Setting: The Effect of Viewpoint

A Setting/Character Writing Exercise

Instructions: Try to do the entire exercise in one sitting. You may find this helps your thought processes or you may find it overwhelming; if the latter, take breaks between numbered sections, but don't let too much time pass before going on to the next. There are notes at the end that may help you better understand the focus and point of the exercise.

1. Select a setting from a story/novel that you have already written or are planning to write (it is a good idea to do this exercise with the setting you used in your opening scene, as this is where your readers' first impressions will be had). Spend some time thinking about this setting.
2. Write a detailed, objective (i.e. third person) description of your chosen setting. Include as much detail as you know (especially if this is an invented setting) and discover some new detail. Don't be selective; include whatever you think of (but don't get obsessive, either; you don't want to write a whole book just describing one setting). A couple of pages is a good length (unless it's a very detailed setting). Do sketches, maps or diagrams if they help you see it more clearly.
3. Write a first person account of the same setting from the point of view of one of your characters. Imagine you are that character; try to see/feel/comprehend the setting from inside that character. Include only details that that specific character would notice or respond to. You may want to put your character in a particular state of mind before beginning (if you do, make a note of the state of mind/emotional state you were aiming for -- that way when you read your work later you'll be able to see how effective you were). Again, a couple of pages is good.
4. Try #3 again with a different character (or with the same character in a different state of mind). Do this as many times as you like, as long as it feels useful.
5. Read over what you've done carefully to see how the three (or more) accounts differ. Note any places where point of view or character slipped.
6. Make notes on ways to use this setting in your story/novel. How can you improve the use you've already made of it? What details should you add or subtract? Are you making effective use of setting to convey mood/atmosphere or character (especially the character(s)'s psychological/emotional state)? These notes will be useful later when you are actually revising.

Notes: You won't necessarily need to do this kind of exercise with every setting you create/use, but it can be effective for finding ways to make better use of setting.

The point of the exercise is to see how different points of view affect details in setting. You may want to try taking a character that does not appear in that setting in your story/novel and putting them there just for the exercise, just to see what happens. You may never use the scenario you thereby create, but it can tell you some interesting things about both the character and the setting.

Possible Functions of Settings

Generic: The setting is without unique features, implying that the story could happen anywhere. The problem with this is that all real places have their own cultural and physical characteristics and these characteristics influence characters. A generic setting will not seem real and may actually detract from the story.

Backdrop: The setting merely provides us with a way of knowing where we are and, though it may have unique characteristics, it does not affect the characters or action. It is a place, but it doesn't do anything.

Local Color: The story is flavored by attention to the unique details of the setting, which may give the impression that the story could not have happened anywhere else. The writer may be tempted to make the setting entertaining without really giving it any significance.

Atmosphere/Mood: Setting can be used to set the mood or atmosphere for the whole story or novel. In addition, the settings of individual scenes may reflect the state of mind of the characters.

Affects Action and Character: Characters are more real if they have a historical and geographical context; the place where a person grew up will affect their attitudes and behaviour for their whole lives. For example, someone raised in a big city will think and act differently from someone raised in a tiny rural village.

Place as Character: One example of this is in the old "man versus nature" plot, where the main struggles the protagonist faces are with the environment. In this situation, the setting itself is the antagonist. In stories of this sort, changing elements of the setting would change the entire story. Can you imagine a story about a woman's struggle to climb a mountain unaided being set on the prairies? That story wouldn't work without a mountain, and so the mountain becomes a central character. The story's plot, then, is largely determined by its setting

Metaphor/Symbol: The setting becomes symbolic of the theme of the story.

You don't want to spend too much time at first on figuring out exactly how your setting will function in your work. As long as you are aware of the possibilities offered by setting, you'll probably find that you can ignore the technical details while writing a draft or your story or novel. Things like atmosphere and metaphor often emerge spontaneously in the writing, which means you only have to decide what works and what doesn't when you edit. Don't force a role on a setting, but use your editing to make it stronger