How can you make your setting real to your readers? Author Norma Gail provides seven tips from her own experience. -- Sandy
Norma: Can
your readers smell the food and hear the sounds of the countryside? Setting is
a critical feature of any novel, and should act as another character; drawing
the reader in and making them feel the rain on their face. One of the greatest
challenges in writing Land of My Dreams,
my contemporary Christian romance, was to make the reader feel as if they were
in Scotland, a country I only visited for two weeks.
I
gathered a lot of information in order to see as much as possible on our trip.
However, it wasn’t enough to make me an expert. Here are seven steps which
helped me create a story world capable of convincing readers I had lived in
Scotland:
First,
if possible, travel to the place you’re writing about. When I went to Scotland
I kept a trip diary, and we took over 700 photographs. Only a few are of the
area where the book takes place because it never occurred to me that I would
someday write a book about it.
Second,
learn cultural details, music, food, speech, history. I filled my iPod with
Scottish folk tunes and devoured tour books. And yes, I ate haggis.
Third,
understand the weather. Rain is a part of Scottish life. Sunshine is as unique
for them as rain is in my native New Mexico. Children played in the pouring
rain wearing sleeveless shirts and shorts while I was bundled against the dreich weather, and hoping not to get drookit.
Fourth,
learn something about how people talk. Basically, dreich is wet and rainy, and drookit
is soaking wet. They use “Way In” instead of “Entrance,” and “Way Out”
instead of “Exit.” When you order water the waiter will ask if you want “Still”
or “Sparkling.” I was criticized for having male characters say it was a “lovely
day,” but it is a common term for both men and women. There are websites of
common Scottish/Gaelic names, slang, and phrases.
Fifth,
I created a screen-saver of over 400 photos of the area where Land of My Dreams takes place, including
scenery, historical places, road signs, shop windows, and animals. I can look
at the photos and then write and revise until it feels right.
Sixth,
create similes and metaphors that compare and contrast things familiar to your
audience with something commonplace to the characters. For example, Kieran is
drawn to Bonny “like a bee to heather.”
Last,
find someone who has lived there. I found someone able to edit for Scottish
content. Contemporary must be as accurate as possible because your readers can
visit as it is today.
Efforts
to make your story world appealing, realistic, and mood-setting are worth all
the research that goes into creating it. When someone reads Land of My Dreams, I want them to smell
the New Mexico chile roasting and hear the skirl of bagpipes.
© Copyright by
Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, October 10, 2014
So, how do you go about making your setting real to your readers? What are your favorite senses to use when describing something? Do you use them all in every scene or chapter?
~~~~~
Norma
Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, set in Scotland
and New Mexico released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies
for 19 years. Her devotionals, poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us,
the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of
American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, and the New Mexico Christian
Novelists. She is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her
husband of 38 years. They have two adult children.
www.normagail.org
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail
