Questions tagged [setting]
'Setting' refers to the stage a story is told upon. This is usually defined as a location for the story, but it can also include feelings, events, and even central objects. Anything the story is grounded in.
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Is it morally right to base a novel on a tragic historical event?
I'm writing a historical fiction based on a historical tragedy where many people died. It's a very specific setting and situation, but I'm not using the names of any of the real people involved in the ...
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How does one describe a setting that is going to be a central location in a story?
I have a location in my story that is a key central hub which much of the interaction surrounds. An example of this might be the bar in Cheers or Greendale Community College in Community. I want to ...
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Having Real-World Gods in a High Fantasy Setting
In my fantasy world, there are various religions and beliefs. To not get too obsessed with the worldbuilding (it is already pretty thick and heavy,) I was thinking of, in terms of their religions, ...
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Writing about a story that will take place on Neptune - how realistic should I be?
I’m trying to write a new short story that will take place on a craft that is on Neptune (or “in”, depending on how you want to look at it since it’s an ice/gas giant.)
How important is realism to ...
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Do I need to create fictional places to make things work?
The story I'm writing takes place in the USA. I have a huge problem as my protagonist is crossing states and needs to end up at a place where a lot of things have to come together. Like there need to ...
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How to make sure a character is not too similar to an existing character
In my story, I am writing a side character for my fantasy epic. Originally, she was going to play a very minor role, but now she has more character and interaction. Unfortunately, I fear she may be ...
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How could I show good worldbuilding without ending up with info-dumps?
A horror story I am writing involves the protagonist in another world. It is like an isekai, but it is horror and the protagonist is trying to survive as long as possible.
The main story surrounds the ...
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Questions about deciding place settings in a story
I'm currently... in this quite conflicting situation that I have put myself into.
I'm gonna try and explain everything.
For my story, I initially (what I have in mind right now) want the place ...
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How to create a scene for a dialogue?
Everybody knows how an important part of writing is the ability to compose proper dialogue. I've even heard that publishers tend to jump to the first conversation in a received draft and see if it ...
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How do you make superpowers interesting in a written medium?
Superhuman powers, with the exception of psionic abilities like telepathy, are primarily an element of visual spectacle. This is primarily why fiction with people with some form of superhuman ...
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Should I reveal real location of events in my book?
I wrote a non-released-yet adventure/sf book, in which events take place in a real city I know (actually, this is where I grew up). Most of the places I mentioned there are real, except only for those,...
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How much altering geographic details can one get away with an urban setting?
I'm wondering how much latitude authors can have in general when it comes to details of an urban setting. I know the oft-told story of "the parking lot of Wrigley Field", where Jim Butcher ...
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Is it OK to replace real-world locations when writing?
I'm writing a story set in Bristol, UK (specifically the town of Avonmouth). So far everything has been geographically accurate, but if I want to make the story flow smoothly, I may have to replace ...
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Problems with impersonating someone of the other gender in high school
This question
https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/55633/restrooms-for-characters[1]
inspires me to ask about a story idea I have been thinking about.
The problems of using a fake identity as a ...
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When is it better to use a real life versus a generic fast food company name when talking about a regional chain?
So, I know that questions regarding the usage of real-life company names has been brought up before, but this is a really weird example that I've run into that doesn't seem covered by the previous ...
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Does This Geopolitical Power Balance in my Setting Make it Look Like I am Promoting Colonialism?
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The book series I'm working on can basically be summed up as a science-fantasy series that starts out leaning much more on the fantasy end of the spectrum but moves more and more towards ...
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How do I provide exposition on a magic system when no character has an objective or complete understanding of it?
I'm writing an urban fantasy series in which like many urban fantasy series there is a magic-and-powers system hidden from the broader world that the supernatural phenomena of the series run on. ...
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I don’t know where to go next in terms of the setting of my story
I am writing a comedy horror series. The first book was set in a basement, the second book was set in a Ski-Resort and the third book was set in Italy, meaning that each book’s setting was ...
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Is it appropriate for me to write about the pandemic?
I'm a young writer who has been writing a story centring around a teenager's life and how it's changed via the coronavirus. She was skeptical about the legitimacy of the Pandemic until an important ...
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How to describe a setting but without making it too cliche?
There is this one author technique that I find a bit cliche, which is matching the mood to the setting. This means that for example, when one character is upset, the skies are grey to match the mood ...
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How to clearly distinguish the settings of different scenes from each other, and make them "feel" different?
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I've been working on doing nitty-gritty editor revisions of my detective novel in preparation for publishing, going over sentences and picking through details. In the course of the story, ...
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Realistically writing culture shock for this character? [duplicate]
I want some help writing a character.
Her name is Christina and she lived in an underground bunker, in a post-apocalyptic world, so she’s really sheltered. But she has to leave, along with a group of ...
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Beginning a story in a bar, good or bad? [closed]
Currently writing a novel about a man spiraling downward following a divorce, among other things. I want the reader to be grabbed by this man even though by all accounts he's a bit of an unsavory ...
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How to Describe Topography
I have an image in my mind but I can't describe the topography, so I would always repeat, "grounds", "a little elavation", "inside the forest","some mounds,"surrounded by houses", is there any ...
