When writing fiction, one of the key elements is location and setting. Setting is more than just the city. It’s the environment, the weather, smells, sounds, etc. This has always been one of my weak points, but I’m working on it.
My work in progress, “Shaping Fate,” takes place in London, 1349. At this time, London was gripped by the Black Plague. Believe it or not, it took me a while to figure out “when” to set the story. I knew my protagonist, William, was English, I also knew he wouldn’t be in England for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out the best era in London’s history to tell the story. Two of the themes in “Shaping Fate” are death and rebirth, but the plague still didn’t come to my mind.
One day, I had the good fortune to be watching the BBC’s “A History of Britain” series on the History Channel and there it was! The plague! It decimated Europe, especially the cities, where it was passed quickly from person to person, but from the ashes rose a new breed of Europeans who helped to usher in the Renaissance. The setting for my story was made and I never looked back.
There are tons of great books out there too about this specific period of time and what things were like for these people. It’s a fascinating period and has proven to be a wonderful backdrop for my story.
How do you pick setting? Is it one of the first things that come to you or do you try and find one that fits into your story?
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I try to find one that fits my story . . . but on occasion, I close my eyes, point at a place on the map, and go with it!
Thanks VR for sharing a bit about your book, I’ve been dying to know more about it! It sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read it! I love history and England’s is one of the most fascinating in the world. I feel very lucky that my husband and I were able to go to the British Isles for our honeymoon (almost 18 years ago, I can’t believe it!) and it was like stepping back in time. I hope we can go again there was so much we didn’t have time to see. Since I’m mainly involved in picture books I don’t have a good answer to your question, but for my other stories I’ve written for classes I seem to come up with the characters first then find a setting that fits them. Good luck!
Usually, I think about plot first, then character. Once I know who and what is happening, I usually see scenes in my head. They almost always have a background. Then I try to find a place on the map that fits that background.
Your book sounds so good! I love that time period and the themes are fascinating!
Hey Weezel, I like the map idea!
Aww! Thanks, Susan. Your honeymoon sounds lovely! I’ve never been ‘across the pond’ as they say, but desperately want to.
London 1349. That’s quite an undertaking. I have enough trouble researching the present day. Best wishes for your success.
Stephen Tremp
Since my writing is fleshing out the lives of Old Testament prophets, my settings are dictated by the places where they lived and traveled. But the research is great fun for this historian who geeks out over such things. Do you know anyone else who spent a fortune on the definitive translation of Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles?
Ancient Israel, Jerusalem and Babylon, Nineveh… fun stuff! The historical descriptions of Solomon’s temple and Jerusalem and the Hanging Gardens pique my imagination.
Hey Karen! I can’t say I know anybody else who has done as much research into those places as much as you!!
So are you back to work on that project?
Yes finally!
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