Setting as Inspiration

Two landscapes, both rocky, empty places by the water. Yet what different stories you would—or, I think, should—write set in each location!



Many authors start a story knowing only a character or characters. Some start with an image, situation, or plot idea. Some wake up from a dream with a story partially or even fully formed.

I almost always start with a setting. That setting may be a location, a time period, a society, or all three simultaneously. Only once I know the setting do I come up with characters and a plot appropriate for it.

For a romance writer, for whom characters and their personal development are core to their books, starting with characters is probably the best approach. For a science fiction or horror writer, by contrast, starting with an idea or image may work particularly well.

Many authors seem to have little choice in how they begin a story. One method or another comes naturally and other methods seem alien. I suspect successful writers unconsciously choose their genres in part by how story ideas come to them.

What strengths is a story likely to have if the author starts with a setting?

• It is unlikely to suffer “white-room syndrome” (see my earlier post “Building a World”). Instead, the world is likely to be fully fleshed out and believable.
• Its characters may be more authentic because the author was particularly conscious of the setting’s social and physical limits on thoughts and actions.
• The setting is more likely to function as a character, influencing goals, creating conflicts, and enriching the story.

Some examples of books in which a rich setting inspires plot and behavior and even makes the reader feel as if she were there are:

• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction)
• The “Master at Arms” romance series by Jennifer Blake (New Orleans in the 1840s)
• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (New Orleans in the 1960s)
• The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (a fantasy world modeled after medieval Spain)
• The “Sebastian St. Cyr” mystery series by C.S. Harris (Regency England)
• The “Sano Ichō” mystery series by Laura Joh Rowland (17th century Japan)

Indeed, setting is so core to these books that none could take place in any other location and most in no other time period.

Despite being a setting-first writer, I acknowledge that starting with a setting has its weaknesses:

• Characters may be overly shaped by the setting and not have distinct-enough individual personalities.
• The story may be overburdened with description of rooms, landscapes, clothes, customs, and other setting details the author fell in love with.
• Some readers may have to work harder to put themselves into a story when an alien setting is well set up; a vague setting allows readers to fill in missing information with comfortable, familiar details from their own experience.

How do you start a book—with setting, with characters, with a plot, with a dream, or some other way? How do you as a reader feel about books with strong settings?

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Win a book! My second annual birthday contest is now going on at my personal blog, For Love of Words (http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com). Two commenters will be randomly chosen to win a book of their choice by anyone I’ve interviewed at my blog or a copy of my October release, Like Mayflies in a Stream. To enter, just comment on this post.

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I’ll be blogging on Novel Spaces again on 8 October, when I’ll talk about writing Like Mayflies in a Stream. I look forward to seeing you then!

—Shauna Roberts