Saturday, August 20, 2022

What We're Writing Week - Julia Sets the Scene

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: One of the things I've known for as a writer is my scenery, which is ironic, since one of the common remarks from my writing group when I was first attempting fiction was, "Great dialog, but it feels like the characters are all standing in a gray fog somewhere." Heck, with that as a baseline, I had nowhere to go but up, right? 

 

I applied myself to learning the fine art of setting the scene. I read books on writing, looking for hints about creating backgrounds that were more, well, foreground. I paid close attention to the little details of nature when I was outside, and to people's homes when inside. That last wasn't a stretch - I'm an interior design junkie. Most importantly, I read other authors, soaking up how they made the worlds their characters moved through come alive. (Two always-green recommendations for writers seeking to do the same? William Kent Krueger and Steve Hamilton.)

 

Finally, I worked on applying what I had read, learned and observed to my own writing. Did I make the grade? Well, this September, I'm teaching a class titled "When The Where is the Why – Taking your scene-setting to the next level" at the Novelists Inc. Conference. Here's the description:

Do you struggle with using setting to reinforce character? Are you confident you're making high-value choices that don't slow the reader down? In this workshop you will learn to use setting to create metaphors, enrich your prose, and create worlds your readers never want to leave.

 And here an example of scene setting from AT MIDNIGHT COMES THE CRY - a section of the book that contains (gasp) only one line of dialog.

 

He glanced back; the edge of the promontory was almost out of sight. He peeled a couple inches of bark from the east and wet sides of an alder and went on.

In this dead season, the undergrowth was more of visual screen than an impediment to hiking through. He looked for any sign of human passage as he went eastward, but this was terrain that didn't yield much, other than deer scat and rabbit pellets and, at one point, several wild turkey feathers where some bird had met his end. They were following the path of least resistance toward Terrance's coordinates, but really, how accurate could the man have been when they were all flipped sideways and under fire? He was starting to wish for the bear to show up again and lead them to their destination when his careful perusal of the ground paid off. Not scat, or feathers, or even a boot print. A tripwire.

It stretched across two tree trunks about ankle-high off the frozen leaf litter. He followed the line around one trunk to see a simple home-made alarm; a clothes pin screwed into the wood, connected to a circuit board small enough to have come out of a garage door opener.

He stood. The others had caught up with him. “It sends a radio signal, which means they're close.”

What are the settings that came alive for you in novels?

54 comments:

  1. Oh, my . . . that’s really draws the reader into the telling of the tale [and leaves the reader with so many questions!]

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  2. Wonderful details, Julia. "In this dead season," and that the man took off the pieces of bark on the east and west sides of the tree trunk. I would like to take your course!

    I'm reading Where the Sky Begins right now, and Rhys does an expert job at making me feel what it's like to be in that big brick house - the cold rooms, both in temperature and in their owner's unwelcoming self, and the warm kitchen - as well as in the era, with the bombers flying back to base and the ration books and the blackout.

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    1. Edith, I just finished reading WHERE THE SKY BEGINS and I agree with everything you've said.

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    2. I agree 100%. Rhys makes the reader really feel as if they are in that grand old house, or the small farmers crofts in WHERE THE SKY BEGINS.

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    3. Oh, I agree, Rhys does such a great job with the setting in this book. I read it quite a few weeks back and can still see it all so clearly!

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  3. I was there when I was reading this. That's what I love about reading books where the setting is a true part of the story. A wonderful passage. Joyce W.

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    1. Thank you, Joyce! One of the important purposes in scene setting is exactly that; to make the reader feel as if they are right there in the protagonists shoes.

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  4. So intriguing! It's not just scenery, but really takes the story a step forward in a very visual way.

    I just finished another of William Kent Krueger's books, and I agree; he's excellent at creating the scenes. Another novel that came to mind for me was Ash Davidson's Damnation Creek. She really captures the deep woods and small towns of Northern California.

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    1. Just last night I finished one of Krueger's books too and he certainly nailed the area he was writing about, not MN this time, but WY.

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    2. I hadn't heard of the Ash Davidson book, Gillian, but I will look for it now. I am always up for reading more small town / country area mysteries.

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  5. This is fantastic, Julia. I could see every bit of it. As a dialogue junkie, thanks for this reminder!

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    1. I'm a dialogue junkie as well, Jenn. I had to scroll through several pages to find this much that didn't have people talking or, in a pinch, intensive internal monologue. Just like me, my characters have a hard time shutting up. :-D

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  6. Julia, I love the passage you've shared. I think I'll have to reread your series before the next one comes out.

    I think Debs does a stellar job bringing her readers to new places and establishing atmosphere, both inside and out. Striking examples of her skill are especially evident in WATER LIKE A STONE. Having never seen the canals nor the narrowboats, I was just there.

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    1. Oh yes, Judy, that book and Deb's skill really piqued my interest in narrowboats and for a while I even followed a few on FB.

