the craft. the power of place.
Setting as character in diverse storytelling.
Recently, in our Something for the Planners course, we were discussing world-building and setting. While these aspects of novel writing can seem trivial, I realized how central they can be to plot and character development in preparing my lesson plan. Every single part of a novel is working together to move the story forward and where we put our characters is no different.
Not only does place have the ability to assist in character development, it also can provide conflict, and create a real sense of authenticity. As readers, we connect to place. Just think about where you grew up or maybe the city you went to college in. What did you learn? What experiences molded and shaped who you were while you were there? Bringing this element into our storytelling immediately helps the reader connect to the people they’re settling in to read about.
What I’ve been particularly interested in, as a writer, is when the setting becomes even more than a backdrop to the story, but also its own character within it. I have to say that this truly came to light for me in watching HBO’s Insecure. It was clear from the start of the series that Los Angeles, and more specifically, Inglewood, had a number on the call sheet. Just as much as we were following Issa, Molly, and Lawrence, we were seeing how involved the setting was in their story. Think Lawrence becoming a trolley N*&g@ or our favorite bousin from Bompton, Thug Yoda.
In my own novel, New York City’s music scene definitely had its own moment to shine. Adding pivotal moments like Tau and Carli in SOBs, which is a small venue that many artists see on their rise, or Tau being invited to Pergola after their photo shoot on the Hudson by some of the city's sports stars. The setting was integral to their story unfolding and how, they even had this moment of escaping to their hometowns and we saw what a change in pace that was from the city. How they showed up there, changed.
Being steeped in place can truly enhance what we’re trying to achieve as storytellers and when done well, is the reason that reading can be such a transformative experience.
Don’t take just my word for it, here are some other writers who do an amazing job with place and grounding their reader in a setting.
This is an excerpt from the craft, our weekly newsletter on writing. For full access to our archive and to learn more about our membership community, Permission Granted, head to our website.