Develop the setting into a character. I’ve read that a million times and thought, okay, great idea. But other than using the 5 senses, how in the heck do I do it?
Thanks to Nancy Rue, I’m confused no longer. Nancy Rue brought clarity. Nancy Rue jumped inside my head, flicked on the switch, and illuminated everything in bright yellow. She’s one of the many contributing authors to A Novel Idea and wrote a short, completely insightful article entitled Protagonist, Antagonist…Setagonist.
Here’s what she had to say:
When we sit to pen a novel, we should think about our setting and ask ourself: Does the setting act as the protagonist’s ally, or as the protagonist’s enemy?
Brilliant question!
I got to thinking about my setting in the current series I’m writing. Peaks, Iowa, a small, fictitious farming town set in the Midwest. For my first novel, Beneath a Velvet Sky, Peaks is most definitely an antagonist to my protagonist, Bethany Quinn. Bethany sees Peaks (at least at first) as her enemy. How much better to write about the setting from a major sense of conflict, as an antagonist of sorts, than a ho-hum, every-day small town.
In my second novel, Wishing on Willows, Peaks is most definitely an ally to my protagonist, Robin Price. Robin adores Peaks. Adores the atmosphere, the people, the small-town beauty. The setting is like a beloved sister brimming with memories and a nostalgic past she doesn’t want to release. In her mind, somebody’s out to destroy the town (or at least change it). I need to write about the setting from that deep emotional place. As if it truly was one of her best friends.
Questions to Ponder: So, what about you? Is your setting an enemy or an ally? Pick one. Because it most assuredly should not be neutral. Neutral settings equate to limp, lifeless settings. And who wants to write about that?