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    2. Deb's does a marvelous job, Judy! And it's particularly important, and very skillful, to introduce the reader to something or somewhere outside their own experience.

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    3. Thanks, all! It's such fun, recreating those scenes.

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  7. Yes, so evocative, for so many reasons! I can see the survivalist they're searching for here, too. Mission accomplished, Julia.

    Some writing puts you in the wrong place, though. Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti books take place in Venice, and from her descriptions I expected the water there to be muddy and disgusting. To my surprise it is anything but that. The mood is right, but the ambiance is strange.

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    1. Maybe it's a metaphorically muddy, Karen? Sort of like those thrillers set in Hong Kong or Singapore, where it's always night, and always raining.

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  8. Yep, Julia, just like I was watching a movie! You definitely did it! Another author who has made Tahoe come alive is Todd Borg, whether his story is in summer, winter, fall, or spring.

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    1. I'm not familiar with Todd Borg, Judi. I'll have to look him up. I've actually been hoping to find more books set around lake Tahoe since I read PRETTY THINGS by Janelle Brown. It was a great thriller, and also described the area in a way that made me want to move there!

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    2. I just received his 17th one yesterday, Tahoe Moon. I think they might be described as thriller-ish. Interestingly I have never come across any vulgar words in his books, but you might like them just the same. There is a dog, a large dog.

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  9. Lovely passage - lots of tension in that landscape.

    I love setting as character. It adds so much texture and depth to a story. And when the outdoors is described it serves to remind me of WHEN the story takes place. By that I mean the time of year / season. Without constant reminders through the story I forget whether the action takes place among spring flowers, fall leaves, or snow. That's the challenge for the writer then - how many different ways can you describe spring flowers, fall leaves, or snow and make the descriptions fresh and interesting?

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    1. Forgot to say that 'The Dry' by Jane Harper is a book where setting sings as does season. Hot, Hot, Hot.

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    2. THE DRY is an excellent example, JC. And yes, I sometimes find myself rereading passages I've written, and inserting more reminders about the season, time of day, or the setting. I like to be well grounded in a book, so I want to do the same thing for my readers.

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    3. Oh yes! I loved that book! Partly because I felt that I was right there, thanks to the author's beautiful writing.

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  10. Such a powerful excerpt. I loved the details you provided, kept me hooked.

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    1. Honestly, Damyanti, we are kind of like drug dealers here. We give you the first little bits for free, hoping you'll come back and splash out money for the rest :-)

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    2. Insert evil laugh!!
      Irwin is giving books away and I'm buying them!

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  11. Wonderful excerpt, Julia. Your settings are always very evocative.

    I love it when settings are character. Some of my favorites are the ones I was exposed to at an early age - Daphne duMaurier immediately comes to mind. Kathleen Woodwiss made fashion a character. I have always marveled at her ability to do that.

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    1. Yeah, that's an art I haven't mastered yet. I give very sketchy descriptions of clothing in my books - of course, if I write "flannel shirt" or "parka," it's pretty easy for the reader to fill in the blanks.

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  12. Keep dropping these breadcrumbs, Julia! I am so ready for this book and Deborahs's and and and. I think the Reds' in general all do a great job of incorporating setting--it's not a matte painting there for show, but an integral part of the story. William Kent Krueger is a wonderful example--I first heard of him here and that ability to make setting come alive--wow! I'm always seeking out stories that let me go deep into a setting.

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    1. Me, too. One of my first and greatest influences was Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott series - when you put one of her books down, you're surprised to find you're not in backwoods North Carolina.

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  13. When I first read the post, I immediately thought of where I have lived and traveled in arid West Africa. I've only set one short story there, but the setting screams out to be the backdrop for angst, poverty, and desperation leading to crime, but it also has a sere, quiet beauty.

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    1. Agreed. I love stories where the setting isn't just the background, but where the characters and events couldn't have taken place anywhere else. Tony Hillerman s an early and great example of this.

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  14. This is a great example of setting... FILTERED through the lens of the viewpoint character. That's, imhop, the power of setting. Not only giving a sense of place but also a sense of the character experiencing it.

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    1. Absolutely! Thank you, Hallie, I should have pointed this out. What a character sees or doesn't see, what they interact with, how they feel in the setting - it's all so important.

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  15. Oh, my. I am dying to read your book. I agree with your assesment of William Kent Kruger and Steve Hamilton. Thought Tender is the Land (WKK) was especially brilliant. I also love Karen's pick of Donna Leon. My current reading has led me to appreciate Graham Hurley's series, Faraday/Winter and Jimmy Suttle, set in Portsmouth and Devon.

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    1. I haven't given Graham Hurley a try yet, but it looks as if I should!

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    2. I don't know Hurley. Looking up now!

