Thursday, August 1, 2019

Creating a World in a Book by Guest Blogger Pepper Basham



I just finished reading my first Amelia Peabody book and I have been completely captivated by the world Elizabeth Peters created. Now, I only picked it up as research for a work-in-progress of mine, but from the first chapter, I was drawn into the setting of Cairo and the arid environment in which Egyptologists and archeologists saturated themselves to uncover ancient relics.

Elizabeth Peters’ book was thick with a world I’d never experienced, but through her story, I traveled to Egypt, felt the busy-ness of Cairo’s streets, and even delved into an ancient mystery.

How did she help me travel there? And how do we make that happen in our stories?

One of my favorite things in writing (besides developing characters! I LOVE creating characters!!) is helping my readers get a sense of place in the storyworld they’ve entered.

I could really write three separate posts on this issue, one on each of my points, but I’ll try to sum it up 😊

  1. Know your setting
  2. Take the Organic Approach
  3. Move the senses

Know Your Setting

First things first, get to know your setting. Of course, this is for obvious reasons – if you don’t know your setting, how on earth are you going to describe it for others to experience?


There are different way to do this:

A. Traveling to the places
B. Massive research
C. The Author’s own imagination
D. Taking stories from others and fictionalizing them/or incorporating them into yours
E. All of the above (or a mixture of a few)

E would be the usual answer 😉

It takes a blend of experiences, knowledge, and imagination to bring a setting to life in the best ways. But what do we need to know to impact the creation of our settings?

Oh goodness, I don’t have enough space here to go into all the possible information, but here are a few questions to ask while shaping your storyworld.

What does the place look like? (duh, right?)

What’s the mood of the place? How does it feel? – for example, in Lord of the Rings, Mordor has a very different “sense” and weather to it than the Shire. Even the weather sets a tone for the setting in those two places.

What sort of people live here? Is it a big mix of cultures? Agrarian? A city? The smells, sounds, even the accents are going to be different, depending on what you choose.

What would be the typical work done in this setting? A fishing village by the sea is going to have a different style, flavor, and feeling than a upscale, city street. A rural area is going to give off a different vibe than a suburb – not only in what we see, but in what people wear, the way they talk to each other, and even the pace of life.

What cultures and traditions might influence the setting and the people?

What is the history of this place?
Has it been there a long time? Were there any significant historical events that took place there? Will these influence the setting of your story or the people within it?

How about the geography? Having an ocean nearby is going to create a different culture than being surrounded by mountains. In my book, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge, the culture of the Appalachian people – isolated within their mountains with limited options for making a living – are naturally prone to developing and drinking alcohol because the nature of their environment sets them up for it. So then, how will this ‘culture’ impact my story?

The creation of a world comes from a big pot of possibilities, and each author attempts to evoke a reader’s imagination in different ways.

Take the Organic Approach

Second (and as important as the first) - take an organic approach to revealing your setting.

This may seem a no-brainer for most people, but it’s definitely a shift in writing styles from the 1800s to now 😊 Charles Dickens could spend an entire page describing a cobblestone sidewalk, but readers nowadays are going to skim over that type of intensive detail.

It’s important to weave the setting into the action of the story, not use it as bookends to a page.

You do NOT have to tell everything you know about this setting in your book. In fact, please DON’T!! What you want to do is highlight the best parts of your setting to build a sense of place, but not bog down your readers with details. The best way to do this is weave the setting into the action of the story.

Master storyteller Jerry Jenkins gives these two examples:

London in the 1860s was a cold, damp, foggy city crisscrossed with cobblestone streets and pedestrians carefully dodging the droppings of steeds that pulled all manner of public conveyance. One such pedestrian was Lucy Knight, a beautiful, young, unattached woman in a hurry to get to Piccadilly Circus. An eligible bachelor had asked her to meet him there.

I get the sense of setting, don't you? It works, right?

But…Jenkins gives us an even BETTER way 😊

London’s West End, 1862

Lucy Knight mince-stepped around clumps of horse dung as she hurried toward Regent Street. Must not be late, she told herself. What would he think?

She carefully navigated the cobblestones as she crossed to hail a Hansom Cab – which she preferred for its low center of gravity and smooth turning. Lucy did not want to appear as if she’d been toseed about in a carriage, especially tonight.

“Not wearin’ a ring, I see,” the driver said as she boarded.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nice lookin’ lady like yourself out alone after dark in the cold fog…”

“You needn’t worry about me, sir. I’m only going to the circus.”

“Picadilly, it is, Ma’am.”

Do we still get the same idea of the setting? Yes, but we ALSO have it incorporated in such a way that the story is moving forward AND we get a little character introduction along with a tinge of suspense for icing on the cake.

Now there is NOTHING wrong with beautiful prose and descriptions, but if they can mean something to the story and move it along, then that is how to bring your setting to life without it feeling like a list of details. And, if you’re going to give a longer, meaningful description, try to alternate it with some action or dialogue.

Move the Senses

Thirdly, don’t forget the five senses.

