“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Imagine that you are sitting down to begin writing the next great American novel. You have a gripping plot and complex characters, but you can’t shake the feeling that you are missing something. Then you realize: You have no idea how to create a setting that is fit for your story!
Crafting a creative and engaging setting can seem like an intimidating feat to a lot of authors; however, with enough practice, creating a setting can be simple and fun. The secret to creating the perfect setting lies within the authors ability to manipulate the details.
When describing your setting to the audience, it is important that the reader is not told what they are looking at. A reader wants to experience the setting. They do not want to be told what it is. To do this, the author should utilize their characters five senses.
The five sense include: sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. As an author, utilizing these senses throughout your story is imperative in creating an interesting and realistic setting. By describing what the character(s) is hearing, seeing or smelling, the author is not simply telling the reader where they are. The reader is being transported to the location of the story through the sensations of the character(s).
An Example:
An author might decide to open the setting of the story by saying, “Kate is in the desert.” This is technically a setting; however, it does not do a good job of captivating the audience nor does it transport the reader to the desert in question.
Instead of doing this, perhaps it would be better if the author opened the setting of their story more like this:
“Kate hissed at the burning sensation coursing through the soles of her feet. She looked down attempting to find the culprit for the scorching heat. Kate felt certain that she would find that she was standing upon hot coals or perhaps a pit of lava. Instead, there was only sand. Hot, grainy sand. In fact, looking around, Kate realized that there appeared to be nothing but sand surrounding her.
I could be the only living thing for miles, Kate thought.
Peeling off the Winnie the Pooh sweat shirt that she had thrown on that morning, Kate wrapped it around her head. She hoped that the image of Pooh Bear and his pals from the Hundred Acre Wood would provide her with some protection from the glaring, unforgiving sun. Staring down at the pale, whiteness of her limbs, Kate could feel a sun burn beginning to wrap its red, blistering fingers across the expansion of her exposed skin. Kate knew a sweat shirt, even one embroidered with her favorite childhood cartoon, would not protect her from the wrath of the desert sun. At least not for long.”
The second example is far better than the first because it appeals to its reader’s sense. While the first example directly states that Kate is in a desert, the second works to show the audience where Kate is rather than tell them. All authors should work towards being able to paint a picture with words in such an efficient way that it is not necessary to directly state where their character(s) are.