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  16. Tony Hillerman was a master at capturing the Navajo land I think that John Nichols' _Milagro Beanfield War_ is also a marvel at making the geography a central character in the story. My appreciation of rendering the spirit of place sometimes comes after the fact as I go somewhere new and feel like I've already been there. Iona Wishaw did that with the area around Nelson, British Columbia for me. Historical fiction and sci-fi especially need effective descriptions of place. I still have images from Sherri Tepper's sci-fi in mind 15 years after I read the books (she wrote mysteries under the name BJ Oliphant - also about Northern New Mexico.)

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    1. Oooo - Sherri Tepper's GRASS. Talk about setting the scene...

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  17. Wonderful scene, Julia, so vivid and so full of tension. I'd like to take your course, too.
    Just off the top of my head, I've just finished the latest Martin Walker and setting is definitely an important character in his books. And I thought of Charles Finch's Charles Lennox books set in Victorian London. Also, our own Lucy Burdette with her beautifully drawn Key West!

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    1. Deborah: Yes to all of what you just said. And I love your beautifully drawn London with the maps!

      Diana

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  18. JULIA: This is going to be very long, so apologies in advance!

    First, I wanted to say THANK YOU! I could not find your Instagram nor your email address and I wanted to send you a note. I think it was the first week of August when we were talking about mismatched couples. I mentioned that I still have hope that I will find someone because if Gloria Steinem could find someone and marry at age 70, there is still hope for me. When you mentioned a friend who met someone late in life through a dating app, I wanted to ask you "Which dating app?" Well, I found a great dating app and I connected with this gorgeous Scandinavian surgeon who is divorced with adult children. He is exactly what I wanted! We both have strong attraction for each other. The good news is that I know that I CAN FALL IN LOVE. My heart was broken in college and I thought I would never fall in love again. I love him for many reasons. However, it looks like it will be companionable friendship. He just found out that he has cancer. He did not want to keep me from finding someone else. I was thinking that I would prefer to be in a mature loving relationship for a short time. I NEVER wanted to be in a relationship where I was miserable all the time. I have been rejected too many times that it has become second nature to me. Now I can laugh about it. The last time my love was returned was when I was 12 years old. I have been in "relationships" if you call it that with men who never loved me. If they really loved me, they would not treat me so badly, right? I believe that a relationship works ONLY if the feeling is mutual on both sides. The silver lining in all this is that I fell in love with a man who actually loves me back. Now I know that it is POSSIBLE.

    Now, to answer your question about setting, I think the setting is very important. I love novels set in my favorite places in the world. However, there are a series that I love even if it is set in San Francisco because I love the characters.

    Thank you again for your note of support in my search for romance. And today is Bookstore Romance Day!

    Hugs,
    Diana

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    1. Holy cow, Diane! I'm so glad you've discovered love is possible for you - and I hope you take this nice man's advice and keep looking out there for someone you can be with. What a gift to give you - the knowledge your heart still has plenty of life in it an encouragement to get out and use it!

      If you need to reach me, I'm at julia spencer fleming (all squished together) at the Google mail app.

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    2. JULIA: Thank you so much. I am definitely taking this nice man's advice! I feel blessed to know him. That knowledge that my heart still has life in it is a wonderful encouragement to get out and use it! Thank you and I will add your email address so that I can update you. Thank you again. xoxoxoxo

      Diana

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  19. Oh Julia, that was a great excerpt. All the signs of nature and then, a man-made object, a trip-wire. That's so intriguing. I can't wait to see who is being tracked down and why. And, "the student has become the master." As a reader, I'd love to take your course, as I've always admired authors who get it right about setting the scene, and you do get it right every time. It is such a careful balance between too much and too little description.

    I remember when I reviewed Jim Ziskin's fourth Ellie Stone mystery, Heart of Stone, I mentioned his description of the woods in the opening, how wonderfully it brought readers into the scene. Jim told me he had to fight for inclusion of that particular part, as his editor thought he should cut it. My take from that was how an author reaches a point in his/her writing when they've either mastered setting the scene or not, and if they've mastered it, they know when it's right.

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    1. That's an excellent point, Kathy. We all need editing, but the more assured you are of your writing, the more you feel you can stand your ground on things that are important. -Julia

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  20. Hi Julia, and forgive me for being one day late to respond to your post. I really enjoyed this excerpt--it's not easy to provide description and build tension at the same time! One phrase that struck me as perfect was "frozen leaf litter," which tells the reader so much about where they are and how cold it is. As for a book with an excellent sense of place, one of my favorite novels is Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Dreams," which I think provides excellent settings AND powerful characters.

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  21. Julia: A superb topic and beautifully case-in-point illustrated. Glad to know you will be teaching this subject. As a technical writer, this whole blog is sparking ideas in me - why not weave more "setting visuals" into testimonial narrative? The challenge is ON!!

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  22. Lovely, Julia. I always feel complete immersed when I'm reading your books - I shiver when you're describing a winter scene and sweat at a 4th of July event.

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