How To Write A Good Book - a guide

THE SETTING

The setting of a story is where and when it takes place. In other words, story setting involves both time period and geographic region, as well as individual locations within that region (such as a character's house, workplace, or favorite coffee shop).

Setting serves as the backdrop to everything that happens in a story, and often contributes significantly to its atmosphere.

TYPES OF SETTINGS AND EXAMPLES

Temporal setting: the American 1920s, right in the heart of the Jazz Age.Environmental setting: southeastern New York — New York City and Long Island.Individual settings: Gatsby's mansion, Tom and Daisy's mansion, Myrtle's apartment, the Plaza Hotel, and more.

FOCUS ON WHATS UNIQUE

Not every element of your setting will be worth noting, so focus on what's unique. Every city has buildings and sidewalks, but how are they different from every other city's? If someone leans their head out the window, what do they hear besides traffic or birds? Does the town square smell like bread from the local bakery, or like pollution from a nearby factory?

Get the details straight

Again, think of your story setting almost as another character. Just as you might fill out a character profile to flesh out their quirks, you can profile your setting too! Here are some "setting profile" questions to get you started:

📜 What's the history of this area?

🌦 What is the weather like each season?

🌇 What are the biggest landmarks of this setting?

🏡 In what sorts of residences do most people live?

🚙 How do people tend to get around (walking, driving, etc.)?

👍 Why do people like (or dislike) living (or visiting) here?

The natural addition to each of these questions is: and how does this affect my characters? This is where you'll tap into the most interesting features of your setting — by considering how your characters will perceive and react to what's around them. 

Pro tip: When writing about places you've never been or have only seen as a tourist, over-emphasizing famous landmarks like Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Empire State Building will make your work read like that of an amateur. To avoid this, play around on Google Street View and discover some more quotidian hangouts for your characters!

USE ALL FIVE SENSES 

As you describe each setting of your story, make sure you don't just talk about how it looks. Instead, use all five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and even taste.

Here's a great example of concise and multi-sensory setting description from Leigh Bardugo's :

Inside, the music thumped and wailed, the heat of bodies washing over them in a gust of perfume and moist air. The big square room was dimly lit, packed with people circling skull-shaped vats of punch, the back garden strewn with strings of twinkling lights beyond. Darlington was already starting to sweat.

In just three sentences, we get four out of five senses:

Sight ("dimly lit, packed with people");Sound ("the music thumped and wailed");Smell ("a gust of perfume and moist air");Touch/physical sensation ("already starting to sweat").

DEVELOP THE CHARACTERS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SETTING

Once you've established the characters in your story, you can dig into their relationships with the setting.

These relationships can take many forms. Say your main character has lived in the same town their entire life; they might have a longtime fondness for it, or they could resent and feel trapped by the setting. Whatever you decide, make sure this nuance comes through in your narration!

What you don't want is a character so detached from their surroundings that their story could take place anywhere. At bare minimum, you need them to interact with the setting in specific, realistic ways. For greater impact, use setting to challenge them, assist them, or both.

Credit: blog.reedsy.com