Writers in the Storm

Angela Ackerman

Taking the time to choose the right setting for each scene is one of the best ways to ensure our writing has impact. Why? Because the setting touches everything. It can characterize the story’s cast, evoke mood, generate conflict, shape the plot, and even use symbols and emotional triggers to show readers what the protagonist fears, yearns for, and needs most of all. Setting is a formidable tool to wield in fiction, so much so that Becca and I dedicated not one, but two books to showing writers how to use it more effectively.

When described well, a specific location will draw readers into the scene’s action and the mindset of the POV character at the same time. Our description should provide an experience, encouraging readers to emotionally invest. Thinking outside the box to pick a setting that is unique works great to achieve this, but sometimes genre or story logic narrows our options, forcing us to take a different route.

Some settings tend to get used more than others in fiction, such as forests, parks, restaurants, and bedrooms. Genre can influence this, like the high school hallways and locker rooms found in YA fiction. Or plot may demand a specific setting, which unfortunately happens to be a bit on the bland side. Either way, to avoid boring readers who have experienced these settings many times before, we have to work harder and keep interest levels high. Here are three techniques to help you make any setting, even a boring one, pop!

Customize the Familiar

If you are unable to use a setting that is fresh because of your plotline or the expectations of a genre, don’t worry, the setting can still be reinvented. For example, a static location like a high school hallway (dull, scuffed lockers, milling students, and shut classroom doors) will have a signature look if the school prizes creative expression. Eclectic wall murals, lockers painted a rainbow of colors by students, and posters asking for entries for an art show will each put a unique stamp on this setting. Or try another customization and imagine how the hallway will look if decorated for a holiday or a celebration specific to the school. What if a water pipe were to break, flooding the hall with water, or worse, sewage?

Even through routine this boring hallway can transform. Think of the last day of school when kids pack up personal items and escape, leaving the rest of their school DNA bleeding from half-open locker doors or crammed into overflowing trashcans. Bottom line: your imagination is what flavors a setting, so open your mind to the possibilities.

Play With Light and Shadow

Things look different at night. I don’t know about your bedroom, but in mine, the ceiling fan above my bed becomes a gangly netherworld creature ready to take me out at 2 am, and my digital clock morphs into a video camera display (thanks to reoccurring “being watched” type nightmares my brain likes to feature). Anyway, the point is, changing the quality of light can transform a setting and cause an emotional response. Because people view light and dark as symbols for “safe or not safe,” and “good or bad,” we can use this to our advantage. Darkness can warp even the most innocent location and bright light can make a dangerous place seem safe, lowering the character’s (and so reader’s) guard. So play with light and dark, thinking about how dingy windows, the time of day, spotty electricity, moonlight, or even the dying embers of a fire can steer your reader’s perceptions.

Use Weather Elements

Bringing the real world into our fiction gives it authenticity. Yet, many writers choose to walk on the bland side when it comes to weather: it’s sunny out, or there’s a breeze. Maybe some fog rolls in. This is usually because of the understandable worry that clichéd description might sneak into our writing (but this previous post can help with that concern).

There are many incredible types of weather elements that can be used, so don’t be afraid to explore something different as long as it works with the location. Weather is terrific at building mood, and because we are tactile creatures, people are very alert to temperature shifts and how the air feels on our skin. Weather also draws out emotions, making people feel a certain way, and can even add a nice bit of complication to the action as it unfolds.

Even with indoor locations, it is possible to bring weather in through the earthy scent of mud crusting one’s shoes, a snow-damp coat being hung to dry, or the persistent fingers of cold that reach up through the floorboards, sending your character closer to a space heater. Sensory details triggered by weather elements can bring about that realism our audience expects to see and will help customizes their experience.

What techniques do you use to make a bland setting unique and interesting? Let me know in the comments!

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 Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, as well as four others bestselling writing guides. Her books are available in six languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site, Writers Helping Writers, as well as One Stop For Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling. She loves connecting, so please say hello on twitter, facebook and instagram.