When describing your setting, find ways to incorporate various types of senses so that the reader can experience the environment too. Of course, there’s an emotional feeling the setting can create, but there’s also sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. We usually don’t use them all at one time in a description, but it’s fun and interesting to try and find different ways to use them throughout the story.

Here’s an example from my historical romance, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge (a descriptive paragraph set within the center of a chapter). Also, the mountains are an integral part of the story.

Laurel hesitated only a second longer before she headed out the door and down the steep mountain path toward the church schoolhouse. The trees were only beginning to shift into autumn colors, with hickory and beech displaying their golden glints first. She breathed in the earth’s fragrance, still fresh from morning rain, a mixture of wild rose and moss. Sunlight created a patchwork against the leafy trail as it slit through the mature forest and led the way down the mountain. Small glimpses of horizon showed between the trees and offered an endless view to uncharted lands of colleges and city streets and millions of other things she’d only seen through the pages of books.

The important thing about incorporating the senses is to keep it organic and relevant to the rest of the story.




Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes historical and contemporary romance novels with grace, humor, and culture clashes. She’s a Blue Ridge Mountain native and an anglophile who enjoys combining her two loves to create memorable stories of hope. You can connect with Pepper over at her group blog, The Writer’s Alley, her website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.


What are some books you’ve felt have shown setting well? 
What places have you visited lately through books that you’ve never been to in real life?
Pepper has a copy of My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge for one commenter!

44 comments:

  1. Sweet mountain grannies are serving up delicious comfort food and an endless supply of sweet tea in honor of Pepper's visit! Eat, drink, chat, and be merry until Pepper and Carrie are available to join us later today! Meanwhile, I will be popping in throughout the day to visit with all y'all!

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    1. I'm all for some southern comfort food and sweet tea!! Bring it on! :-)

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  2. I am all in on the comfort food, darlin's! Pepper, it is always such a treat to have you here, to hang out with you! HELLO!!!!!! Thank you for a great post, chock full of important tips for old and new authors.

    And I am coming south to visit the Blue Ridge come November... I may tiptoe through your neck of the woods! :) I think a meet-up is in order, Pepper!

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    1. RUTHY!!!! Do not tease me unless you MEAN it!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!

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  3. Good morning, Pepper. Thanks so much for visiting today. As I was reading your part about incorporating setting organically, I couldn't help but think of reading Lord of the Flies with my students last year. They loved the action parts, but the pages and pages of setting (which, of course, were so important to the story) not only bored them to distraction, but was also hard for them to follow. Not to go all teacher here, but we had to do some serious close reading and visualizing to make that island come to life. We ended up painting a mural of it.

    But, as you say, that was the way books were written then. I think the change in our attention spans makes writing the way you describe so very important.

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    1. TOTALLY agree, Cate! People's minds have shifted from a more written verbal way of seeing the world to a more visual 'verbal' way, if that makes any sense (teacher to teacher). There are still those books that can really grip us that are written with more lengthy detail, but they're less likely to engage a large readership. Details are super important. Lord of the Flies is a classic story on so many levels - and the details do set the mood so well - but, you're totally right about the attention spans and...I daresay the critical thinking/imaginations of larger portions of children to see beyond the page. Thankfully, books can STILL do that - help us use our imaginations and travel beyond ourselves.

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  4. Welcome, Pepper!! Thank you for being here today. GREAT tips for grounding a story.

    I've so VERY MUCH enjoyed your books! Your settings and characters come alive and linger in my mind long after the last page is turned. :) I mostly read contemporaries, but look forward to your historical romance!

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    1. I completely agree, Glynna! My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge is a great place to start with Pepper's historicals!

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    2. Glynna, you just made my day!!! I'm so glad you've enjoyed reading my stories. It's always a little daunting to know other authors are reading your stuff, you know? But I'm glad it was a good experience :-) LOL. And I LOVE that you said my characters/setting "linger" with you. YAY!!!!!

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  5. Welcome, Pepper!! I loved the Jenkins examples you shared. It truly does show how we can take a perfectly good draft and make it sing! It makes me want to start editing right now! haha

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    1. I want the Jenkins clan to adopt me. This flatlander can't get enough of the mountains!

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    2. Right, Missy! I didn't feel as though I could improve upon that fantastic example. It was a good lesson for me to hear again too.

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  6. Hi Pepper. Thanks for sharing all these great tips! I hadn't considered the cultures and traditions that might influence the setting. Just beginning a new novel so this post is perfect timing for me!

    Have a tea-riffic week and thanks again!

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    1. Hey Kathryn, I've been thinking a lot about how culture and traditions can make my settings more unique and organic - so I'm glad I got to share about it. I'm still learning how to use them well, but it's great to talk about them and inspire imagination :-)

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  7. Most of my traveling has been "armchair traveling" because of my love of reading. I was there with Scarlet and Rhett as they escaped Atlanta and I was with Laura Ingalls Wilder in that Little House on the Prairie. I recently traveled on a ship to Canada with other children in Carrie Turansky's No Ocean Too Wide and I also went on a Bride Ship to British Columbia in A Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund.
    Thanks for a great post Pepper!

