Location, Location, Location

Alright, let's talk about setting again. I mentioned that the first part of putting together a setting is a physical location. That would be the case for about 99% of stories; there are some situations where the setting might be metaphysical, or mental (a dreamscape, for example). But most of the time, when people talk about setting, they're talking about somewhere real, a place where you can explore and interact with others.

The kind of setting depends, obviously enough, on what kind of story you're writing. Hard-boiled detective story? The mean streets of New York, LA or Chicago jump out at you. Space opera? A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Fantasy? Thanks to Mr. Tolkien, we all have a pretty good notion of what to expect from a fantasy setting. Not that fantasy needs to copy Tolkien; there's more than enough of that out there already.

So, how to build such a setting? There are lots of guides out there for this sort of thing, but one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned is this: Start small. You don't need to build your setting down to the tiniest detail before even writing a word of the story. Sure, it's a good idea to have some notion of what you're doing, but always remember, the story is the most important thing. The greatest, most detailed setting in the world isn't going to mean diddly-squat if the story you're writing sucks.

So, starting small can mean different things to different genres. For example, in a detective story, the setting at first might just be the detective's office. You can write the opening scene of the story right there, without ever walking out that door. What happens after that? You add to the setting as you need to.

Here's a practical example from my own writing. My upcoming far-future science fiction anthology starring ex-Marine Sergeant Bard Conley was written essentially on the fly. I wrote the first story with only the barest inkling of the setting. All I knew was that it was going to take place in a Martian city. The next story went to Venus, and once again, I wrote the story entirely from improv, developing the setting as necessary to continue the story, and no further. The entire series was written that way, and you'll get to see the results next month when I publish it.

Now, sometimes you want more setting, depending on the circumstances. For a sandbox gaming style, you need some sort of wider detail to give options for players to explore. My Meterra setting started out as a gaming setting, and the stories came later. In this case, I built the setting up first, but I didn't overdo it. The town of Everton is a dot on the map, and little else. I know where the essential features are, including the Devil's Playground (you'll get to read about that one soon, too), the forests, the mountains, etc. This was necessary for the sandbox-style of game that Meterra was originally intended for. The stories came out of the setting, and were enriched by my knowledge of the setting. However, those who have read the Chronicles of Meterra: Arrival will note that the setting doesn't overwhelm the story.

So, whatever the locale of your story, focus on that part of the setting and no more at first; don't get yourself overwhelmed by detailing the ninth-century fashions of women in the capital city when your story takes place in a backwater fishing village in the twelfth century. Nobody's going to read about it, and nobody will care.