Janice Hardy

When I was first learning how to write a novel, I read tons of how-to books and tried every piece of writing advice I came across. Some of it helped, some of it didn't, and some of it did more harm than good. Luckily, I survived the experience and maintained not only my love of writing, but my enjoyment of analyzing the writing process.

One trick I've found particularly useful, is studying my favorite novels to see how the authors created them. I have several novels on my shelves with highlighted text, notes in the margins, and even post-it notes with thoughts and observations. They're like my independent study course on novel writing.

A few years ago, I decided to stretch my creativity a little and shifted from writing for children and teens to trying an adult novel. While so much of writing works across genres and platforms, there are differences, so I thought it was a good idea to once again study some of my favorite novels in the genre I wanted to write in (urban fantasy and paranormal suspense).

My goal: To analyze the subtle differences in structure, plot, and pacing between a middle grade and an adult fantasy novel.

My study tool of choice: The editorial map.

An editorial map is a summary of every scene that focuses on what happens and how a novel unfolds. It's a fantastic revision tool, but it also works well to really dig into a novel and see what makes it work. Using a novel you've both read and enjoyed, helps you pinpoint the aspects of the story you found the most compelling and memorable. It also allows you to see how the plot unfolds, at what pace it unfolds, and how the subplots and character arcs are interwoven through the book.

Using an Editorial Map as a Study Tool

1. Grab your favorite novel and open a new document on your word processor (or pen and paper if you prefer to go old school).
2. Start with the first scene and summarize what happens.
3. Summarize each scene until the end of the novel.

You can include any information you want to analyze or study. For example, you might look for:

• Where the major turning points of the plot fall (and how that compares against your preferred story structure template).
• Where the major steps of the character arc fall.
• When the subplots are introduced and where they reconnect with the main story arc.
• How the scenes are broken and where in those scenes the chapter breaks fall.
• When and where foreshadowing is introduced.
• How the clues are slipped into the narrative.
• Where the red herrings are.
• Where and how the mini story-arcs occur.
• When the romantic subplot begins and how it unfolds.
• Where the pace picks up and where it slows down.
• Where and how critical information is revealed.

If there's something you're particularly curious about, you can add that to your list and look for that as well. Whatever you want to study, you can analyze the novel on a scene-by-scene basis and see how the technique was used.

Adapting What You Learn to Your Novel

After I've studied a novel, I like to create some bullet-point notes about what I learned. I've found this lets me quickly see elements I want to include and things I want to remember. For example, if I'm impressed with how an author weaves in subplots, I'll make notes of where and how a subplot is added. I might ask:

• Where in relation to the other plot points does it fall--does it come during, before, after?
• Is it used to raise the tension?
• Is it a problem that intrudes on the main plot or is it a choice offered that leads the protagonist down a different path?
• How many turning points does it take to complete it?
• How does it relate or connect to the other subplots in the novel? Are they all similar or do they vary in size depending on importance?
• Where and how does the subplot affect the main plot? The main character arc? Other subplots?

Once I have my answers, I apply them to my own novel. I prefer to do this at the outline stage, since I find it easier to move events around and see how a novel unfolds, but you could apply these answers however you wished.

This technique also works for manuscripts that are giving you trouble. I've taken troublesome drafts and done an editorial map on them, then compared it to a favorite novel. I'll ask, where did I go off track? What did I miss? How could I change my draft so the plot flows better? Sometimes, just summarizing the action is enough to see where the problems are. It's like boiling it down and removing all the chaff.

Remember--This Isn't About Copying, but Learning

It can be easy (and tempting) to follow your favorite book exactly--scene-by-scene, chapter-by-chapter--but be wary of falling into that trap. Stories are fluid beasts, and what works for that novel might not work for yours. The goal is to see how the various pieces work together, and then adjust the pieces of your novel that are structurally out of whack. What might be working is when the subplot is introduced within the larger structure, not a specific page count.

