nano prep week 4: build a strong world

[lostinthelightss]

E X P L O R I N G     Y O U R     S E T T I N G

Settings aren’t just a backdrop for your novel… they can establish moods and reveal details about your characters. Try out this two part exercise to develop settings that add real depth to your story.

1. settings that create moods

Spoiler

describe the settings that would help create each of the moods listed below. try to write two or three sentences for each mood. include specific details about the sights, sounds, sensations (and maybe even smells) of the settings you choose! 

• creepy
• joyous
• suspenseful/tense

now make up 2-3 of your own moods and describe a setting that would go along with each one

the last step is to apply your new skills to your upcoming novel. think of a scene from each section of your novel (it may help to look at your plan from the previous activity). then, write or list details to describe a setting that will help create the right mood for each scene. for example, you might set your climax on the edge of a crumbling cliff at sunset in the middle of a thunderstorm.

• a setting from your set-up
• a setting from your inciting incident
• a setting from your rising action
• a setting from your climax
• a setting from your falling action
• a setting from your resolution

 

2. settings that reinforce characters

Spoiler

for each of the following characters, try to come up with a setting that will reflect or reinforce what you imagine about them. as you write, try to be as detailed as possible. don’t forget colors, sounds, and even smells. focus on where the character is.

• the shy new kid in town
• a secret scientist superhero
• a character from your novel
• another character from your novel

 

so, did anyone come up with something they'd like to share with the class?

Edited September 2, 2022 by lostinthelightss

[Pixileanin]

Uh...

I has world.

It's Bath, England between 1805-1815.

There's a bath.

There is only one coffeehouse.

There is gambling.

People are very upset over the window tax.

One guy has his hedge mazes trimmed to knee-high because his great-uncle was once captured and imprisoned due to an overgrown hedge, and it's in the estate documents to continue this practice in order to have access to the estate funds. Three times a year, someone from the bank comes round and measures the hedges.

Some old spinster-man decides to adopt a son in order to have a proper heir. Certain Londoners are affronted by this because they were hoping his estate was going to auction after his death.

There are horses. Some of them are rideable. Some of them are... not.

One family is in such a paranoid state over their reputation being tarnished, that the mistress of the house wears the tea caddy key in her bosom twenty-four/seven... and it's the only key. She is heard to say, "If our status is diminished, it won't be from the sullied quality of our tea!"

In the informal records of the fencing club, there were forty instances of illegal duels. Thirty-nine of them, all quality fencers, used pistols instead of swords.

The tolls extracted at the surrounding turnpikes into Bath are real.

The Bath countryside is beautiful in the rain, unless one is actually caught out in the middle of said rain. 

Jane Austen is alive.

Electricity is considered "fun".

The local surgeon has poor sewing skills.

The walls have eyes.

 

[Oregonian]

Uh... for me too.

In the ancient archives

a spiral staircase that goes up in dimness to a place where Howard has never been before

a top across the lower opening with a sign hanging from it that says No Admittance.  Keep out.

stairs and walls of the stairwell are made of dark wood

Musty smell of ancient wood, leather, and paper as they near the top.

Moods:  anticipation, hope, excitement, mystery

 

A character from my novel

Outside Gryffindor tower in November in the middle of the night.

Pitch dark, cold, everything is silent

The castle wall can be felt in the darkness as the only means of orientation

Stone is rough

Moods: brave, foolhardy, desperate, afraid, driven, praying

 

Gray, overcast sky.  Smell of the ocean in the air.  Air cold, clean, fresh.

The feeling of the sheep milling around, bumping up against him.

All quiet except for the occasional baa-ing of the sheep.

Their wooly bodies are soft and warm

Breath condensing to little clouds as people and sheep exhale.

Pastures visible in the distance, dull green.