In a new post, Ruth Harris says that exploring your character’s home and housing can help you get unstuck in your first draft. “Houses — or homes as real estate brokers refer to them — and the rooms in them can delineate character, set a scene, replace or enhance back story, establish mood, theme or genre,” Harris says. “And can save that stalled first draft.”
Harris examines examples of famous dwellings from a variety of sources to show how they convey mood and character, including Jay Gatsby’s mansion, The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the prison cell occupied by Hannibal Lector.
She also suggests a few ways exploring settings can help rescue a stalled draft:
- Is your middle sagging? Have your characters discover a secret room or haunted library.
- Does your story lack focus? Have your characters move from a larger house to a smaller space to force them to act and interact.
- Need backstory? Put your protagonist back in their childhood home.
- Is your hero on the road? Check them into a creepy motel.
