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The Craft of Writing

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. 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.

 

Holly teaches both Mythic and Essential Settings to writers of all stripes, supporting fiction and screenplay writers as they learn how to increase the impact of a story through outstanding setting details. ​Her dynamic, interactive workshops teach writers how to elevate the story's impact by crafting compelling, memorable settings, 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​​​

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Available as a curriculum extension for colleges and universities, the book supports writers develop strong settings for their epic stories, teaching how to integrate either a tangible or metaphorical PLACE where action happens for the strongest impact.

Writing Prompts

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Is your character in the right PLACE?

Advance your writing using these inspiring prompts.

Get the best writing prompts to boost your setting's impact

You'll receive a PDF with helpful information, writing guidance, and prompts to develop settings so relevant to your story that it couldn't happen anywhere else

Quick Video Samples for writing Mythic Settings

Get a taste of working with Mythic Settings!

 

If you're a novelist, screenwriter or playwright crafting an epic journey or adventure, these locations are key for your characters. In these quick videos (based on my book Once Upon a Place), I walk you through the five locations of transformation: the Cavern, the Deep, the Vessel, the Forest, and the Labyrinth. In these settings your character will face obstacles and challenges that move your plot forward and develop a stronger character whose quest/questions are answered. I also share three of the most important dual metaphors: Descent and Resurrection; Chaos and Void; and Beast and Guide. Writers will be able to use these in their storytelling to develop depth in their character arcs that readers find inspiring and compelling. 

Check this site for details about upcoming in-person or online writing workshops.

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To book Holly for a panel, conference, or lecture, email here.

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