Saturday, May 9, 2009

IS YOUR SETTING ANOTHER CHARACTER?

Location. Setting. Why is it so important to our story?

It seems obvious in some cases. In others, there could be a 'hidden' agenda. It can actually become another character.

Let's take a look, first, at the importance of setting to our genre, or sub-genre.

Fifty years ago, the choices were limited. Regencies and Westerns were prevalent sub-genres in the historical category, and mysteries and detective stories captivated the 'contemporary' nook. Science fiction was still relatively uncharted.
The setting of a novel was a definitive device, separating the genres as clearly as any other element of writing.

The glittering ballrooms and colorful gowns and jewels whisked historical romance readers away to faraway, exotic locales. Sagebrush, cactus, and danger awaited heroes of the western genre, a male-dominated readership.

But something odd happened as time went by. The lines blurred. Rosemary Rogers combined the romance of exotic places with the danger of an action plot, and an unforgettable hero in Steve Morgan that, had a man picked up 'Sweet Savage Love' and read it, he certainly could have identified with.

By the same token, the male-oriented scenery accompanied by the stiff, stylized form of western writers such as Owen Wister (The Virginian) and Zane Grey (Riders of the Purple Sage, The Last Trail) gave way to Louis L'Amour (Conagher, the Sackett series) and Jack Schaefer (Shane, Monte Walsh).

Why is the evolving change in description of location so important? In older writings, many times the location of a novel was just where the story happened to take place. Often, the plot of the story dictated the setting, rather than the two forming any kind of 'partnership.'

But with the stories that came along later, that partnership was strengthened, and in some cases, location became almost another character in the plot.

Take, for example, Louis L'Amour's 'Conagher.' As he describes the heroine's (Evie) dismal hopelessness at the land her husband (Jacob) has brought her to, we wonder how she will survive. Yet, Jacob has plans, sees the possibilities that Evie cannot, or will not see. The underlying message is, "The land is what we make of it."

As the story continues, she begins to appreciate the beauty of the prairie, while acknowledging the solitary loneliness of her existence. She plants a garden, nurturing the plants, and gradually she sees the farm being shaped into a good home from the ramshackle place she'd first laid eyes on.

The land is beautiful, but unforgiving. Her husband is killed in a freak accident, and for months she doesn't know what has happened to him. She faces the responsibility of raising his two children from a previous marriage alone.
In her loneliness, she begins to write notes describing her feelings and ties them to tumbleweeds. The wind scatters the notes and tumbleweeds across the prairie. Conagher, a loner, begins to wonder who could be writing them, and slowly comes to believe that whomever it is, these notes are meant for him.

At one point, visitors come from back East. One of them says to Evie something to the effect of "I don't know how you can stand it here."

This is Evie's response to her:

"I love it here," she said suddenly. "I think there is something here, something more than all you see and feel…it's in the wind.

"Oh, it is very hard!" she went on. "I miss women to talk to, I miss the things we had back East–the band concerts, the dances. The only time when we see anyone is like now, when the stage comes. But you do not know what music is until you have heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-off wind in the pines. Someday I am going to get on a horse and ride out there"–she pointed toward the wide grass before them–"until I can see the other side…if there is another side."

The land, at first her nemesis, has become not only a friend, but a soulmate. If that's not romance, I don't know what is.

Think of your own writing projects. What importance do you give setting in your description, plot, even characterization? Within 40 pages of 'Conagher', we understand that the land, with all its wild beauty and dangers has become enmeshed in Evie's character. She can't leave it, and it will never leave her.

36 comments:

  1. CHERYL--I've read so many Louis L'Amour's books, and the one with the notes was made into a TV movie. I loved that story, and it has stuck with me as an inspiration of historical romance.The romance I have loved so much is willa Cather's 0!PIONEERS. Your description of the woman wishing she had another woman to talk with, and of her describing the wide open spaces, is much like L'Amour's books. Great post, loved every word--Celia

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  2. Cheryl, I love books where the setting is a character and use that technique, also. Where you are does affect your soul and overlooking that in fiction leaves out an important element.

    Nice first entry! Best of luck with your blog and with your new release!

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  3. Great to see you blogging, Cheryl!

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  4. Hi Celia,

    I love Louis L'Amour sooooo much. We use "Conagher" as a teaching tool in class. It's short and has everything in there that we need to show as examples when we teach, and most people love it.

    Thanks for commenting. I'm going to try to put up another post soon.
    Cheryl

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  5. Hi Loraine,

    I agree!!! I like the way you put that, that "where you are affects your soul." That is really true. And you're right about overlooking it--if you do, your story is missing something that could have made it really come to life so much better.

