What Is a Story Setting?
A story setting is the backdrop against which the characters act out the events. A story with a poorly portrayed setting is like a play taking place on a virtually bare stage – you have character and plot and theme but no sense of place. Like I said in the introduction to this section, the best way to think of a story setting is almost like another character. This character might not walk and talk like the others, but it should nevertheless be compelling and charismatic. The purpose of this first article is to define what setting is, precisely. It is split into two parts: • First, a checklist of all the elements that a well-drawn setting should contain (and that list extends far beyond houses and streets). • Second, I will talk about how to take this long list of elements and give it focus.
