It's Your World: Setting Your Novel - Page 5
© Kim Kay
You do not want to "dump" all the information on your setting all at once. If a reader can look at a paragraph and know it is a description of the setting, it's a problem. Details should be added in throughout. Pages of description is boring and your readers are likely to flip ahead to the "action." It isn't necessary to reveal setting through narration only. Setting can also be revealed through dialogue and illustrated by a character's actions and speech patterns. Breaking it up and getting it across through these different techniques will keep your reader from becoming overwhelmed by it.
Remember, you want to make your readers feel as if they were right there with your characters not give them a geography lesson. Use your setting to establish a sense of place and strengthen your characters and plot, do not make it the main focus. As author Joanne Reid says, "Setting should be like good wallpaper. It enhances your story, fits perfectly, and does not overwhelm the people in the room."
