As we continue this editing series how we can develop a great story, I hope you’re able to see that the elements of storytelling hinges on more than concept and characters. By having all the layers in place before actually writing, you can have a clearer idea of where your story is going. Or if you’ve already written your book, how to make sure all the layers are in place so that you give your readers a delightful reading experience.

The fifth layer in developing a great story is developing the setting within your story, whether nonfiction or fiction.

The settings within your story link the moods and viewpoints of your characters and plot together like a colorful construction paper chain link that can be as short or as long as you want them to be.

How to Edit the Setting

• What does the setting say about your character?
• What is the most important dominant impression in this scene?
• How does the setting enhance your story’s plot?

What does the setting say about your character?

As you know, in storytelling, it’s really all about what’s at stake for the main character. And the best way to show that is to show the character interacting with the scene. We’re not going to talk about the character right now, but more how the elements in the scene help the character.

A well-written setting will describe your character’s mood without telling readers your character’s mood. A well-written setting will affect your character’s mood without telling your readers. A well-written setting will also enhance the scene and the actions and reactions of the other characters interaction with each other. Or the overall effect and observation of the landscape.

We must ask ourselves the following potential questions (not exhaustive, by any means):

• Does the setting describe the visual space, or does the setting describe the character’s motivations and actions, pulling the reader into the story?
• Does the setting open with intrigue and action, or does it open slow and monotone?
• What is the end result of the setting?
• What does this setting tie back to?
• What is the driving emotion and motivation for the character?
• Are any of the five senses represented here, and how to incorporate them?
• What setting details would enhance the character actions?
• What is the takeaway or suspense for your readers?

If it seems that every aspect of storytelling is comprised of asking lots of questions, you’re right. It is. As writers, we must don our analytical hats and comb every journalist-style question as we map out the story basics. For in asking those deeper questions, we will be able to craft a compelling scene that dazzles and engages readers.

Here’s a piece of my draft scene for the story I’m writing:

Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. The door swung open, and Dad retreated to his desk. A bulky L. C. Smith and Corona sat on the desk. Sunlight pushed through a filmy window from behind and glared across the desktop.

Footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. The door swung open, and Dad retreated to his desk. A bulky L. C. Smith and Corona sat on the desk. Sunlight pushed through a filmy window from behind and glared across the desktop.

“What are you doing?” She settled on the wingback chair catty-corner the desk.

Dad pulled a clean sheet through the feeder. “Taking care of business.”

She scanned the desk for bills or business letters but only found heavily edited typed sheets of paper. “Oh. What kind of business?”

The return key dinged, and his fingers arched above the keys. “Not quite finished with it yet.”

She sighed, resigned to live in her father’s abrupt world, but wishing she didn’t have to be affected by it.

He hit a few keys and squinted at what he’d typed. “Oh, Paul and Kate said they’d help you get registered for school.”

He didn’t want to help her register for school? Fighting tears, she slammed her hands into her lap where he couldn’t see them. “You’re okay with that?”

“Why not?” A steady slap of keys followed.

Two crumpled sheets rested against a bookshelf across from her and the desk. Rejects. Why did she feel like joining them? She cleared her throat. “I don’t know, but maybe I’m not ready to walk all around school.”

“Rie, Paul says you’re doing well. Susan too.” He looked up, smiling. “That’s good enough for me.”

She rubbed the chair’s fraying arm. If this was his way of approving, then she’d take it, but she didn’t have to like it. “I’m glad you think so. I’m going to sit on Cherish today.”

He thumbed through half of the stack and set a portion aside. “Honey, I need to keep working. Do you mind if we talk later?” He picked up his pen and circled some words on a sheet from the middle of the stack.

Staring at the pile, she made out the word draft across the top of one page. What was he writing, and why was it more important than her? He’d hardly talked with her since she’d come back from the hospital. She grabbed her crutches and locked her knees.

Why did she think he would ever change now?

