tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post7896817252524624007..comments2010-12-06T08:02:16.196-07:00Comments on The Ink Ladies: Location, location, locationMarcia Mickelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04571348788192273191noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-35462076252015643412008-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:002008-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00This has made me delve more deeply into what, exac...This has made me delve more deeply into what, exactly, makes me love setting so much and I've realized that for me, it's often the start of the whole story. It's the instigator that gets things going.<BR/><BR/>I'm one of those odd authors who really isn't very descriptive. I'm having to train myself to be observant to the literal world because it's so easy for me to slip into my imaginary one in my head and daydream stories when I need to also glean what's there on the outside.<BR/><BR/>So for me, my setting isn't so much about beautiful and eloquent writing, it's what helps shape the characters I put into it. Like the haunted Victorian house. Or the Scottish Moors, or a beautiful beach, or Norway in the summer, or an archaeological dig in Guatemala...all of these things shape what I do with the characters and how their lives evolve. <BR/><BR/>So I guess if someone were to ask me that "where do you get your ideas" question, my answer is that I imagine cool settings where the air is just crackling for something amazing to happen. I also do the same thing with occupations. Many of my stories have come about because I thing a particular job is cool and voila, my character begins to take shape around the job. Then I throw in things like family life, personality type, likes and dislikes, motivations, etc.<BR/><BR/>Also, one more thought about setting itself- sometimes the setting will shape much of the plot and/or character action. Scenes of war, for example. A Civil War novel, or WWII novel will play heavily into scene/setting. Ancient Rome or Greece, life behind the Iron Curtain. Of course, I guess those examples could be attributed to events rather than the setting itself.<BR/><BR/>Oh well. I wax raphsodic. Thanks for making me think on this further! I actually contemplated all this while I walked in one of my favorite settings this morning- along the base of the mountain a few blocks up from my house. Wow, what a beautiful morning. :-)Nancy Campbell Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913848272555361205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-60784885824430467422008-10-16T10:49:00.000-07:002008-10-16T10:49:00.000-07:00In my view, authors select settings in two differe...In my view, authors select settings in two different ways. Either by the author’s preference or by what the story dictates.<BR/><BR/>If you select your setting because of its beauty, its fame or some sentimental experience you've had with that location, you may sacrifice some important story-telling elements. Author-centered scene selection is a place to which the author has an attachment. Not the reader. And the author has to work very hard to get the reader to like the place as much as the author likes it. This approach doesn't work when you're trying to develop a voice for your character and it often falls flat when you select your setting.<BR/><BR/>Story-centered scene selection allows your story and the voice of your character to select the setting. What is the dramatic point of your scene? Once you know that you can use your setting as a metaphor for the drama. Is the scene about death? The end of life? What setting could act as a metaphor for death? Turning out lights at the end of the scene and have the setting go dark would work. So make sure you set the scene in a place where there is a candle, an oil lamp, a light switch. Depending on the emotion of the scene you can have the character blow out the lamp, the wind smoother the flame, or a tear drop on the candle and have your scene go dark. <BR/><BR/>Or maybe your character is getting progressively angry. You could set the scene in a location where he's chopping wood. As the scene progresses with heightened anger the character works the ax with more ferocity, sends wood chips flying, maybe even misses the mark and nearly hurts himself with the ax. Wouldn’t that be a great twist on anger, using a small self-inflicted wound really as a metaphor about anger hurting the angry. <BR/><BR/>Scene selection can be a powerful tool for story-telling. When your scene selection is author-centered you may miss some great story telling elements. When you let the drama and metaphors of your story select the scene, you enhance your story telling.David G. Woolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09392352753586598503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-69710899836990683832008-10-13T20:51:00.000-07:002008-10-13T20:51:00.000-07:00Oh, Robyn, I love New Orleans. Now there's a setti...Oh, Robyn, I love New Orleans. Now there's a setting full of promise! Sky's the limit with that one.Nancy Campbell Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913848272555361205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-61825173482596434042008-10-13T05:42:00.000-07:002008-10-13T05:42:00.000-07:00I love playing with settings and I want them to be...I love playing with settings and I want them to be so real that readers will recognize a place after reading about it. I think I've done with with my last book (not published just yet). After a recent hike, my daughter announced that she recognized so many locations in my new novel that she was loving it. I'm hoping to accomplish the same with my work in progress, which I've set in New Orleans.Robyn Heirtzlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04615403980238381109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-46908554377960604082008-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:002008-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:00I love that places and characters become so real, ...I love that places and characters become so real, Tami. Wouldn't it be great if she did walk around the corner? Kind of like "Stranger than Fiction."Nancy Campbell Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913848272555361205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-76791786873933446482008-10-11T13:18:00.000-07:002008-10-11T13:18:00.000-07:00The settings for my stories are generally small-to...The settings for my stories are generally small-town America--sometimes a real place and sometimes made up. I enjoy the freedom of a made-up location but I must admit, every time I visit Oakley Idaho (the setting of Molly Mormon), I tend to think that Molly will appear around the next corner. Crazy, eh? :)Tamra Nortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07101691943374446121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-60849516547087722262008-10-10T21:48:00.000-07:002008-10-10T21:48:00.000-07:00Oh, Marcia, that's nice to know. I wanted to do on...Oh, Marcia, that's nice to know. I wanted to do on-site research for that book, but no such luck. I loved what I learned about the country and will visit someday. A friend of ours served a mission there and he told me, "We landed in Guatemala city and realized there's a reason they call it the land of eternal spring."Nancy Campbell Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913848272555361205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7908502199424994095.post-21516780645505108182008-10-10T18:13:00.000-07:002008-10-10T18:13:00.000-07:00A Time of the Heart is my personal favorite of you...A Time of the Heart is my personal favorite of your books as well. I was born in Guatemala and that is what drew me to the book. I haven't been back for 20+ years, but reading it made me want to go back one day.Marcia Mickelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04571348788192273191noreply@blogger.com