Fiction Writing
How to Use Scenes to Establish Setting
Scenes, Part 2 of 4: How to make fiction feel real
Setting is critical in the first few lines so the reader is immediately oriented in the story and can begin to imagine the scene playing out. Without enough detail, readers cannot imagine the world that you — the author — can see so clearly in your head.
A scene needs to happen someplace, but if we use that location and the environment around the main character to work against their goals, stories can reach new depths.
Setting comes down to multiple elements, each helps orient the reader.
This is the second article in a four-part series on writing effective scenes. For part one, click here: Why Does Fiction Need Scenes?
Where are we in this specific scene?
Tell the reader where we are upfront, in each scene and in each chapter, within the first paragraph if at all possible. The sooner the reader knows where the action is taking place, the faster their imagination locks on to the world and they get caught up in your story.
Consider the following:
- Where are we in general (time, place, world)?
- Where are we specifically (inside a room, outside in a meadow, teetering on a cliffside, etc.)
- What is around us (furniture, dense forest, open fields, cars whizzing past, etc.)
In addition to the basics, also consider what unique elements to that location can be included throughout the scene to give the reader a sense of what it feels like to be there. None of us have been to Middle Earth, but with the right details we readers know whether we are in Hobbiton or Mordor based on the physical surroundings.
The reader doesn’t need pages of details, but a short paragraph to orient the reader in a room, with a few specific details that evoke the time and location, will enable the reader to imagine this location, bringing them in as an active participant in the story.
What time of day/season is it?
With a few key details, clue the reader in to what time of day it is. This, in combination with the character’s stated goal will cue the reader into a perception of a ticking clock.
For example, if Cinderella only has until midnight before she changes back to her scrubby self, and we start the scene in daylight, the reader knows that we have plenty of time for more story to unfold before we need to worry about her. But start the scene with the clock chiming at eleven, and the tension for the scene is already set.
Invoking seasonal elements can also be used to build tension. A character trying to make it home before an incoming winter storm sets a ticking clock for the scene.
What’s more, seasonal elements create a tone that can work with the plot and evoke in the reader certain feelings. Consider cozy Christmas romances, with all of the decoration and cheer, that let the reader know it’s time to grab a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa to settle in for a heartwarming experience. The Longmire series uses details unique to Wyoming to create a stark and beautiful landscape that lets the reader know how isolated characters are and how self-sufficient they must be. And spooky horror and mysteries will employ scene details like cold, dark basements and old castles to creep out a reader before any action takes place.
Consider the following to indicate what time of day or season it is:
- How can the reader tell what time of day/season it is?
- How does this time of day/season impact the story?
- How can this time of day/season work against the reader?
This last point is especially helpful for getting the reader invested in the story. For example, it’s peak rush hour and the character is highly unlikely to make it across the city in time, or daylight has run out so they can no longer search for something outdoors. Plot needs tension, and characters need obstacles, so think of all the ways that the setting might get in the way of the character’s plans.
Details matter
Strive for using the five senses in each scene to ground the reader physically in this imagined space. Blocks of description aren’t necessary, but a well-placed detail or two will trigger the reader’s imagination.
Choose a couple of details, such as:
- What is in the room with them?
- What smells are in that room?
- What do fabrics or items the character touches feel like?
- What background noises are part of this environment
- How busy is the location?
- If there’s food, or a particularly strong smell, what taste does that bring to the character’s mouth?
- What is the character wearing?
To make these details feel real, show the character interacting with them. Specifically, how does the character react (both viscerally and on the outside when in public)?
Consider how the character can interact with these items to let the reader know how they are feeling. A character can bang a cabinet door, hurl a lamp across the room, clutch grandad’s pocketwatch to their heart, or caress a a note from a long-passed lover.
Think past cliché
To make your writing stand out, you’ll need to brainstorm a bit. Come up with a list of items appropriate for the time and place. Now, go further. Generally, we need about a dozen tries to get past the obvious, and therefore the cliche. Consider the following:
- What else could be there?
- What might people be surprised to find there?
- What item could be considered small or even insignificant that might embody the time and place of this story?
Scene building takes a little brainstorming and a couple of well-chosen details, but can bring both the setting and the story to life.
Happy writing!
If you found this information helpful or have a topic you’d like to hear more about, let me know in the comments.
For a full archive of articles related to writing and other writing-related resources, check out my Resources tab at www.editsunderway.com.
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Elizabeth Russo is an editor and author with a passion for helping new writers navigate their way through the process of taking a good story and turning it into a publishable manuscript. Elizabeth is a 2023 and 2019 Florida Writers Association Top Ten Short Story winner, a 2021 Royal Palm Literary Award Finalist, and a returning Royal Palm Literary Award judge. She’s an active member of the Florida Writers Association, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, ACES: The Society for Editing, and the Editorial Freelancers Association.
