How to pick a good setting?

Depends on the premis of the story itself what the setting will be. What is the story about?

Then... I'm not sure it matters, does it?

It's your story so I guess it's up to you.

Are you thinking of some kind of futuristic setting, or a more realistic one?

Futuristic: No limits for your fantasy... I would spend a long time planning this out though, and making sure all the parts of your setting/world fit to each other and make sense as a whole! The more the reader identifies with your world (or kind of recognizes splinters of his own world in it), the more he cares and the better the reading experience becomes for him. Anything that's big, loud, strange, animalistc, etc, etc.. will draw a lot of attention to it.

Realistic: How about an airfield? A deserted factory? A huge ship? A big shopping center? Ha ha, no idea what your story is about, but I could see moody scenes in all of these environments!

Now let me ask the obvious question: What kind of settings does your plot require/permit?

Definitely go with a real setting. That makes it all the more devastating for the reader and ten times more impactful dealing with the MC's inner turmoil. Definitely go with somewhere your audience would know, depending on which country you plan to publish in.

You could split the difference and invent a city or town in a real country. Authors do this all the time; it saves them from having to be bound so much by existing maps and histories, giving them plenty of design freedom, yet still maintains enough ties to reality to keep things from floating too far off in to lala-land. Make it feel real, and the audience won't care that they can't find "Bateseyville" on the map.

And if this is holding you up in writing, then don't name your specific location - stick with the building he's in, or the geography he sees - and circle back during rewrites if you need to stick a pin on the map.

The setting will probably change as the story evolves. I'd say this is usually a good thing. It's not that hard to go back and make tweaks and rewrite sections--it's just part of the revision process.

So I'd say just pick something that feels natural. Start writing, try to make it the best you can, and add bits as you go along and find you need them. Make it consistent and perfect later.

JMO, of course. Some people plan more than I do. Some people plan less than I do. Only thing to really watch out for is that you don't get stuck in eternal worldbuilding mode. It'll change anyway, so write the thing.

Worrying about whether to use a real or fictional country is pure time-wasting.

It doesn't matter where you set it- it's how the characters act and react to their surroundings and each other that matters.

Bufty said:

Worrying about whether to use a real or fictional country is pure time-wasting.

It doesn't matter where you set it- it's how the characters act and react to their surroundings and each other that matters.

Click to expand...

Yep. If you're waiting until you find the perfect setting before you start writing, then you're not writing. You're vacuuming the cat.

It might be helpful to start by imagining how your current neighborhood or a place you know well would be affected--how it would look, feel, smell, sound. Afterward, you can put that place or neighborhood (or city, etc.) anywhere you wish.

Post-apocalyptic and wasteland could be absolutely anywhere at all.

In Planet of the Apes it only took one small end-of-film shot of a hand protruding from sand and holding a torch to confirm where everything had taken place.

If he's spending a lot of time traveling, I'd go with the "heavily modified vehicle he lives on/out of" idea. Either a pretty large land vehicle similar to an RV, or a cool boat or aircraft to serve the same function. The more capable the vehicle, the more varied the setting can be, allowing you to refrain from making up your mind.

Could you do a seaplane similar to this one? He could hop from one island to the next in an expansive archipelago, simplifying the process of looking for his family if he knows they're on one of a number of small islands.

Okay. You're in the UK. How can you possibly pass up the opportunity to wipe out some of the most iconic structures in the world? Buckingham Palace, Westminster, the Horse guards, Globe Theatre, even the Eye? And, of course, let's not forget about Big Ben and the Tower of London! And, with France right across the channel, how much fun would it be to lay all of this history to ruin on both sides of the water!?
Pick what you know and then turn it into something no one would recognize. Turn these targets of tourists into targets of destruction and waste. It gives your reader a sense of connection and, as others have already pointed out, it can serve to make the devastation all the more keenly felt.

The setting should have meaning to the story. If the story could literally be set anywhere, then it's missing an important element.

Take Divergent, for example. It's set in the ruins of Chicago. Now, I've never been to Chicago, so it could have been New York or San Francisco, for all it mattered to me. But the buildings were of import, as was the lake, which the author drained as part of her post-apocalypse world-changing. To those who know the city, the locations had great impact, for they'd recognize the Ferris wheel that Tris climbs, they'd know the buildings she zip-lines through at night, they'd mourn the loss of the lake, and they would wonder about the giant wall that now surrounds the city. The setting had an impact on the story--you see?

Same goes for Gone With the Wind. What kind of heroine would Scarlett O'Hara have been if she'd lived in Boston, instead of Atlanta? It wouldn't have been the same story.

So pick somewhere that helps define your story. Someplace that will enrich the plot and support the characterizations. And don't skimp on the details! The best post-apocalyptic novels I've read have been ones that go into intricate detail about the ruins of civilization and how the people manage to survive.

If you haven't read Wolf & Iron, you might want to. It's about a man who saw the end coming (via a global financial disaster) and is now trying to keep a small part of civilization alive to be passed down to future generations. But he has to survive, if he's going to do that. It's one of my favorite novels.

one you like
e.g. a forrest b/c you believe 'em neat
that way you'll be enjoying the setting as you write yours
a plus to be sure // g'luck

TheWordsmith said:

Okay. You're in the UK. How can you possibly pass up the opportunity to wipe out some of the most iconic structures in the world?... And, with France right across the channel, how much fun would it be to lay all of this history to ruin on both sides of the water!?
Pick what you know and then turn it into something no one would recognize. Turn these targets of tourists into targets of destruction and waste.

Click to expand...

Excellent advice - basically, write what you know; and make it fun for yourself and the reader!

Orianna2000 said:

The setting should have meaning to the story. If the story could literally be set anywhere, then it's missing an important element...

Same goes for Gone With the Wind. What kind of heroine would Scarlett O'Hara have been if she'd lived in Boston, instead of Atlanta? It wouldn't have been the same story.

So pick somewhere that helps define your story. Someplace that will enrich the plot and support the characterizations.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Surprised no one mentioned Theme until now. You must understand what your story is really about, because once you do, you can pick settings that will best exploit, define and reflect your story.

I had a friend who had a scene with a bride-to-be discussing her pending wedding in a hallway. I asked my friend, why a hallway? What does it have to do with anything that's going on in the scene? He said it doesn't. I asked why not? If she's being forced into the wedding, have the discussion happen in a dungeon. If she's apprehensive, set the scene near a reflecting pool, if she's happy, while she's getting fitted for her wedding gown, etc.
All those suggestions help illustrate the Bride's mindset & mood, they reinforce the conversation, rather than just being a bland backdrop in which to warble exposition.

Seriously consider the Theme - what your story is really about. That is the best jumping off point for all your creative decisions, including (and maybe most crucially) setting. Best of luck!

batesey96 said:

In your opinion, what could I do to get a good setting?

Click to expand...

Stop thinking and just write.

Seriously, what is the story and where does it occur? That's your setting. Your problem isn't picking it, your problem is that you don't know how to write it.

Jeff

Did you destroy Earth? If so, set it somewhere on Earth. Did you destroy some other planet? then set it somewhere on that fictional planet.

As to what's good in this case -- is he a city dude? a country lad? a politician? an engineer? a farmer? a soldier? (officer? grunt??) What he is will inform his setting, and how he reacts to it. Think of the city mouse and the country mouse, and how each finds the other's world quite loony and often dangerous.