Setting: it's one of the 3 most important aspects of your book.

 

It's right up there with character development and plot. But most writers don't know how to utilize it properly and their writing lacks the vigor and robust imaginative Sense of Place that marks a truly great book. Where your story takes place influences a character’s outcome as much as the process or plot and is pivotal in advancing the story.

 

Setting in Storytelling

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Done right, setting can be a rich source of dynamic tension and can lead characters toward decisions, danger, and growth. Whether it is a farmhouse, a prison, a classroom, or a submarine, your setting is at the heart of your story. It is the PLACE not only where action happens but where characters change and grow.

 

Holly Bellebuono's book Once Upon a Place: Forests, Caverns & Other Places of Transformation in Myths, Fairy Tales & Film is the landmark text on symbolic storytelling and Mythic Settings. It is the first in-depth literary criticism analyzing how five core landscapes (the forest, cavern, deep, vessel, and labyrinth) function within myths, fairy tales, and modern cinema to propel a story's hero toward transformation especially in epics, quests, adventures, and fantasy.

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Consider the stories The Help and Project Hail Mary. Could the maids of Jackson Mississippi have their story told from a spaceship? Could Ryland Grace effectively complete his mission from Aibilean's or Skeeter's kitchens? It may seem obvious, but the setting is central to both the character arc and the plot. You've got to put your character in the right place.

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But even if they're in the right place, is it enough? Ryland Grace could be stranded on his spaceship in PHM and it could be a standard, run-of-the-mill spaceship equipped with tools and radars. But author Andy Weir goes further--the spaceship appears to be nearly its own character, with its own voice that speaks to Grace throughout the book. Having "arms" and a voice (and an opinion) gives the reader the perception that the spaceship is not just a thing; it's a character in its own right and this provides both context and conflict for the MC to make decisions or develop fears and desires.

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How Writers Craft Setting

 

In addition to developing a strong character arc and a plot, every fiction (and memoir) writer must consider Setting or Sense of Place. Without it, stories are flat and weak.

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Holly teaches two types of Setting: both Mythic and Essential Settings, which are necessary for fiction and screenplay writers of all stripes to increase the impact of a story through outstanding setting details. ​An evocative and irreplaceable setting is key not only for epic, quest and fantasy writers (we know this as world-building) -- it is also core to the art of Literary Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Young Adult, Historic Fiction, and even Memoir.

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Holly's dynamic, interactive workshops teach writers how to elevate the story's impact and how to develop the most memorable and convincing characters by crafting compelling, memorable settings. You'll learn which types of settings will result in the most powerful outcomes, and how to use the motifs and metaphors that come with each type of setting to its fullest advantage. Learn when to use strong versus neutral settings and how to develop setting naturally for the most compelling read and ultimate character transformation.

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As a workshop leader and popular speaker, Holly teaches a variety of workshops about setting (click here to book Holly for your writing event):

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• Essential Settings for all Fiction

• Neutral Background Settings

• Mythic Settings​​​