Just because Favorite Novel A starts a romance subplot in chapter three doesn't mean you should start one there as well (especially if you don't really have a strong romance element in your novel). But if Favorite Novel B starts a subplot right after the first major plot point to distract the protagonist with an outside problem, then you might shift yours to a similar spot and see how it works. If that doesn't fix the issue, try studying why the subplot works well where it does--what else is going on that makes that subplot compelling?

We can learn a lot by studying novels we admire. After all, we loved them for a reason, right? And that we can duplicate in our own work.

Have you ever done an editorial map of your favorite novel? What did you find? Did anything surprise you?

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Janice Hardy is the author of the award-winning YA fantasy series, The Healing Wars, and the best-selling Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting it). Her Foundations of Fiction series includes Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a self-guided workshop for planning a novel, the companion Planning Your Novel Workbook, and the "editor-in-a-book," Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft. She's also the founder of the writing site, Fiction University. For more advice and helpful writing tips, visit her at www.fiction-university.com or @Janice_Hardy.

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What do your characters do when faced with adversity or an imminent threat? How do they recover from one of life's knock-out punches?

Conflict powers our stories and our character's personal growth arcs, so we throw a lot at our beloved protagonists. How they "catch" what we toss at them defines not only their essential qualities, but how the story will progress. 

Here are five suggestions for getting your characters through tough times. Great news—they'll work in real life for you, too!

1. Focus on what's right in front of them. When you're confronted with something unexpected, do you think about the past? Neither do I. I decide if I'm in danger and go from there. Your character's unexpected event could range from a flat tire in a parking lot to a highwayman pulling her Regency coach to a halt. If that parking lot is empty, and it's after midnight, and there is a knife stuff in the tire, your character better be looking around, melting into the setting and reaching for a cell phone. That's very different from being stopped for the fourth time by a highwayman who steals only kisses. It makes sense to have your character focus on the event, not backstory or what's going to happen tomorrow. 
2. Visualize overcoming the obstacles to their success. Whether or not you practice visualizations, we all ned to show our readers how our characters think and react. Since our job as writers is to throw obstacles at our characters, it is also our job to show how they plan to defeat the actions of others, or the forces of nature, or even their own faults and desires. Build up and redefine the visualizing process as the conflicts become greater to give your reader the satisfaction of participating in your character's success.
3. Recite their personal mantra. May the Force be with you. Now that's a mantra that more than one generation can relate to. My characters don't recite anything so epic (I wish), but they all have a go-to thought or phrase when times get tough. Sometimes the words are a response to a particular situation, words that have been drilled into them from childhood, much like "Yes, ma'am" and "Yes, sir" are giveaways of a military upbringing or growing up in the South. A personal mantra can be a great way to reveal backstory. Or hide it when a character refuses to explain what words they've gasped under their breath. When that backstory is finally revealed, the reader feels as if she's found a small treasure. You, as the reader, know that feeling.
4. Bounce back quickly from the unexpected. Unless you're writing a tear-jerking saga about a character working to overcome one life issue, you probably don't want him mired in dealing with something unexpected for chapter after chapter after chapter. Life is about reacting to the unexpected, and our characters need to show they can recover and move on if we wish to inspire that hope in our readers. This doesn't mean your characters are like kernels of popcorn, popping whenever the environment heats up. It does mean that when they are hit by adversity, they actively engage in problem solving, calling in allies, and doing what's necessary to get their lives back on course. They might even use a combination of methods one, two, and three above.

 5. Up the ante. Even when it hurts to throw your beloved creations near or into the fire, remember that readers love seeing a character survive and thrive against all odds and circumstances. A small unexpected happening can start a chain of life events that ramp up tension and drama for the rest of the pages. Upping the ante provides the opportunity to show the solid core of your character. It is a thing of beauty when my character's growth arc meshes with the plot to reveal the next layer of conflict and the next test of my character's belief system. We don't know the extent of what we can handle until we have to deal with more than we've ever encountered. And that's when we have the opportunity to shine. It's no different for our characters.

How do you move your characters through adversity? Have you drawn on real life experiences to empower your protagonist or, maybe, a villain?

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ABOUT FAE

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak.   Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present.  As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen.