A Writer's Guide to Active Setting by Mary Buckham

Author:Mary Buckham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2015-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

Let’s pull these two examples apart to see how Cotterill ratchets up conflict not only by using Setting, but by using contrasting POVs to show Setting.

He lay wide awake [A hint here that though the man went to bed, he’s not yet asleep. The reader doesn’t know if this is a good thing or not.] in his tent as the light from the fire danced its fingers against the canvas. [Fresh description that lets us know he’s inside a tent.] The ground was hard and lumpy. The air was so cold he could see his breath. [Sensory details revealed as negative.] And, all around him, wild beasts reminded him that he was invading their territory. [Shows characterization by his response to the Setting. Compare this to the next passage of another character in this same place, same trip, same everything—except how he sees the setting.]

December in the mountains of Xiang Khouang was too cold and high for mosquitoes. [Orients the reader as to time of year and location, but also lets the reader know this man thinks of the mountains in a specific way. The mountains are not some vague general unknown, but a place he knows.]. Siri slept in a hammock slung between two sturdy breast fruit trees. [Specific details, which again reveal he knows this Setting well.] Wrapped in a blanket, [He’s outside versus inside a tent.] he smiled up [Clear emotional response.] at the stars that extended from horizon to horizon. He breathed in the scents: the night orchids that hid their beauty shyly during the day and blossomed under moonlight, the release sourness plants, and the sudden love vegetables. [Specific details.] He listened to jungle music: the choir of birds and beasts that sang through the night. The air was so fresh [Sensory details.] he could feel his insides waking from a long polluted hibernation. [Characterization.]

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