Get the Setting Right

What’s so important about the setting of your story? In my humble opinion, it’s one of the most important elements of a work of fiction and is dependent on a descriptive style. I know some of you may not agree, and that’s fine if you can create atmosphere by using dialogue. In other words, the characters tell us about the setting and life in general so that we get a sense of the time and place of the action. Some writers succeed in creating setting by using a character’s voice; but I prefer the descriptive paragraphs that transport me to another place and time. Give me Charles Dickens any day! You could say that I don’t have the patience to piece together the time and place from the dialogue. When I pick up a new novel, I want a vivid description of the setting. That’s what I like so much about historical fiction. I’m fascinated with the details of life in another time, not just the historical facts of a particular period; and writers of this genre usually rely on detailed descriptions that create a picture with words.

I’ve just completed a short work of historical fiction targeting middle grade and early high school students, and I must admit I enjoyed the research almost as much as the writing. As I read extensively about the time period (1838-1855), I realized the need to not only describe the physical characteristics of the setting, but to also give the reader a sense of what life was like during that period. It wasn’t enough to simply provide a description of the home place of the main character and the surrounding countryside. All of the details of everyday life had to ring true. So where do the details come from? Broad reading and research are essential in writing historical fiction, combined with a narrative style that brings to life a time that the writer hasn’t experienced. To put the reader in that time and place is the key. Of course, this is what we want in any genre, not just historical fiction.

So that old advice to the writer that states you should only write about what you know is not always the way the creative process should work. You can certainly learn about something new and write about it without actually experiencing it. The unfamiliar becomes familiar when seen through the “mind’s eye”—the author’s imagination. A word of caution. I’ve talked before about how characters can take over a work in progress and go off in unexpected directions. So be flexible about your plot line. My recent experience writing historical fiction was very enjoyable, but before I reached the end of the manuscript, the characters I had created were taking up too much of my time when I wasn’t writing. They got a foot-hold in my head, and I must admit I was glad when I came to the end of the story. They’re not living in my head anymore! And no, I’m not alone in feeling like this. I was greatly relieved when I watched an interview with best-selling author, Lee Child, on one of the national morning news shows. He said he has a basic idea when he starts a book, but then his character, Jack Reacher, takes over. See, it’s not just me!