ELEMENTS OF STORY - SETTING THE TABLE
Normally, when we think of setting, we consider it to be where the story takes place: New York in the 50s, the Scottish Highlands in the 15th century, etc. However, setting should permeate down to every scene and sentence.
Though a scene may take place in New York, it doesn’t happen at 10,000 feet looking down on Manhattan. It takes place in someone’s steamy kitchen, or in a drafty subway tunnel, or at an uptown bar. By making the setting immediate, we can help the reader feel the specific environment of the scene as interpreted through the senses of the characters.
For instance, that drafty subway tunnel. What does the air coursing out of the tunnel smell like? How warm or cold is it? What sounds can be heard in the distance? Or nearby? How many other people are on the platform? Is the platform dirty or clean? How much graffiti is on the walls? What Broadway shows are advertised on the posters? Can you hear the clicking of rat claws in the shadows?
Depending on the type of novel – horror, mystery, thriller, romance – the perception of the narrator to the immediate surroundings of the subway station will change. By using the environment, you can draw the reader into a much more intense sensory experience that can either highlight the emotions of the scene or work against the grain.
How much is enough? It’s easy to go too far. Sometimes all you need is one or two quick brushstrokes without turning your novel into an interior decorating magazine.
For example, back to the subway: Beyond the humming fluorescent light of the subway platform, I saw two pairs of red eyes staring at me. I’m told the rats in these tunnels can grow bigger than dogs.
If the setting can be used to help the reader experience emotion – fear, love, revenge, joy – as experienced through the characters in the setting, you’ve accomplished a form of showing instead of telling.