Writing Challenge: Set the scene

“Setting can be another character. And just as with cardboard characters, a lack of setting will leave a story feeling one-dimensional.” – Patience Bloom, Senior Editor

If you’ve been with us all week, you know that we’ve been talking about the importance of creating a vivid setting for your romance. Ready to give it a try?

Your challenge this week: Create a setting in a 3-5 paragraph scene – with as little overt description as possible! How? Here are a few tips:

  • Employ as many of the senses as possible; we experience the world with more than just our eyes.
  • Observe the details; make it specific, and your readers will “get it” with fewer words.
  • Describe, but choose only what’s important; what a character notices says something about them.
  • Avoid “stage directions”; your characters’ actions will help evoke setting, but, as above, you don’t need to include everything.
  • Connect setting to character; How do your characters feel about their surroundings? Anxious? Excited? Happy? Peaceful?

Post your scene in the comments below any time between now and Sunday, June 16, 2019, and we’ll check back with you on Monday!