    Thanks so much for commenting. I appreciate you!
    Cheryl

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  6. Hi Helen,

    Yes, I know, I know...LOL I'm terrible about doing it. I need about twice as many hours in each day!
    Cheryl

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  7. Hi Cheryl, great blog!

    Val
    lastnerve2000@gmail.com

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  8. Hey Val!

    Glad you enjoyed it!
    Cheryl

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  9. Hi Cheryl! Super blog post. I agree that setting is a character in its own right and that a place vitally 'informs' a character.

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  10. Louie L'Amour made the west come alive in every book. I love reading and re-reading his books. He used all the West, not just a few favorite areas. People who read his stories know that we have rainforest, forested mountains, glaciers, and just about every other topography you can think of, because he used them all to his stories' best advantage. What an awesome writer he was!

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  11. Beautifully stated, Cheryl! If you're going to take the time to throw in details of the setting, they better impact the main characters--and the readers--otherwise it is just filler.

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  12. It shows clearly how setting can be an integral part of the character themselves.

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  13. Wonderful blog Cheryl.. The setting of the story brings so much strength to the characters or shows how weakened they can be by their evnvironment. Adds depth to the story.

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  14. Very poignant. How true that each sees beauty in his or her own way. I remember the few times I traveled out West I felt so lost. The southern Appalachians are so ingrained into me that I don't get the Rocky Mountains. They are beautiful in their own right I am sure--but in my eyes nothing compares with the land that I love. That is what we hope to share through our writing isn't it? The beauty that we as individuals see--sharing that with someone who doesn't wear the same "glasses"

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  15. Hi Cheryl
    what a great post! Certainly settings become 'characters' in my own stories too. I've read all the authors you mention - I don't know how many times I've read Zane Grey's 'Riders Of The Purple Sage' I love it, and the other books you highlight too. What a lovely excerpt you posted

    "You do not know what music is until you have heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-off wind in the pines. Someday I am going to get on a horse and ride out there" just about sums up my own feelings (and there's many a plot Ive worked out from the back of my horse in the Welsh hills!)

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  16. Hi Lindsay,

    It really is important, isn't it? You know, when I first started writing I just didn't "get" how important it was. You just keep learning all the time. Thanks for commenting, Lindsay.
    Cheryl

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  17. Hi Jacquie,

    You are so right about LL!!! You know he said that he used real places to write about. When he wrote about a lake, a boulder, a mountain, it was actually THERE where he said it was. You can tell it, too. I think he had one of the most interesting lives ever. It shows in his writing.

    Thanks for commenting.
    Cheryl

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  18. Hi Lainey,

    YES. And setting is so important in so many ways. I think some of the books I've read in recent years brought that home to me more so than books I read "earlier on"--I think was we get older we realize it more and more. "Youth is wasted on the young" someone once said, and I do believe that age lets us realize things we didn't think of before.

    Thanks for commenting.
    Cheryl

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  19. Hi Maggi,

    I always think of Gone With the Wind, and how much Tara meant to Scarlett, though she didn't realize it at first. She told her father he was being "silly" when he talked to her about how important Tara was, but as time went by she realized it herself.

    Thanks for leaving me a comment!
    Cheryl

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  20. Hi Kathleen,

    That is an interesting point-strengthening or weakening your characters in juxtaposition to their environment or setting. I think the weakening, for me, would be in my more modern manuscripts--those two take place in confined areas and involve hostage situations. There literally is no where to run, no where to hide. The setting is detrimental to the characters because it is a trap. Very good point!

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
    Cheryl

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  21. Oh, Dani, where is it that you live in the Appalachians? My husband is from West Virginia and we lived there for about 10 years. I loved it!!! It wasn't like here, in Oklahoma--very opposite, and I yearned for the open spaces, to be able to see a sunset, etc. But the mountains grew on me, too, and in the fall there is just nothing more beautiful, is there? I think every part of this country has a kind of beauty to it, and like you said, what we hope to do is write about it well enough to convey that to others--Louis L'Amour sure did that in his books, even if you are not a big western fan--he is a fantastic writer of description and capturing the "feelings" of the setting--the heat, the dirt, the cool night breeze--it's all there in his writing.

    Thanks so much for commenting!
    Cheryl

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  22. Hi Lyn!!!

    I'm so glad to hear from you!!! Life has been crazy for me, and you too, I'm sure--thanks for stopping by to comment.

    Oh, yes, Zane Grey, etc. I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt from L'Amour's "Conagher"--it's one of the ones I use to teach setting in my classes because it's so descriptive and just wonderful--he captures the emotion and the feeling so well there.

