Setting is the dynamic backdrop to our lives. It is the time, place, and environment in which your story gets told. This crucial element determines and defines you, the main character in your life story.
WITHOUT SETTING THE SCENE, READERS CANNOT FOLLOW THE PLOT
The plot is the unfolding story you are telling.
Your setting gives context to your actions. It’s easier to understand why the characters in the story are doing what they’re doing when we know where they are. The places where you grew up shaped you in a certain way. You want to convey that to your reader.
Create clear depictions of space and time, to engage your reader`s senses and emotions. This also gives you as the writer vivid visual cues to develop your plot line and series of events.
Seasons, for example, will give you sensory information to work with. Summers can feel scorching, there might be a heat wave or an outbreak of veld fires. The lack of rain can reflect in the main character`s actions and emotions.
Remember to use the character of the landscape you find yourself in, because it defines the self-image of the people who live/lived there.
WAYS TO INDICATE TIME AND PLACE IN YOUR WRITING
There are various ways that time and place indicate setting. Time can be your time of life, the time of day or year. It can be the past, present, or the future. Place also covers a lot of areas. Your house, your country, the places you visit and modes of transport. The setting of your story can change throughout the book. The environment includes geographical locations. Climate and weather, and social aspects such as your school, work, sport, and cultural activities, all play a role.
SETTING THE SCENE: HOW THE SETTING RELATES TO A READER`S EXPERIENCE
If I were to talk about the old Datsun 1400 Bakkie that I was sitting in, hunched forward, driving down Main Road in Sea Point, you’d know where I was.
If I were to write about the Datsun 1400 Bakkie—musty with the smell of stale sweat hanging heavy in the air, the plot thickens.
If I were to show you that the sky is dark, there’s a cold drizzle, the wind from the sea is gusty, and that my inner thoughts reflect that, “This weather is just making things worse,” you`d have some insight into my state of mind.
WHY THE SETTING IS IMPORTANT
- Connects the story’s elements.
- Builds meaning to the narrative.
- Elicits emotional response in the reader.
- Helps readers visualize your story.
- Improves the story’s flow.
RESEARCH THE PLACES AND TIME YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT
Research and fact-finding are crucial to the writing process. Make it a habit.
Revisit the places and areas you will be writing about in your life story. Get out of the car, walk the streets, observe the space with all your senses. Use YouTube for additional footage of areas. Google Earth is a useful tool if you cannot physically visit a scene. For historical information you can use photos, consult archives, or talk to people who shared certain events in history with you. Take notes and, if possible, do voice or visual recordings.
HOW DO I APPLY THE WHEN AND WHERE IN MY WRITING?
When your research is done (and, by the way, it is never really done), your life story or memoir can unfold in context. Information about the time, place and environment should be dished out sparingly, throughout your manuscript, almost on a need-to-know basis. Remember that, as a writing coach, I can assist you with this!