Setting–less is more

-setting 1a : the time, place, and circumstances in which something occurs or develops

Abracadabra. Poof. You’re in a forest.

You’ve already imagined the trees, haven’t you? Towering pines, maybe?

An eagle shrieked. Look up and see if you can find him. His wing span is impressive. Did you catch the scent of pine with that sharp intake of wonder? What other details do you notice? Swatches of blue sky? Swaying treetops?

Your boot’s untied. Best fix that before you trip. Did you feel the soft forest floor shift beneath your weight as you squatted to collect your laces? Did you hear the dead needles crunch under your soles?

It’s a scorcher today, but the swarming insects don’t seem to mind. You’ve got a mosquito on the back of your sweaty neck. Want me to slap it? No? Ah, you spoil all the fun.

Now that your shoes are in order we can move on. Back to the office.

What just flashed through your mind?

A room filled with cubicles, humming with the sound of shuffling papers, laboring printers, and your co-workers’ chatter? Did you see your boss’ scowling face? Come on, you’d be scowling too if one of your employees left in the middle of a work day to traipse through a forest. You’ve tracked dirt across the carpet, for heaven’s sake. Get back to work, you slob.

***

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary states that setting is “the time, place, and circumstances in which something occurs or develops.”

The first two—time and place—are important details, yes, but it’s the circumstances that make a story. The same dictionary says that a circumstance is “a subordinate or accessory, fact, or detail” with subordinate being the key word.

Details in our setting are subordinate to the plot and each character’s actions and reactions.

Few readers want paragraphs with a run-down of a room’s décor or character’s outfit. The mere mention of the word “office” a bit ago, already had your mind painting an array of details. It is our responsibility as authors to allow the reader that right and privilege—to give them a little nudge, then free them to create the world they want in their own mind.

If your hero trips over a trashcan left in the cubicle aisle, or if the sun streaming through the massive glass windows makes him squint, then you’re adding details to the setting at a pace that a reader can absorb and appreciate. But if your hero isn’t going to “interact” with the trashcan, leave it out.

When we stood in the forest, I added setting details only as they applied to our senses and actions. The sense of hearing—a screeching hawk made us look up and brought into focus the blue sky. An action—tying a shoe lace made the needles crunch. A sensory detail motivated action, an action made us alert to a sensory detail, and both created setting.

Don’t fall prey to lists of details and descriptions! In settings, less is always more.

Let’s play a game. I’m going to list various settings. Pick one (or all!) and in the comments section, write the first details that come to mind. Let’s see what kinds of setting we can create with the little nudges I’ll give.

Here are two examples and the first four things that came to my mind when I thought of them:

Viking village—smell of fish, cluster of thatched roofs, sea gulls, big hairy men carrying battle axes.

Backyard—swing set, bright green grass, bird bath, wooden fence

Your turn! I’ve started large scale and worked my way to smaller settings.

The Rockies—

Pirate ship—

Bathroom—

Refrigerator—(ok, not exactly a setting, but the point is to show how quickly and vividly our minds work)

Visit Clash of the Titles to learn more about creating settings and to read examples from our unpublished guests.

–April W Gardner is the Sr. Editor at Clash of the Titles

and the award-winning author of Wounded Spirits

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