Like it? It’s not perfect, and will change, but it’s a start. Can you picture the setting as if you were right there? Do you notice words that invoke reactions like impatience, dismissiveness, striving, sad patience? Do you feel the rush of disappointment as Rie tries to talk with her father? Do you feel the anticipation, the hope, then the dejection settling in the pit of your stomach?

Think about your own story, and what your character wants. Got it? Now what kind of things would need to be in your setting that would set up the mood that describes your character’s feelings without saying what your character is feeling?

“She felt tired.” No! Rather, “The chair sagged in the corner, and she sank into it” shows you the character is tired. Exhausted. Beat. Done in.

What is the most important dominant impression in this scene?

The dominant impression is what stands out most in the setting that gives credence to the character’s mood and the scene’s mood.

In my draft scene example, the dominant impression was two things: the typewriter and scattered paper, and I used words and descriptions and motivations that described the office and the father’s actions, while bringing focus to what my character was feeling—and what she wanted. These dominant impressions also describe the mood of everything and everyone else in the room, and how the main character is affected.

In short, the dominant impression centers around the setting and helps bring focus and emotion to the scene and whatever happens in it. And often, the dominant impression affects your character’s emotions greatly.

How does the setting propel the plot forward?

Propelling the plot forward is tough. Not gonna lie. It’s that delicate balance between stop, listen to the birdsong, and go, race through the sun-splashed woods.

In making the scene move forward, whether slower paced or break-neck speed, it’s crucial to set certain actions, thoughts, motivations, descriptions in such a way that the setting builds to a crescendo. If you’ve ever listened to Handle’s Messiah, you know the rush of emotion you get when that last stanza is played. And you know the feelings that overwhelm you. Same for your writing because readers will be able to experience all those emotions with your characters at those levels, and then when you raise the stakes, then that emotion only grows.

For example, in my scene, the various propellers are in different places throughout that scene:

#1 “Why not?” A steady slap of keys followed.

#2 She rubbed the chair’s fraying arm. If this was his way of approving, then she’d take it, but she didn’t have to like it. “I’m glad you think so. I’m going to sit on Cherish today.”

He thumbed through half of the stack and set a portion aside. “Honey, I need to keep working. Do you mind if we talk later?”

As if Laurie’s been jerked out of that office, right?

Secret Sauce to the Best Setting. Ever.

“Places are never just places in a piece of writing. If they are, the author has failed. Setting is not inert. It is activated by point of view.”

Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House

And let that be true of your manuscript, however you choose to set up the setting in your story, whether you choose to ease in, ramp up, create waves, let it ebb and flow, or go off the deep end. No. No. Don’t do that. But do make your readers anticipate every moment of every element of each and every setting.

Each writer and author benefits from exploring their characters and setting inside and out, while asking “what if?” at every turn when crafting their novel’s plot because it’s really the secret sauce to writing a great story that captivates people, agents, editors, readers, marketers, and the person who wouldn’t necessarily pick up a book and read it.

Questions? Comments? I’d love to engage in the conversation with you! Drop your question or comment in the chat below, and I’ll look forward to responding!

Your Turn!

• What is the dominant impression in your setting?
• Which of the five senses will you use in your scene, and how?
• How is your character viewing the scene by the setting, or how are they feeling / reacting?

Tisha Martin writes historical fiction and nonfiction but edits full time for beginning and best-selling writers and publishing houses. Since 2017 she has worked on over 250 books, including Planned from the Start, the devotional companion to Unplanned the movie, and serves as contest judge for Writer’s Digest. She puts her bachelors in Professional Writing, masters in English Education, and editing certificate from the PEN Institute to delightful good use. Her nonfiction essay “The Meaning of an Heirloom” in The Horse of My Dreams: True Stories of the Horses We Love is available from Revell. She enjoys speaking at writer’s conferences and coaching writers in the self-editing process. Learn more at www.tishamartin.com.