Like many other aspects of narrative writing, describing setting requires some skill. Most people think the main skill is in using effective imagery and descriptive writing, but the most important aspects of describing setting are knowing how much to describe and when to include those descriptions.
This post explains five things young writers must do with their setting in order to score high in their narrative writing. But first, let’s understand what setting is.
Setting is the context of the story – where the story is taking place. This includes place, time, and social environment. So, Trinidad, a primary school in Arima, after school, among a group of friends. Pretty basic, but that understanding keeps focus on the interactions and how the story unfolds.
Ok, so now on to the tips.
1. View setting as a part of the story.
Young writers often see setting as something separate that they have to mention all at once as they describe where the story is taking place. Instead, they should see the setting as something that’s integrated into the story, affecting and being affected by the characters and events.
2. Show characters interacting with setting.
We are influenced by what’s in our environment and react to it. So when they’re in school, children interact with desks and chairs and other students, which is very different from being at home interacting with couches and dining tables and siblings/parents.
3. Let setting unfold throughout the story.
This means that readers won’t learn about the setting all at once. Instead, as the characters interact with or notice details about their physical environment, the audience learns more and more about it.
4. Use descriptive language.
Descriptive language goes beyond the use of adjectives and adverbs, or similes and metaphors. In fact, the most effective descriptions incorporate imagery, which is sharing the world of the story from the character’s eyes. How they see it and feel about it.
5. Remember time.
Sometimes young writers forget about time, so they start a story and give many actions and then it seems like only 2 minutes have passed. It’s important to show the realistic change in time. So, no jumps to the future and no lagging in a single moment for too long.
