Working From Setting
Posted by annastan on March 2nd, 2011. Filed under: Craft, Setting, WIP.About a year ago, I watched a documentary that inspired an idea for a story setting. It’s an alternate reality where things have developed a little differently than in our world. The idea has been stuck in my head ever since, and I’ve had a few false starts trying to write it.
This morning, I woke up thinking about it again. The idea just won’t go away! But what can I do with an idea that’s still primarily setting without an actual story? A couple of characters have attached themselves to the idea, but even though I’ve tried exploring their relationships, it doesn’t seem to be quite working.
So I’m curious to hear about your experiences. Have you ever started with setting and worked from there? How do you let setting guide you in creating a story?
ETA: Thanks so much for your suggestions, everyone! The juices are flowing, and I think I might have finally figured out the story behind the setting. Yay!
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:09 am
I tend to go with ideas if they’re persistent, and play around with them to see what fleshes out. So if the idea keeps coming back, write down what you have–the setting and the characters that have shown themselves. Then leave it. Let it percolate. And see what happens.
As for setting, it can be a focal point for the story. I still say NYC is the protagonist in most of Woody Allen’s movies. And Port William, Kentucky for Wendell Berry’s short stories.
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:37 am
I have two drawer-novels that were inspired by setting. I ended up creating whole plots for them, but with one especially, the characters and plot never worked with the glorious place I had in my mind. So that’s a long way of saying: I don’t know what the answer is! I find it really difficult to create a character or a plot to slot in to a story I’ve already started inventing. The best work I’ve done has been when the character, plot, and setting all came together around the same time.
I hope you can figure something out! How maddening to have this perfect place for a story and no story!
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 am
For the longest time I’ve wanted to set a book at summer camp. Wrote a whole novel for it, but am not sure I love it. May chuck the whole thing, but keep the setting.
Maybe you just “go there” in your mind and figure out all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that can happen there and the people who might be there and it might just come together into something wonderful.
Play with it!
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:32 pm
I’ve never created stories from settings; however, I have molded ideas into settings I already knew. Are there any plots that you’ve toyed with before but never wrote? Some of them might work wonderfully well with the setting you have in mind.
March 2nd, 2011 at 6:54 pm
I’ve never started a story from the setting alone. But maybe you could think about how the setting affects your potential characters – what is special about it, why do they need to be there, and not somewhere else, what kind of challenges might be associated with your setting. I think if you keep coming back to it, it will definitely end up in a story at some point!
March 2nd, 2011 at 7:27 pm
For the ms I’ve just finished and an earlier one I may go back to, setting was crucial to the story, and came at the same time as my first plot or character idea.
My 2 cents is if you really love the setting, try to dig up some other plot and character ideas you have lying around and jumble them about until something clicks into place. I think the best stories have at least two or three unusual ideas mixed together.
PS When in doubt, include ninjas. Or crazy aunts.
March 2nd, 2011 at 8:46 pm
I’ve not officially done this, but I think playing around with ideas really does help. If I had an amazing setting, I’d keep playing with it until the right characters came along.
Shelley
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Ha, I know what you mean book twin!
I have a new idea that is about a setting and not a character/situation, which is unique for me. I’m going to let it grow in the subconscious while I finish my WIP.
Sounds intriguing though, I would definitely explore the world, who knows what kind of plots you may come up with!
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:30 pm
I have a story that started with a setting. It’s a speculative novel – what would happen in a world where . . .
What I did was ask myself a ton of questions – how did the world get to be like that, who has the power and what do they do to hang onto it, who has to struggle? You begin to see places where conflict comes up, and where you have conflict, there’s a story.
Good luck. If the idea has stuck with you, it must mean there’s more to it!
March 4th, 2011 at 1:44 am
I don’t think I’ve ever done one that was setting driven, but I have started with an odd object before. I suppose that could be considered part of the setting.
Thanks for posting.