In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* On Character and Setting
* The Numbers
Quote of the Day
“The day will come when you have to call it quits. So whenever that comes, it comes. But until that time comes, live life to the fullest.” Robert Duvall
On Character and Setting
This post first appeared in different form in TNDJ on February 18, 2023. Even if you remember it from back then, you should read it today.
One day I was exchanging emails with a fairly prominent writer about my nonfiction book, Writing the Character-Driven Story. (Note: That book is no longer available. It was absorbed into Writing Better Fiction.)
The writer asked why I put so much emphasis on character and setting. Aren’t the events of the story what really matter?
Well, yes, they matter. But they matter only as a catalyst to drive the characters’ reactions and dialogue. In short
Fiction is centered around events, but every scene and every story is about the characters and their reactions to those events.
Setting matters too—
Overall, maybe 20% of a fiction is composed of events, and those take place in a setting. The other roughly 80% is the characters’ reactions to that event, which also take place in a setting.
Nothing in real life—either events or character interaction—takes place in an empty space or against a sterile white background. There is always a background. There is always a setting. Be sure you enable your reader to experience it.
Yes, there is a setting even if the character awakens in a completely dark basement. Even if the character can’t see the setting, s/he can still hear, smell, taste, and feel it, both physically and emotionally.
Always share with your readers whatever your POV character (not you, the writer) sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels—again, both physically and emotionally—in the setting.
Likewise, always share with your readers the POV character’s (again, not the writer’s) opinion of the setting (the POV ).
A note on “not the writer”
Writers often mention to me that they get confused because they feel their own personality traits, background, memories, etc. sometimes seep into the POV character.
That’s perfectly fine. That the writer informs the POV character to some degree is perfectly natural. After all, the POV character (and the other characters) live in your creative subconscious.
So don’t worry about shared traits and beliefs. Instead, run with the story and have fun. Just don’t allow your conscious mind to intervene. Don’t allow your own conscious thoughts or feelings about a setting or another character seep into the story.
Remember, in the Story, you’re reporting the POV character’s own reactions and dialogue, not what you think (conscious mind) they should be. Even if the POV character got some of his personality traits and beliefs from you, they’re his when they’re in his story.
If that doesn’t help, think about it like this: Even some other ‘real’ people share your personality traits and beliefs. That doesn’t mean you can’t write about them and how they reacted to a certain event.
For a very brief example, say the setting includes the smell of cherry pipe smoke. Regardless of how you personally feel (conscious mind) about smoke or smoking,
- one POV character might smile (an opinion expressed physically) at the “faint aroma” (an opinion expressed aloud in dialogue or silently in narrative description) of the smell, but
- a different POV character might wince at the “filthy stench,” and
- yet another POV character might barely notice it at all.
In each case, the POV character’s reaction and opinion depends on the character (again, not the writer) and speaks to his or her background, memories, personality, beliefs etc.
Characters wear clothing.
The reader should be able to see that clothing.
A general description is always fine if you’re dealing with a secondary character or a gaggle of them. For example, per the POV character’s observation,
- the guy wore jeans, a t-shirt, scuffed work boots and a ball cap, or
- the terminal was filled to overflowing with men in suits and women in skirts and blouses or pantsuits. The whole place smelled of travel and pleather, and a boring automated announcement about unattended bags repeated every few minutes, or
- everyone at the worksite was dressed in dusty jeans, stained t-shirts, scuffed work boots and ball caps in varying colors, or
- they all wore a blue ball cap with the sweat-stained Smith & Sons logo in white across the front.
Why? Because that’s all your POV character would notice in passing as he’s focused on a particular goal. He wouldn’t notice specifically what they’re wearing, but he would notice that they weren’t naked, that they were wearing clothing. So let your reader see the clothing too.
For more prominent characters or for secondary characters who figure more prominently in the story, a more detailed description might be necessary. Let the character sense (see, hear, smell) etc. what the POV character senses.
To be on the safe side, in every case describe what your POV character notices. This is not difficult once you learn to trust your character and to filter everything through his or her physical senses, emotional senses, and opinions of the setting.
Now, much has been written about how to “decide” (conscious mind) whether you’re using “too much” or “too little” description. I’d like to say there’s no such thing, but I can’t.
Here’s a great rule of thumb:
- If the POV character notices it, include it. It’s necessary to the story. (The writer can’t know better in advance than the POV character what’s necessary or not necessary because the story’s unfolding in real time as you write it.)
- If the writer adds some description of his/her own volition because s/he “thinks” it’s necessary, it isn’t. It’s excess. Don’t add it.
Places wear clothing too.
Any house or other building has a façade with particular attributes.
If your character is going to walk into that building, the reader should be able to see the walls, door, and any windows; feel the doorknob or pushbar; smell the scent or aroma or stench when the door opens; and hear any sounds that wash out over him.
Obviously, if the character approaches the building from a block away, the description will be a bit longer and focus down as the character nears the entrance. If s/he leaps from a car and crashes through the door, the description will be much shorter.
Likewise a room has a particular look and smell and sound (even if the “sound” is an eerie silence) and feel. Let your readers experience it right along with your POV character.
All of that is setting. Again, nothing—no event, no conversation, no character wondering internally what’s going on—takes place in an empty space or against a sterile background.
The Numbers
The Journal………………….. 1140
Mentorship Words…………….. 0
Total Nonfiction…………………. 1140
Writing of
Day 1…… XXXX words. To date………… XXXXX
Fiction for February………………………. XXXX
Fiction for 2026…………………………… XXXX
Nonfiction for February.…………………. 16600
Nonfiction for 2026………………..……… 36190
2026 consumable words………………… 36190
2026 Novels to Date……………………… 0
2026 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2026 Short Stories to Date……………… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………….. 123
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 310
Short story collections……………………. 29