/status/657080978268033024
a curious journal 