On Character and Setting

In today’s Journal

* Quotes of the Day
* On Character and Setting
* Of Interest

Quotes of the Day

“Too stupid for words and too dangerous and wow are you a lazy bastard if you can’t write your own fiction.” Dean Wesley Smith on whether to use AI-generated content in stories

“PG contends that social problems are social problems, not word problems.” The Passive Guy

On Character and Setting

Awhile back I was talking with a writer about my nonfiction book, Writing the Character-Driven Story.

He asked why I put such emphasis on character and setting. Aren’t the events of the story what really matter?

Well, yes, they matter, but only as a catalyst to drive the characters’ reactions and dialogue. Fiction is centered around events, but every scene and 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 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.

Always share with your readers whatever your POV character (not you, the writer) notices in the setting (sees, hears, smells, tastes, feels physically and emotionally). Likewise, always share with your readers how the POV character (not you, the writer) feels about those aspects of the setting (the POV character’s opinion).

For a very brief example, one POV character might smile at the “faint aroma” of cherry pipe smoke. Another POV character might wince at the “filthy stench” of cherry pipe smoke. Depends on the character, and speaks to his or her background, personality, 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 (the guy wore jeans, a t-shirt, scuffed work boots and a ball cap).

Or the airport 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 workboots 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.

For more prominent characters or for secondary characters who figure prominently in the story, a more detailed description might be necessary.

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 and emotional senses.

Much has been said about how to decide whether you’re using “too much” or “too little” description. Here’s a great rule of thumb: If the POV character notices it, include it. It’s necessary to the story. If the writer adds some description of his/her own volition because s/he feels it’s necessary, it isn’t. It’s excess.

Places wear clothing too. A 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 door and any windows, feel the doorknob or pushbar in his hand, smell the scent or aroma or stench when the door opens, hear the sounds, if any, 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.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Brain implants like Neuralink could change your personality in surprising ways” at https://www.sciencealert.com/brain-implants-like-neuralink-could-change-your-personality-in-surprising-ways. Story ideas?

See “Some AI Opinions” at https://deanwesleysmith.com/some-ai-opinions/.

See “If stigma is the problem, using different words may not help” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/if-stigma-is-the-problem-using-different-words-may-not-help/. The first paragraph had me laughing out loud. And read PG’s very serious take.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 790 words

Writing of “Hortencia Alvarez” (shrug—I dunno)

Day 1…… 1089 words. Total words to date…… 1089

Writing of Wes Crowley: Deputy US Marshal 2 (WCG9SF4)

Day 1…… 3231 words. Total words to date…… 3231
Day 2…… 2990 words. Total words to date…… 6221
Day 3…… 1805 words. Total words to date…… 8026
Day 4…… 2025 words. Total words to date…… 10051

Total fiction words for February……… 1089
Total fiction words for 2023………… 47962
Total nonfiction words for February… 15920
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 36270
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 84232

Calendar Year 2023 Novels to Date…………………… 1
Calendar Year 2023 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2023 Short Stories to Date… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 72
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31

Disclaimer: Because It Makes Sense, I preach trusting your characters to tell the story that they, not you, are living. Duh. See My Best Advice for Fiction Writers at https://hestanbrough.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/My-Best-Advice-for-Fiction-Writers.pdf.