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It's Your World: Setting Your Novel

© Kim Kay

"The world only exists in your eyes - your conception of it. You can make it as big or as small as you want to." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

How many times have you thought to yourself, I wish it wasn't so hot? Or cold? Or cloudy or rainy or humid? How many times have you wished there would be less traffic on the drive home from work? Or hoped a parking spot would magically appear right in front of the grocery store the moment you arrived? How often have you been able to control these situations? Not very often, huh?

Now is your chance. In your novel, you can control the climate, traffic, parking, and everything else right down to the smallest detail. You can create a perfect world or one that isn't so perfect. It can be a real place, such as your hometown, or one you dream up. In short, it's your world. You are only limited by your imagination and your researching ability.

Whether your novel is set in a real place or a fictitious one, the most important thing is that it is believable. If your setting is vague or filled with inconsistencies or impossibilities, your readers will not be transported into that time and place, which will lessen the impact of your novel. Your first task is to select a setting which will enhance your story. The setting is the backbone of your novel, upon which you will build a captivating plot and dynamic characters. Once you have the perfect setting in mind, you must gather as much information about it as possible and then share that information with your readers in enough detail for them to visualize it without making it seem like a travel guide.

The Purpose and Uses of Setting in a Novel

Plot Advancement - Using climate as an example, let's say you've created romantic tension between two co-workers. All through the novel, the reader is hoping they will get together but each time it seems like they will, something happens to prevent it. If your novel is set in a cold climate, one night, when they are the only two left working late, it begins snowing. Before they are able to leave, they are snowed in and stuck together until the snowplows come in the morning to clear off the street. You now have around 12 hours for them to realize their feelings for one another.

The copyright of the article It's Your World: Setting Your Novel in Novel Writing is owned by Angie Dixon. Permission to republish It's Your World: Setting Your Novel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.