    I'm so glad to hear from you!
    Cheryl

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  23. I think location in a story is a character. It determines how a character will act. It determines if the person will survive or leave the area or die. When an author describes the land you get a picture of what the person is up against in the story and the battles that may occur. It's vital to the story.

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  24. What a beautiful post. I'm glad that now we have more flexibility with scenes and characters that was available even a few years ago.

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  25. Hi She,
    You are so right. It is a huge determining factor for so many things! It's one reason why I always use that excerpt from Conagher, because of the way Evie felt before when she came west with her husband. She was afraid of the land and wary and didn't like it, but she learned to love it and the land gave back to her. It took her husband from her, but it gave her so many other things.

    Thanks for commenting!!!
    Cheryl

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  26. Hi Linda,

    Thanks! That's really nice of you to say. I'm with you on the flexibility issue. It seems like only a few years ago, depending on the genre (or subgenre, even) that you were writing in, there were so many things written in stone! Now, everything's changed and we have so much freedom with our setting and how we handle it. I'm glad you stopped by and posted!
    Cheryl

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  27. What a though provoking post Cheryl! Interesting input from older books! I have read many Louis L'Amour but do not remember Conagher... although what you describe certainly sounds like him. I think he has a certain irony in his stories. I think the setting must "fit" with the characters and plot to make the story feel right. Setting can add an extra dimension (character) to a well written story. mesreads[at]gmail[dot]com

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  28. Hi Martha!
    Glad you enjoyed reading it. I am a sucker for the older books, (as you might have noticed!) Love, love, love, Louis L'Amour!!! Conagher was made into a movie with Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross. Just an EXCELLENT story, and short. If you ever decide you want to read more LL, pick that one up first. LOL Another of my favorites is SHANE by Jack Schaefer, because it literally has "one of everything" in it despite being short, too. Conagher is VERY ironic! I bet you'd like it.And you are so right about the setting needing to fit the characters and the plot. Thanks so much for commenting. I appreciate you stopping by!
    Cheryl

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  29. Great Post I'm with you Cheryl!
    A setting is a character in its own right and it can affect the personality of a character and form who they are and who they become.
    ~Afshan
    Afshan522@aol.com

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  30. Cheryl, what a very intelligent and moving post. I've heard Louis L'Amour books are very good, now I believe it and will have to try them! Starting with Conagher if I can find it. Obviously you take the lessons you've learned and apply them to your own work. We writers never do stop learning, do we? I'm a lover of older books as well.

    May you write (and read!) much more.

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  31. Hi Afshan,

    You know, when I was younger I never realized how important the setting really was in a story. Never really thought about it that much. Now, it's a whole new ballgame! LOL

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
    Cheryl

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  32. Hi Monya!!!

    THANK YOU!!! I'm so glad you stopped by and read and commented. I absolutely LOVE Louis L'Amour. I use his books in my classes a lot because they are short and direct and you can really really learn from that man. If you can't find Conagher, Hondo is a good one, too, and he wrote a contemporary one that I think is really good--The Last of the Breed. A bit longer, sometimes slower paced than some of his shorter ones, but excellent all the same. Hope you can get your hands on Conagher! Shane is a fantastic book, too. (By Jack Schaefer)--short, and really GOOD. I love to learn from other authors, and a lot of the older books have so much to teach! Thanks again for stopping by to read and comment.
    Cheryl

    Cheryl

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  33. Cheryl,

    Brilliant post.

    Finding the perfect setting for a story is key I think.

    The mention of a location or landscape and the details used to describe it can be a powerful thing as it often brings forth such emotion.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it!

    Pam S
    pams00@aol.com

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  34. Hi Pam,

    Thanks! I'm so glad you came by and left a comment. Yes, I believe finding the perfect setting for a story is SO important--as important as any other element. I know that a lot of people might not see beauty in the flat lands of Oklahoma where I live, but to me, there is nothing more beautiful than being able to see the sky, the sunsets and sunrises, the storm clouds, the land that just rolls out like a carpet before you. So much is tied up in the location isn't it?

    Thanks again, Pam!
    Cheryl

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  35. Wonderful post! In some of my writing, the setting is just where the story takes place. But other times, if I changed the setting, the story would be lost. I love reading a book where the setting is so integral to the story that it comes to life. It's so cool to get lost not only in a great story, but in a place I've never been.

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  36. Hi E.A.,

    I agree wholeheartedly. If you haven't been to a certain area or aren't familiar with it, you might have some preconceived ideas about it that just are not true, or are kind of superficial--not knowing the real beauty or dangers of a place. I think sometimes, bringing those things to life is what really helps the story seem real. There are so many great books out there that use the setting as another character--if it wasn't, the story wouldn't be the same.

    Thanks so much for commenting, and please stop by again!

    Cheryl

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