How to write a powerful and engaging story setting

Creating an interesting and believable setting is important for any fiction story so such aspects as a vivid and precise description of the place and time is crucial. A quality portrayal of a physical location can make the novel memorable so that it can be distinguished from other writings of a similar type.

Check out some hints, which will help you write an effective and engaging story with a vivid and distinctive location that can make the place alive for the reader.

Do the research

If it is a real-world setting, make sure that you do a thorough research. Skipping this stage will show your ignorance and can potentially jeopardize the success of your story. Perhaps, you already know the place, which you would like to use in your novel but studying it properly is vital if you want to win the trust of your readers. Each detail matters so avoid any basic mistakes like a misspelling of the famous places of interest and double check the architectural details to avoid any confusing mishaps.

Use Google Street View

Applying imagination is great for fiction but if you have chosen a real-life setting, all facts must be checked so that your readers believe you. Using different tools to get an updated information about locations that you want to use in your story can be beneficial. Taking a virtual walking tour by means of Google Street View can be really handy so spend some extra time and explore the setting properly, especially if you have never been at the location before.

Study a made-up place

If the events in your story take place, for instance, in the Medieval Times, obviously, you will not be able to conduct a Google walking tour. Nevertheless, the setting must be believable. Reading the writings of people who lived at that time should help you imagine how it all was established. Studying works of respected writers (or painters) can be very helpful for a realistic description of the chosen location. If you find difficult to find enough material about the ancient place or, perhaps, you simply find these works hard to read, you can use descriptions in other fellow respected writers who have already used this setting in their writings.

Avoid mistakes

Many aspiring writers think that it is very important to describe the setting in the introduction. However, you need to make sure that it does not take long since a lengthy beginning can bore the reader and your work will be buried among many other unread books.

It is important to let the reader know where the events unfold but it needs to be done smoothly making it practically invisible. The tension and actions are more engaging in a reader’s mind so it is better to avoid making long setting descriptions, especially in the introductory part of your writing.

Writing the setting of places are burdensome for many writers, however, crafting vivid settings is crucial since it can make your creation powerful, memorable and easy to read. Hopefully, our suggestions can help the place in your story come alive atmosphere-wise and your piece of writing becomes a bestseller.