4 tips for building setting & atmosphere
BY Heather Darwent
12th Jan 2023
Heather Darwent is the author of The Things We Do to Our Friends, published by Viking 12 Jan 2023. She is also a former student of our six-week Edit & Pitch Your Novel course and our three-month Writing Your Novel course.
Heather shares her tips for how you can establish a setting and create the right atmosphere for your novel…
Setting is a major part of many novels, and something every writer needs to consider. Perhaps you’re crafting a dreamy rom-com and you’re looking to depict an idyllic beach town, or maybe you’re working on a page-turning crime thriller set in the bustling city centre? Whatever genre you’re writing in, you’ll have to consider where’s best to set your work and how that will impact the tone of the book.
When I was writing my own debut novel, I focused on how a newcomer to Edinburgh would react, and I wanted to make sure that the city was featured prominently. It meant that I moved the action around, from the centre to the suburbs to make sure my characters were experiencing different parts.
Setting became really important to me as I progressed through the drafts, but I found it tricky to conjure a sense of place while keeping up the pace. That said, I have a few tips for when you’re considering how to incorporate setting into your novel.
1. How does the setting make the characters feel?
Long paragraphs of descriptive writing can work, but they can also end up feeling superfluous in certain instances. How to avoid this? Focus on the intersection between the setting and the character. If it’s a wintery day, are they shivering? If the sun is shining down, are they uncomfortably hot or nice and warm?
2. Draw out the details
If you don’t want to slow down the pace of your story, then there are still ways to bring the setting to life with a few carefully placed details. If you’re writing suspense, setting is a fantastic way to weave in a whole host of clues. A striking antique vase that the protagonist notes with interest? At first it might just appear that you’re building setting and drawing out the aesthetics of the environment, but later readers will realise it was a cleverly planted pointer. I love to use setting to show how things can feel a little ‘off’, and this can be a brilliant way of creating tension.
3. Mix it up
If the majority of your uplifting romance is set in a charming seaside town, then think about all the different locations where the action can take place. The joy of writing is that you’re not confined to a single stage, so consider going wider, to all the charming tea shops, and friendly crab shacks. Draw a full picture, and bring the entire world of your characters to life. Often, poignancy can be found in the contrast. If you need to create more tension in part of the narrative, consider moving the story away from your main setting, perhaps to somewhere that evokes dread or despair for the protagonist.
4. Be wary of your favourite descriptors
This advice stands for character descriptions too. Setting is one place where repetition can be a pitfall. Of course, repeating words in an 80,000 word novel is inevitable, but I’ve found that I’m often drawn to the same kind of language when I’m describing places, words I’m particularly fond of – perhaps they have a nice sound, but often it’s because they have a sense of malice that I want to bring to a scene.
Sometimes it’s useful to work out what words you’re instinctively compelled to use. Keep a running tally of them, so when you’re editing, you can run a ‘search’ in Word and decide if all of them are serving the right purpose.
I love setting and creating the world of your book can be such a fun part of the process. Good luck with it!
Get your hands on a copy of The Things We Do to Our Friends.
Check out Heather’s author website and follow her on Twitter @heatherdarwent.