Yes! The setting can be a character! I think setting description is quite often under-utilized. There are so many things that can be leveraged to deepen the story and improve the reader's experience.

My dad had an experience like that when he lived in a house that used to have a bar upstairs. He would smell cigarettes and hear the clink of beer glasses. Spooky!

LOL, I think we writers can get up to plenty of hijinks at a conference...the imagination is always on!

That's wonderful! Light and shadow can do so much to set the mood and affect reader expectations!

Are you talking about the caves/storage areas in Kansas City? I grew up about five miles from them and my dad worked at Armco Steel right across the highway. I've never been in them but I know lots of people who work there. Sometimes they talk about how creepy those caves are in the quiet, dark corners.

Not that I mind quiet, dark corners. Much. LOL!

Building the ambiance of a story is, to me, almost as important as any other character. In fact, I believe setting IS a character.

Great post! Thanks, Angie!

Thanks for your writing insights on setting a mood. And Anne of Green Gables was always one of my favorite reads - great examples!

This is what I love about pulling from our own experiences - we can think of details that make the scene because we lived those moments and know exactly what steered our feelings and why! So glad you were able to use that cave time to write a terrific scene. 🙂

Ohhh! What a terrific idea--I love that. It would be challenging but fun to always think about how to show it - how each embodiment would filter into their personality, appearance, and of course, everything they come in contact with!