Weekend Writing: Describing Your Story's Setting

I’m going to cut right to the chase: One of the most important writing elements is your story’s setting. So, if you don’t master this skill, your story is going to struggle.

One of the many ways to breathe life into your story is to immerse your readers in your story’s world, specifically through creative, evocative descriptions of the story’s setting. But that’s not easy, right? How do you effectively create a strong setting? How do you describe it?

That’s what I’ll discuss in this weekend’s post. Oftentimes, the settings in which our stories take place are connected to the narrative so it might not be that difficult for you to choose the setting at all. You know where the story should take place, but do you know how to describe it for your readers? They need to visualize the setting…and that’s your job as the writer to do the work for them.

(photo/Helping Writers Become Authors)

You should put as much time and careful thought into your setting as you would for characterization. Your setting is where your story takes place. It’s the location where your characters grow, have conflicts, and more. Settings can give depth and context; amplify the conflict or tension; reveal unique elements of characterization; deepen the story’s theme; and, simply set the mood.

Your setting has to be important, so make sure you set aside time to really focus on the setting. How does the setting amplify your characters’ emotions? How does the setting work with the plot? Is your setting an actual place, or is it fictional? If it’s a factual location, research everything you need to know about this place before you begin drafting. If it’s fictional, write down all of the details about the location before you begin your first draft.

Bottom line: You have to know your story’s setting before you can begin writing. It’s just that simple.

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So, you have a good idea of the story’s setting—Now what? You need to describe it. Settings need to have a purpose and power, and this is accomplished through the way you describe the worlds.

Here are my tips for writing descriptive settings that will work for your story:

1. Use Sensory Details 

Think about the five senses: Touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell. Now, think about the natural sceneries surrounding you. We live in a vibrant world with plenty of sensory input, and our characters’ worlds should reflect this, as well.

Work to include as many sensory details as possible into your fiction. While you don’t need to include every sense in a scene, think about what scents are present. What does the character smell? What does he/she hear? It’s easy to think about what your characters see, but what about the other senses? You have many options here, and these details will breathe life onto the pages of your story.

2. Engage with the Setting

At this point, you’re thinking about the sensory details. Now, engage with your setting. Don’t write, “She smelled vinegar in the air as she walked into the restaurant kitchen.” Instead, write: “Her nose wrinkles as the sharp smell of vinegar fills the air—enough to intoxicate her, if only she hadn’t grown up inside her father’s restaurant.”

Sprinkle sentences like these (with plenty of sensory details) throughout each scene and your readers will have a strong sense (no pun intended) of the setting.

3. Think About Your Characters

Your characters are living in these worlds, so you have to think about them. Often times, a character’s life experiences and personality shape how they view the world around them. When you’re describing your settings, think about your character’s point of view and how they would engage with their surroundings.

4. Be Impactful

As you’re drafting, think about everything your setting should accomplish: setting the mood, giving depth and context, increasing the conflict or tension, revealing characterization, or working with the theme.

Describe the setting that will help you achieve these writing goals. If you’re writing a story that takes place during an intense fight, you will want to focus on the sensory elements that will add more tension to the scene. If you’re writing a story that takes place on a cruise ship, you will want to focus on the elements that will add to the characterization, context, mood, and possibly even the theme.

There are so many options.

5. Be Concise

There’s a common rule for writing: Write tight. It can be easy to write flowery, elaborate prose, but how much of these descriptions really add to the story? When it comes to describing the setting, be concise. Be simple. Make strong, simple word choices that evoke the tone you want, but don’t overdo it.

Be careful of using unnecessary adjectives and being vague. If you write that your character gets goosebumps, is it from fear or excitement? If you write that the setting gives your character chills, is that because he/she is uncomfortable and frightened? Or, is it because he/she is “wowed” by the space?

It’s much more powerful to be concise and let your readers know exactly how the setting is affecting the story than to try to impress readers with how “pretty” you can write. Because, the truth is...You’re not impressing them; you’re just frustrating them with unnecessary words.

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(photo/Goalcast)

It’s not easy to write settings, but you can do it. As you can see from the tips I provided, there’s a lot to think about in the pre-writing phase before you begin drafting. Think about the setting and how you want to effectively describe it for your readers.

Spend time with your setting. After all, it’s the place where your characters learn, love, live, grow, explore, etc. It’s where your story takes place, so don’t feel bad if you spend more time organizing your thoughts than others. Add those sensory details. Be powerful. Amplify your language.

And, engage with the setting. Your readers will love it.

Good luck!

Write on.

-KJL-