Please join me in welcoming today's Roses' guest, Nel DuVall.
Setting is an important element of
any story. In some novels, setting becomes almost a character influencing the
action. Two well-known examples are Hemmingway’s Old Man and the Sea and Joyce Carol Oates’ Black Water.
Setting should seem believable to
the reader whether a real place or an imagined one. I have been fortunate to
live many places including overseas. I’ve traveled extensively both for
business and please. Participating in various Earthwatch projects took me to
interesting places and allowed me to take in variety of activities from an
archaeological digs to environmental surveys. Conferences in foreign countries
introduced me to other cultures and places. Vacations also added to these. All
have contributed something to the settings used in my novels.
Not all writers have those
opportunities, but they can research setting in other ways through the
internet, via documentaries, books, photographs, and a variety of media.
Writers need to develop a feel for their setting and how it influences and
interacts with their characters. Setting provides an important element of
texture to writing.
Popular icons are gloomy castles, a
haunted Victorian house, a farm on the prairie, a seaport, a big city like
Paris, London, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York. Each carries certain
connotations or associations for the reader. The writer can use those
expectations or chose instead to create new ones, but in the latter case, the
storyteller must understand the setting and make changes skillfully and in a
believable manner.
My own novels have used both
familiar and strange, other worldly settings. My two time travel romances were
set in Ohio, but mainly in the past. They took a lot of research and access to
old maps and newspapers. I also visited the places as they now exist, including
the canal and real railroad line used in Train
to Yesterday. In a mystery, Selvage,
I lived in the area where the novel takes place. However, the setting for Beyond the Rim Light by Alex Stone (Nell
DuVall and Steven Riddle) was the far future and outer space. That one took
some knowledge, but a lot of imagination.
My current series, Murder in the Shadows, involves Columbus,
Ohio, and eventually Ireland. My newly released novel Murder in Her Dreams is set in Columbus. I have been to the various
locations mentioned in the novel so setting posed no problems and did not
require extensive research.
Next time you read a novel or write
one, look at the setting and see how the author has used it to provide a sense of
believability and realism to the novel. Is setting just there or does it
influence the characters and the action?
You can find all my books (print
and ebook) under Nell DuVall on Amazon, most of them on Barnes and Noble, and
other book and ebook retailers. Melange Books has the recent offerings,
including Murder in Her Dreams. Check
out my website at www.nellduvall.com.
I’m also a reviewer of mysteries on
www.gumshoereview.com and on www.sfrevu.com for science fiction, fantasy, and
paranormal romances under Mel Jacob
13 comments:
Hi Nel/Mel - interesting piece on settings. I've used real places so far but always have to embellish.
I agree completely with your discussion on the importance of setting, and the role it can play in a mystery. I write one series set in India, where I used to live, and I love using the culture and landscape of India to influence the story. I also write a series set in New England, and I get to use the quirkiness of life along the coast in the mystery.
Since I'm not much of a traveler, most of my mystery novels are set in places I know well, namely New Jersey and New York. I agree that setting needs to be authentic and believable with novels and particularly mysteries. As to romances, I'm more creative especially when writing paranormal.
Yes, Susan. I love your Anita Ray setting It shows physical and cultural aspects so well.
Many writers of contemoray novels use places they know. However, this can be limiting. Experimenting with others is an intereting exercise.
Nice post. I am reading a set of short stories right now: Train Shots by Vanessa Blakeslee. I was asked to review it because two of the short stories take place where I live, Costa Rica. One of those stories, told in first person, is impossible for me to tell if it is fiction or memoir, the setting is so clear. It's obvious the woman either did extensive research or has lived here. All this as a way of saying I was very impressed and, yes, setting is essential whether fiction or nonfiction.
Settings are huge. Most of my books are set in Northern California because I know the area so well. I try to give my readers an in depth look into the environment that shapes the story. Thanks for a great post!
Great blog post, Mel! I especially like books set in Vegas, since a town that crazy and bright can't help but become one of the characters in the story. :-)
Sounds like you have tons of rich memories to draw from, Nell/Mel! I agree that setting is hugely important to the story, almost like another character. I use a mix of familiar and research myself and have been known to get to deeply mired in the research, I forget to actually write. :-)
Very good post. I agree with you one hundred percent, but I'm not great at writing setting. I am working on improving that, though. Thanks for the reminder!
It's all a balancing act in writing. Setting sometimes takes a back seat with mine. Like Alicia, I appreciate the reminder.
Thank you for an interesting and informative article. I'm reading nonfiction at the moment, Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson. Setting is huge -- in every sense of the word.
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