Unforgettable Settings in 5 Simple Steps
An event attendee once told me that she was disappointed in me. Why? She was expecting my Southern fiction to be a little more like Steel Magnolias. It was the greatest compliment I’ve ever received. Not because I don’t love Steel Magnolias. I absolutely do. But I write books (for the most part!) set in North Carolina and Georgia in the 2020s, not 1989 Louisiana.
(5 Reasons to Set Your Thriller in an Isolated Town.)
And it is incredibly important to me that my readers feel like they are living inside my settings right along with my characters, that they get to experience the modern-day small-town South that I call home. No matter what type of setting you are looking to create—from sweet and cozy to dark and twisty—a few tweaks will give readers the experience of a setting they will never forget.
Start with your senses.
This is obvious, but it has to be our starting point. Are you lounging seaside or dusty in the desert? On a rural farmstead or in a crowded downtown? It doesn’t matter as long as you give the reader details that make it come alive.
Of course we want to describe what our setting looks like. But, beyond that, how does it sound? How does it smell? Can you taste smoke in the air? Feel fall leaves crunching under bare feet?
The more senses we use to describe a setting, the more likely a reader is to remember it, feel taken in by it, and want to know more. (It’s scientifically proven!) That said, we also want to give the reader enough room to use his or her imagination to fill in gaps and take ownership.
Continue with how it makes you feel.
When I set out to write my Peachtree Bluff Series, I remember saying to my editor, “My main hope is that readers remember the town of Peachtree Bluff.”
And a memorable setting—for me—is all about how it makes you feel. The fact that the local barista delivers coffee to the townspeople in Peachtree Bluff isn’t just fun. It makes the reader feel like the people in this town are loved and cared for.
The idea that townspeople are adamant about coming together for a series of quirky holiday traditions isn’t about action. It’s a sign of a close-knit community, that my characters are a part of something bigger than themselves—and it helps the reader feel like he or she is a part of that something bigger too.
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Treat your setting like a character.
A setting needs a personality, just like a character. Does the house have creaky floors that seem cantankerous? Does the shoreline seem like it washes away the secrets of the passersby?
In just the same way that each character has distinctive personality traits, patterns of speech, and physical characteristics, leaning into the setting’s moods and characteristics can help bring it to life. This is a perfect place for a few well-placed metaphors or similes.
Treat your characters like a part of your setting.
Of course, we would never throw a character in a novel solely to enhance the setting… Or would we?
In my forthcoming novel, A Happier Life, the Dockhouse Dames—a group of four women in their 70s and 80s—become essential to uncovering the mystery at the center of the story. But in a larger sense, they are a microcosm of Beaufort, NC, the Greek chorus that introduces us to a town full of history, distinctive townspeople, and beloved traditions that are not to be tampered with. They have lived there for decades, participate in every town function and activity, know every bit of gossip about everyone, and, in so many ways, are the town itself.
Other characters could have come alongside protagonist Keaton to introduce her to Beaufort and help her discover the truth about where she came from. But it’s the Dockhouse Dames that really come to embody the spirit of the town.
Check out Kristy Woodson Harvey’s A Happier Life here:
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Give your setting a backstory.
One of my favorite ways to bring a setting to life is to give it a backstory, just like I would a character. A setting is just a setting; a story is much more memorable. Whether it’s a dark and seedy tale of greed and lust or a sweet, happy story of families coming together to create a better life, these details about how your setting came to be can’t help but make a reader feel closer to the setting.