In a new post, Mary Carroll Moore offers advice for creating settings that allow your readers to get lost in your story world. “I don’t know which is harder on the reader: the dump of setting details in the beginning of each chapter or the start of each scene, as if ‘setting the stage,’ or the belief that no place markers are needed–that action or character is all that counts,” Moore writes.
Moore reminds us that setting is most effective when it reflects your characters or drives the plot. She recommends using the most description when a character change occurs. “Just adding a few senses to a moment when a character is challenged can bring everything up a notch towards alchemy. Especially smell and sound,” she says. “Whatever the character notices–or doesn’t notice–tells the reader about their emotional stage: their distractions, their memories, their angst. It’s too good a tool to ignore.”
The character’s physicality – what they’re wearing, how they move – also counts as setting detail and should be used in the same manner. Bring out the details that underline your theme or express their character: how they hold a cigarette or what they eat for breakfast.
Moore also says you can use a change of scenery alone to move the plot. Dennis LeHane recommends not letting a character remain in one room for more than a page. By putting your characters in action, you move your story and reveal more about their personalities.
