tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post3205948268138819034..comments2024-03-28T00:28:02.920-07:00Comments on Navigating the Slush Pile: Setting as CharacterVickie Motterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15791034462866079818noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-24124968345268571582011-03-13T17:49:45.940-07:002011-03-13T17:49:45.940-07:00I loved the setting of AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES....I loved the setting of AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES. The small town with quirky characters captivated me.Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-90575349507185679082011-03-10T16:38:40.281-08:002011-03-10T16:38:40.281-08:00A few epic fantasy novels that I've read immed...A few epic fantasy novels that I've read immediately come to mind. I think <i>Lord of the Rings</i> is pretty obvious here. I also really enjoyed <i>A Game of Thrones</i> - the setting immediately sucked me in and was really what piqued my interest to begin with.Stephanie Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01258321385403403810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-67305502496830897652011-03-09T15:46:29.662-08:002011-03-09T15:46:29.662-08:00I like how you put that, "setting as a charac...I like how you put that, "setting as a character." It does make a story more interesting. But I will also say that I detest overly flowery prose. I much prefer it when the setting is given character by use of touchstone words- words that already have a strong emotional meaning to your target audience. I don't agree with using cliches too much, tough.Rebecca Gillanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01341836304924085727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-8024510136780971372011-03-08T19:37:26.099-08:002011-03-08T19:37:26.099-08:00The Shipping News. The enviornment is beautiful, c...The Shipping News. The enviornment is beautiful, calm, isoloated and at the same time rough and unforgiving. Much like the characters lives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-37622901305130086062011-03-08T07:48:01.300-08:002011-03-08T07:48:01.300-08:00I'm going way back here: L.M. Montgomery's...I'm going way back here: L.M. Montgomery's ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. The descriptions of Prince Edward Island are so perfect, when I visited the island it was like I'd already been there. The prose is a little purple, as the saying goes, but it WAS written over 100 years ago. One of my all-time favorites.Kristine Asselinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257286523945921891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-64522825595022847532011-03-07T16:32:26.903-08:002011-03-07T16:32:26.903-08:00When you say "New York," or "New Or...When you say "New York," or "New Orleans," or "San Francisco," those are familiar places and the character development has been done for you, should you choose to take advantage of it. When something wacky happens, the reader can just shrug and say, "Welp, it IS Chicago, after all," and a lot of readers will get what that means. The "character development" has already been done, the writer just takes advantage of it.<br /><br />They did something like that in "Beautiful Creatures," where they squished the town and the community into one living, breathing entity of "us", and that way, there could be a "them." But I think the key may be that the setting existed long before the story started, giving that personality time to develop so that everyone already understood it before the reader arrived.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09589928734405169231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-65726799101474888462011-03-07T15:21:17.956-08:002011-03-07T15:21:17.956-08:00I'm trying to read Hunger Games. I'm like ...I'm trying to read Hunger Games. I'm like 100 pages into it now. Unfortunately, for me, it seems to be a very "put downable" book. I wish I could see what other people see in it in that the book is amazing from front to back. Gonna keep trudging through it just so I'm not left out of discussions. I get through about a chapter a night.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-14829342742873489792011-03-07T14:46:39.336-08:002011-03-07T14:46:39.336-08:00Wonderful Post - really has me thinking - I loved ...Wonderful Post - really has me thinking - I loved many novels that had more description than is in fashion now - and that constant reference to the setting was a huge part of my love. The way Anne Rice would speak of the Garden District in New Orleans jumps to mind. The setting of Dune - still haunts me. I love hunger games - but the setting was very skimpy to me. I really had a hard time figuring out where some of the districts were - because the descriptions did not offer a great deal of detail. Yet even there, it was a character. Very helpful!HowLynnTimehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07888091432152130146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-85116409346285189412011-03-07T13:00:56.922-08:002011-03-07T13:00:56.922-08:00I always thought Tennessee Williams did a great jo...I always thought Tennessee Williams did a great job with setting - that sultry, summer air, etc, etc. <br /><br />When I was a kid, I loved Bridge to Terabithia and the Secret Garden because of the setting descriptions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-52531394029239441702011-03-07T12:48:31.727-08:002011-03-07T12:48:31.727-08:00I love the way you put that, "add enough to g...I love the way you put that, "add enough to get the reader interested". That's a great point and an excellent goal for us writers to aspire to!Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130733681254163610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-73108053625107020222011-03-07T12:41:22.285-08:002011-03-07T12:41:22.285-08:00Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind&q...Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind"! The South during and after the Civil War really comes alive.Laura S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13934230198562773803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-18026384344696411812011-03-07T12:35:58.973-08:002011-03-07T12:35:58.973-08:00My first thought was the Harry Potter series. Hogw...My first thought was the Harry Potter series. Hogwarts has to be my favorite setting and I'm still not totally convinced it's not real ;)<br /><br />I also love Cornelia Funke's Inkworld. As for contemporary, Stephanie Perkins' enriches her novel, <i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> through her setting of Paris.Suzie F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09560250678212373878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-79344589054482498022011-03-07T12:32:19.972-08:002011-03-07T12:32:19.972-08:00i love sharon creech's books. they all revolve...i love sharon creech's books. they all revolve around setting (clearing the trail, moving somewhere unknown, etc).Lynn(e) Schmidthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13111991752818662608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-66507357784986555712011-03-07T12:32:03.217-08:002011-03-07T12:32:03.217-08:00Love this subject, and have thought on it much.
...Love this subject, and have thought on it much. <br /><br />So, consider: Landscape itself is mostly unchanging and static. It's not a character; not really, which may be why flat description so often fails to bring place truly to life.<br /><br />It's through the eyes, mind and heart of a POV character that landscape actually takes on nuances, meaning and personality. Landscape may not change (much) but a person's perception of it can.<br /><br />To me the idea of making "place a character" feels impossible, whereas exploring the ways in which a character experiences a place feels easy.<br /><br />Much more to say about this, and which I've said elsewhere, but thanks for raising it today. Such an important technique in the fiction writer's toolbox.<br /><br />Donald MaassDonald Maasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17279118891451426749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-56773634394505322152011-03-07T11:52:34.019-08:002011-03-07T11:52:34.019-08:00Tamora Pierce's Tortall books. She knows how t...Tamora Pierce's Tortall books. She knows how to build a world that is all encompassing and without slowing down the pacing of the story. From the first sentence, the reader is completely involved in the setting as well as the characters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-32829349025203703102011-03-07T11:51:51.844-08:002011-03-07T11:51:51.844-08:00While most of Toni Morrison's novels seem to c...While most of Toni Morrison's novels seem to call to mind her home state of Ohio, there's one in particular where setting is key: Paradise. <br /><br />I guess to make a super general statement, literary doesn't rely on setting as a character the way genre fiction might. Particularly in sci-fi, I like the setting to be specific and a part of the plot.Bethany C Morrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12680443616002300791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597446736200108024.post-47011835449360028532011-03-07T11:48:17.724-08:002011-03-07T11:48:17.724-08:00Three settings immediately came to mind: Ursula K....Three settings immediately came to mind: Ursula K. Le Guin's Gethen (<i>The Left Hand of Darkness</i>), Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris (<i>City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword,</i> and <i>Finch</i>), and Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest (<i>Palimpsest</i>). All three settings are so rich with personality that I can smell and taste them between the words.J. Koyanagihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13253349779529550949noreply@blogger.com