The setting Keith: The setting of a story is the combination of two distinct elements: time and place. It is the setting in which a story takes place and events unfold. Setting is crucial to a plot, as it makes the story believable, and gives its characters an environment in which to play their roles. Without a well-developed setting, the story is nothing more than words on a page. For the reader, setting is crucial, as it is what transports them from the armchair in which they read to the throne of a king or the saddle of a great Arabian horse. It is a place where a reader can immerse him- or herself and leave the here and now behind. If you have any doubts about the significance of setting, ask yourself this: Would Lord of the Rings be as riveting a tale if it were set in modern-day America? I would hope your answer is an emphatic "no," and now you understand the importance of setting. This discussion is going to be about setting. Personally, the setting is perhaps the most significant part of any novel that I read. I quite enjoy being transported into a different place and time and picturing what is going on in my sometimes-hollow mind. How important is setting to you? Is setting something which you immerse yourself in, or is that just something that is superficial to you, it's not a crucial part of the story? Jill: Setting is extremely important to me. I find that I really enjoy books or movies that are either in a different time period or somewhere different in the world, or both. For example, I like reading mystery novels that take place in the nineteenth century, and you just feel like you are there, with all the different clothing, and their way of life is so different and you just sort of forget that you're here in the twenty-first century! David: Setting means nothing to me, actually. I couldn't care less about setting. If the plot is good, the setting, to me, means nothing; and in fact, the greatest things that I've ever read, the setting was the least of the important parts. Some of the old Greek plays- everything about those plays is important except the setting-it's the plot, it's the characters. The setting is immaterial. I think sometimes setting takes over a good novel, or will transform a good novel, or a bad novel into what is seen as a good novel because the setting is so lush and exciting, and they spend a chapter and a half describing what's on a particular kitchen table without dealing with the plot. I think it's an element that, simply, adds to the plot or adds to the character of the characters, but for me it's probably the least important of all considerations. Keith: That leads me to this question: Can a writer overwrite setting? I think I know what David's answer to that will be. When I say "overwrite setting," when I read a book, I like when the author gives me enough information that I can conjure the images up in my mind. I do not like when they overwrite the setting on the table and give every detail in a page or two. For me that's overdone. But, setting's extremely important. What I expect of an author is to lead me to making those images in my mind, as to time and place, without spelling out everything. Jill, your opinion?
Jill: I would just say that I agree with that. That's what I like about setting, is being able to get lost in the story and picturing these places that maybe I've never been to, in my mind, or clothes that I've never seen before, and just totally losing myself in it. That's your imagination taking over, so you can't do that if it's being completely spelled out for you. Here I don't think you can really use much imagination anymore.
