Weekly Rants: January 23, 2013

Greetings Fellow Readers! Welcome to another round of of Random Ranting. Today I got another 'Thought on Writing'. Shall we begin.

[Settings.

      So settings. Well they are the areas characters stand, sit, and sleep in, in simplistic terms. But I think it's something that is taken for granted at times in story telling. I mean think about it. The worlds we visit when read, or watch, in stories. The wonderment of what it could be like. The atmosphere, shape, and feel. These are supposed to be wonderful worlds that should never leave our thoughts. I personally have tried as best I could in all my stories to bring these worlds to fruition. Yes, I do admit mostly urban in nature, but then I'm not exactly tapping into High Fantasy. At least not yet. Now how to bring these worlds to open is a big question. Truth is there is no right or wrong on to write out a world.
       One method I went was just have characters walk through the world and describe as the characters journey along. I did this in stories like 'The First Run' and 'The Geolyth Equation'. This approach allowed readers to share the awe and wonderment of what the characters in the story saw. It allowed the stories to feel fresh and new. It even allowed a good sense of pacing. The other method I went is what we would call Exposition. This where I would spend a good period of time explaining the world, a usually for good reason.
       See I choose the setting for say New York, a good majority would know that it's a city, tall buildings and would think of the famous landmarks. Not much detail has to be put into it except for specific areas of the city itself, because the setting rights itself. On the other hand if I create an original city that doesn't exist, like Denfair City in 'The Impossible Man', then this where I should give details. It don't have to say it's got tall buildings, but to describe what is in the city regarding locales and landmarks help readers ease into the world and even expect great things from the setting. Writing setting depends on the situation and what I want to establish.
        Settings is one of those situations where I fell 'Telling' in narrative writing is okay. I'm trying to establish the world. Set up the playing pieces for me to play with and for you to experience. This is one of those times where 'Showing', I fear, the reader will say, "Get on with it!" and potentially turn the reader off from enjoying the story.
         One key thing about creating a setting, and world building for the grander scale, is the rules of the world. Like characters, settings do need to be consistent. It is quite possible to break the rules of the scenery and take readers out of the story. If the sun sets north, then it needs to stay setting north. If the mountain has desert peaks, they better not be trees unless they are magical. Hmm... that sounds awesome. But yeah, rules have to be maintained with settings because it is an environment that is as alive as the characters and cretures who inhabit it.
         On a final note, building the setting is fun. There are so many inventive way to set the stage and world and environment, that there are no limits. From city, to space, to school, there really is no limit to the imagination if you mix it up a little. Like school in space and city in a forest. The important thing is that the setting is both interesting, fun, and engaging. Even if it looks generic and basic, I'll try to give it some character.]

So this ends another round of random ranting. Next week I'll probably discuss few future plans, no 'Thoughts on Writing'. If I do have a 'Thought on Writing' I'll NOTE that in 'NEWS and NOTES' next week. Thank you all for joining me.

Until next time...
See ya.