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Setting exposition vs scene descriptions
If my main character goes to a new building – let's say in the beggining of a short story – and I describe the facade and the design of the building, is this exposition (i.e. information that is not ...
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How to convey the anatomy of a humanoid race? [closed]
I am writing a extra-terrestrial high fantasy novel. The story is completely set in an alien world. No visits from Earth and no visits to Earth.
My characters are humanoids, who look like elves, ...
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Is having elaborate metaphors ever a bad thing?
Is having elaborate metaphors a bad thing in a short story (for the purposes of the story being accepted by a magazine)? How can I know if my metaphors are too elaborate?
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Can I say this about real countries in my fiction?
I am writing a visual novel and use a fictional country in "real-world" setting. Some cases have been bothering me and I'm not sure if it's legal to write this because it might be insulting(?):
To ...
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Transitional sections
As I mentioned in my other recent question, my novel in progress has three main locations. I feel those three settings are strong, fully imagined places, with interesting storylines.
However, they ...
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Magic is the twist
It feels silly to say, but I've got myself into a bit of a bind of a side project.
In a three-act structure (not what everyone uses, but a good reference point) you generally need to set up all ...
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what techniques or approaches can I use to explore distasteful concepts while also making them necessary?
In my story democracy crumbles in a nation, replaced by a powerful dictatorship. Our world has been invaded by servants of the elder god, Nyalathotep. Governments have been fighting back for years, ...
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Balancing setting, theme, and character arcs: how to deal with a setting that carries emotional weight but is left behind?
When writing a story, how do you find a good balance between the significance of different elements, such as plot, themes, and bold settings and characters, and the character arcs?
In my case I have ...
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In fiction, can I write about Downing College, Cambridge? [duplicate]
I have included, in my fictional book, several mentions about Downing College, Cambridge. Now they have a fete on their lawns. Two Russians are killed there during the fete. No mention of staff ...
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Exhaustive research vs artistic license?
I'm working on a post-apocalypse novel set all over the world. I'm fairly flexible on where some of the events take place, but there are often specific requirements on the look, layout, general region ...
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How to make a setting relevant?
One piece of feedback that I got on a story I wrote is that my settings feel irrelevant, or that the entire book could have been a phone call. I am not sure how to go about fixing this. The characters,...
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Any advice on creating fictional locations in real places when writing historical fiction?
I am currently working on a historical fiction novel set during the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance, in the 1930s. As such, I would really like to have the story take place in Harlem. However, the ...
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How do I write real-world stories separate from my country of origin?
I live in India.
And the stories I write don't want to.
The thing is, as you all might already know, my country has an extremely- excessively, perhaps- rich cultural and historical heritage. It's ...
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How can I effectively research for a high-fantasy setting?
When you write in a modern day setting, you research the culture, climate, location and history of that setting. You can do the same for historical fiction or low-fantasy settings based on real places....
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Is it acceptable to use props I saw in a movie in my story?
I was watching a movie and, in multiple scenes, the characters were using a set of coffee cups that I haven't seen before. I realized my Main Character is the type of person who would have and use ...
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How do we write a story about genocide committed by a fascist government without falling into the "Nazi Germany" cliché? [closed]
Too often, when people make a story about genocide committed by a fascist government, the story often devolves into a Nazi Germany cliché, especially when the story is set in a modern or futuristic ...
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Finding out about other countries' military day-to-day
Where does one go to find out about the day-to-day of military life? In countries other than my own? I don't mean combat - I mean the boring routine. Basic training. What kind of food is served in the ...
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When writing in a school context without ever having been to school, how do I make sure that my story is accurate within school context?
I read a lot of YA fiction, a lot of which happens to take place in schools. Recently, an idea jumped into my head for a YA-ish story and told me that it was going to take place in a school.
The idea ...
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Are fictional inventions trademarked?
I am wondering if I can include fictional inventions like the power suits in Iron Man. I believe that "power-suits" are used legally by a lot of media; however, what if the power-suit you're ...
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Writing short stories in an original world setting [closed]
I'm writing short stories in a Fantasy world setting I have created — medieval times, magic, dragons, etc. People who are familiar with such a world may not find a problem reading a short story set in ...
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How to introduce a foreign idea to readers
I'm writing a book with a world similar to ours but at the same time is very different. I don't know how to do it smoothly without overloading the reader with information but at the same time giving ...
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How much description is too much?
A companion question for How much description is necessary, how much description is too much?
I close my eyes, I can visualise my MC's bedroom (for example) in tiniest detail: the accent wallpaper, ...
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How much description is necessary?
I have trouble imagining things. With me everything is blurred, as if I were almost blind. That's why I find it hard to describe things. For example, the protagonists enter a castle. I have a very ...
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How important is the apocalypse in a post-apocalyptic story?
I am writing a story set after an apocalyptic event that has left only 0.1% of the world population intact. I originally wrote a zombie-like apocalypse but simplified it to a plague-like disease, as I ...
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In the background of the Future
As I've mentioned multiple times, I'm writing a military sci-fi novel. The focus of the story is war, and that happens far away from Earth. However, I'm starting with my MC's "normal", on Earth. It is ...
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of setting a story in a made up country, compared to a real one?
I have story ideas that involve civil wars or revolutions happening while a character is travelling. I was wondering what would be the advantages and disadvantages of setting such a story in a made up ...
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