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    1. Great point, Connie! Sometimes stories even make me want to get out and experience those settings for myself!

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    2. Most of my traveling has been armchair traveling too, Connie - but WHAT fun traveling it is!!!

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    3. You know, my school has gotten a bunch of VR headsets for this year. I'm going to use them in ELA, but I was thinking they'd be a great way of armchair traveling to my book settings as I research.

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    4. Oooh!! Connie!! That sounds AMAZING!!!

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  8. Good morning, Pepper! I love both Jerry Jenkins example and your own. Setting is so important and can become almost a character in itself. I like to use it to evoke theme and mood. This post was also perfect timing for me as I'm following up my research trip to my own setting of my next two novels, so thanks for these awesome tips!

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    1. So true! Sometimes the story can't be the story in any other time or place. Happy writing, Laurie!

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    2. Laurie, So TRUE! Setting can play such a creative role in revealing aspects of character and story too. Thanks so much

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    3. Laurie - your debut novel utilized setting SO WELL. I can still remember feeling like I was there in the midst of the snow and polar bears walking right in front of me! Definitely added to the suspense element of the story!

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  9. WOW Thank you for sharing today. I so love how you get your characters to the best. Know your setting Take the Organic Approach Move the senses I can really see how these have changed over the years. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  10. I adore Amelia Peabody! I have all Elizabeth Peters' Peabody books, and I re-read regularly. I've never been to a souk in Egypt, but I feel as if I have.

    Wonderful tips on creating a story world, Pepper. You are aces! :)

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    1. Oh my goodness, Erica! I've been enthralled by the books so far. I just finished book 2 and started directly into book 3. Emerson!! I LOVE EMERSON!!!!

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    2. Ramses has stolen my heart! :)

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    3. Ramses is still pretty young, so I haven't gotten to know him yet :-)

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    4. You will in book three! And by the time you get to He Shall Thunder in the Sky, you will be a goner! :)

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  11. Love the examples and leading questions you share. Thank you so much for this post. Setting description is something I have to practice a lot to get up to snuff. Currently I'm reading K.M. Weiland's Wayfarer, which is set in a Dickens' inspired London. Setting sets the mood without stopping the plot when done well.

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    1. Oooo, Dickens' inspired London!! That sounds great, Samantha!!
      And I think we all have to work at creating setting that is deeper than a placeholder, you know? To make it come to life. I still have so much to learn about it, but it's a wonderfully 3-dimensional addition to a story.

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  12. I love to read and only travel via books! Just want to say your book is my fave read of the year.....I loved it! Don't enter me in your drawing, since I read it. Keep up the great writing.

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    1. Oh Jackie!!! Thank you SO much for saying that. I'm really glad you enjoyed traveling to my Blue Ridge Mountains with Laurel and Jonathan!!!!

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  13. Hello Pepper:

    Thanks for a great post! I can attest that all your writing points also apply to writing the best advertising copy as well. Excellent.

    The best book for a sense of location that I can remember reading is Sandra Leesmith's "Where the Eagle Flies" which takes place at Lake Powell. The five-sensing is outstanding. I've been there and observed the setting with special attention to the five senses and Sandra hit it right on perfectly.

    Sandra did something very important: she described how the sun and shadows changed the look and color of the rock cliffs above the lake. Sunlight can display an infinite range of changing hues, tones, intensities, cold, warmth, edginess, and so on.

    The Victorian poets loved to write about the "Greek Light" which I thought was just words until I saw what they were talking about. Capture the light and you can create the emotions you need for the scene in the light description. I find this is also a helpful way to let the reader know what time of day it is.

    The nature of the light is an amazingly powerful tool for the writer which I have found is rarely used.

    Thanks again.

    Vince

    P.S. is 'Blue Ridge' a town? I have never heard the words 'Blue Ridge' spoken without 'Mountains' following.

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    1. Hey Vince!! Oh I love talking about sunlight and its many moods! So true!
      And there are several towns that are named Blue Ridge (along the Blue Ridge Mountains in various states), but many of the locals will refer to the mountains without adding the word onto the end of Blue Ridge Mountains too.

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  14. What a great post. Description and setting is not my forte. It is definitely something I am working on!

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    1. Hey my friend!!! I think we all have various elements we're "working on" constantly. I LOVE writing setting but I have so much to learn about ensuring I don't "over describe" or that I attempt to 'show' the setting instead of 'tell' it, you know? #lifelonglearner

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  15. Dear Pepper, Thank you for some great questions to ask about setting. I love Ruth Logan Herne's Wishing Bridge setting. I also loved Jodi Thomas's Mornings on Main and her settings. And I've always loved Avonlea and as far as mysteries go, I've always wished Carolyn Hart's Broward's Rock was a real place because I'd love to go to Annie's bookshop. Thank you for such great information.

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  16. Thanks for sharing Pepper. I`ve read before that setting can be a character itself. A great example is Narnia, even the trees know Aslan is coming.

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