Settings in lit fic

gettingby · Jan 20, 2015

How do you choose the settings for your stories? I think I have written enough short stories that I have played around with a lot of different settings. I like it best when my setting is kind of a contrast to the story. It can be fun to take a story and plop it into a place that is unusual for this sort of plot to take place. But is this a cheap trick? Is this just to bring out a shock factor? I don't know. Maybe.

I recently read The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver and her setting really comes to life in this book, almost as if it were its own character. It has me thinking that I want my settings to jump of the page the way hers does in this book.

How do you choose your setting and how much is the setting a part of your story?

Jamesaritchie · Jan 20, 2015

I want my settings to jump off the page, too. A really good, detailed setting brought to life can sell a story that might not sell otherwise. Especially if the setting is one editors don't see in the slush fifty times per day.

A huge mistake many new writers make is using a setting they don't know well enough to bring to life. I use settings that are both unusual, meaning only that editors rarely, if ever, see them, and that I know well enough to make them a character in the story.

New writers seem to think the setting they know best, which is usually the one they've lived in the longest, isn't worthy of a great story, but it simply isn't true. It's the best possible location for a story only you can write.

Lillith1991 · Jan 20, 2015

You ask an awful lot of how much type questions.

When it comes to setting I let my subconcious mind tell me what it will be, just like I let it tell me the genre. Sometimes setting comes with the story idea. One of my stories takes place on a deadly desert moon, because that what fit. I like descriptive settings if it benefits the story or the story genre, like setting a gothic in an old building. The setting itself can become a character.

Setting for me is one of those things that I add to during the second draft, because I only work as much as I need to get through the story into the first one. It's one of the things I expand upon. It really isn't any different no matter the genre.

gettingby · Jan 20, 2015

Lillith1991 said:
You ask an awful lot of how much type questions.

When it comes to setting I let my subconcious mind tell me what it will be, just like I let it tell me the genre. Sometimes setting comes with the story idea. One of my stories takes place on a deadly desert moon, because that what fit. I like descriptive settings if it benefits the story or the story genre, like setting a gothic in an old building. The setting itself can become a character.

Setting for me is one of those things that I add to during the second draft, because I only work as much as I need to get through the story into the first one. It's one of the things I expand upon. It really isn't any different no matter the genre.

I know I ask a lot of questions, but they are mostly for discussion purposes. I am trying to participate on AW. And I love that we can all weigh in and share our thoughts and experiences. I just want there to be as many lively discussions on here as possible. And I think that if I'm wondering about these things, others might be, too. I hope I'm not bothering you with my posts.

Lillith1991 · Jan 20, 2015

gettingby said:
I know I ask a lot of questions, but they are mostly for discussion purposes. I am trying to participate on AW. And I love that we can all weigh in and share our thoughts and experiences. I just want there to be as many lively discussions on here as possible. And I think that if I'm wondering about these things, others might be, too. I hope I'm not bothering you with my posts.

Course you aren't, we could use a lot more discussions of this type in this section of the forum! It doesn't get as much traffic as other parts, I'm sure you noticed.

Settings are a fascinating topic to be honest. Not Lit or even a book, but I enjoyed the less seen parts of London in the movie Rag Tag. It was like a character in and of itself, and so was the director's village in Nigeria. Personally I prefer settings that are like that, and aspire to write such settings all be it in written form.

WriterBN · Jan 21, 2015

Setting is vital to my stories. For short fiction, I tend to set them in locations that I'm familiar with, or at least where I can get a good refresher from people currently living there.

Of course, for my SF novel-in-progress, that's pretty much impossible. I still do a ton of research, though.

blacbird · Jan 21, 2015

First, I can't see how setting in literary fiction is different from setting in any other genre of fiction.

Second, I find setting to be integral to any idea I have for a story. It's never something I ponder about much. I can't imagine a story without knowing what the setting is.

caw

lacygnette · Jan 22, 2015

I love a strong setting. The last two great books I read were set in real-world war zones. Just having the characters in that situation added a lot of tension.

Like some of the others, if I need to choose a setting, ie the place isn't dictated by the story, I usually chose one of the many places I have lived. That way I can "walk around" there in my mind and know where the character would go. I did write one historical that had to take place in some locations I've never been. A lot of research. Thank heavens for the internet and tourist pix! And, putting the cart before the horse, the novel's done but I'm visiting some of the locations this spring.

I am trying an odd juxtaposition of locations in my new novel, throwing a pool hall into a story set mainly in the theater. We'll see how that goes.

And getting by, I'm so glad to see some discussion here. Thanks for jump starting us.

gettingby · Jan 22, 2015

blacbird said:
First, I can't see how setting in literary fiction is different from setting in any other genre of fiction.

Second, I find setting to be integral to any idea I have for a story. It's never something I ponder about much. I can't imagine a story without knowing what the setting is.

caw

For the most part, literary settings are real-world settings. I have read lit fic where this is not the case, but most of the time that is not the case. I also think literary writers might approach setting differently. I could be wrong, but literary fiction is what I like to read and write so I wanted to see how others who are into the same thought about this.

lacygnette · Jan 23, 2015

What do you mean about approaching setting differently? Examples, please.

Ravioli · Feb 2, 2015

I choose my settings according to the character's life, or relevance to the story. If he studies at Haifa Uni, he doesn't live in the fancy part of Tel Aviv. If he's religious, probably Jerusalem. Boring, I know

JHFC · Feb 5, 2015

Yeah, setting for me is dictated by what I'm writing about.

I decide what story I want to tell and that usually comes with a location.

gettingby · Feb 6, 2015

JHFC said:
Yeah, setting for me is dictated by what I'm writing about.

I decide what story I want to tell and that usually comes with a location.

I think it's interesting that you choose the setting first. I guess sometimes I do this, too. But also I sometimes change the setting once I get more into the piece. Setting does frame the story and can change the tone of a piece. I usually write absurdist literary fiction, and I have come to realize how important setting is to these kinds of stories. The story I am working on now was coming out too serious and sad. I changed the setting and now the whole concept is weird in a great way.

However, I never would have thought about my new setting from the beginning. Do you guys ever change your setting during the writing process to better suit the story?

Settings in lit fic

gettingby

Jamesaritchie

Lillith1991

The Hobbit-Vulcan hybrid

gettingby

Lillith1991

The Hobbit-Vulcan hybrid

WriterBN

blacbird

lacygnette

Sucked in by AW again

gettingby

lacygnette

Sucked in by AW again

Ravioli

Crazy Cat Lady

JHFC

gettingby