Publish: Setting

Hi folks, I'm starting a series that will last for the summer. It's called Publish and is in conjunction with my TEENSPublish workshop at the Ringer Library in College Station, Texas. This is the fourth week and I'm covering setting. I think some of this will relate to any creative life.

One piece of the publishing puzzle is an authentic setting. The tribe attacked setting this week with fever.  Setting is about perception. It is the creation of the exterior world within a novel or short story. Setting is the sensory experience of a story. The best stories understand the importance of sensory experience. 

The first exercise we tackled this week was the bird's eye view.  Crayons and pencils were passed out; and the students were happy to take flight in their imagination and draw the bird's eye view of the setting in the first scene of their stories. This exercise is important because it forces the creator to go beyond the four walls. Is a nightingale singing outside the room of the house?  Is the wind picking up outside and whistling in the cracks?  Is there a rose arbor outside the window? Are ninjas hiding outside the window? The bird's eye perspective can enrich a scene.

Next we explored how language truly affects our setting.  Word choice is important when creating the mood of a scene.  We described our scenes with hard consonants with long vowels and then with soft consonants and short vowels.  The meanings of the words were similar but the scene changed with careful word choice. The upshot of this exercise? There is a poetic element to setting that must be addressed. 

Last we watched a video on world building.  Some of the tribe must invent partial or whole worlds to write inventive stories. This video is a good place to get started with is here.   To me what is important about world building is limiting what is different from the real world. What we love about other worlds is how they remind of us home.  You may travel to the far reaches but what resonates is when you meet someone from your hometown or you find out the banana pudding is just like home.  It's what brings us together that is important, not what separates us.  Good advice for world building and life, too, I think. 

I hope that you think about setting this week as you create master works. I research the settings of my books. Here is a public board on Pinterest for the setting of my book PLUMB CRAZY.  You might find this informative.  Click on the link in the side bar if you want to know more about the book.

Hope you create master works this week.  Next week we will take a break from the nuts and bolts and sneak in a contemplative blog about the universe, creativeness, and such. See you then.


Here is a art.

And finally a quote for your pocket. 

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Abraham Lincoln.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

PLUMB CRAZY Journey -- The Good

Hi, folks, this month I'm focusing the blog on the writing journey of PLUMB CRAZY. I'm calling this series: PLUMB CRAZY Journey -- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Transcendent.  I'm going to dig deep into the generation of my novel and dynamics of that creative journey. Be aware that I write as Cece Barlow for this work. It will be released at the end of this month.

This week I'm focusing on the good of writing my book PLUMB CRAZY. It was the fifth novel I've written (the other 4 are unpublished) and it is the closest to my real, every day life. There is much good that wraps into a book like this. Here are some of the layers.

One layer of good comes from basing a book in a world close to my own. The setting was easy to visualize. You really know the space you are working in. I know what it feels like to drag in after a seventeen hour day, my hands bleeding and back aching, even though I'm just a girl of seventeen. I know the heat of Texas and understand it is actually a character on the stage in this part of the world. I know how a drill feels when it jams and then beats against my fingers. This knowledge of setting saved some research hours, added authenticity, and gave this writer needed confidence.

Another layer of good that comes from basing a book on a world close to my own is all about mining memories.  I mean we all have gold in our hilly pasts or even mountainous pasts. It was good to reexamine my younger days from the perspective of adulthood. I see things differently now than I did then. The Dragons that roared at me as teen seem like puny lizards now. My drama feels bland.  I also see strengths in myself that I didn't realize at the time. I found myself celebrating who I am. Any journey that causes that is a good one.

The last layer of good that I'm going discuss (but by no means the only good I found) is all about the redo. Fiction is not exactly life. Life isn't always interesting. It doesn't always make sense.  Good doesn't always triumph in real life. Writing a story gives you the freedom of what if.  I found that writing PLUMB CRAZY reopened a few old wounds but then allowed them to really heal. Writing from the heart of my life helped me appreciate who I am. This is such a good thing. You might try it.

I hope you come back next week for more of the PLUMB CRAZY journey. I'm glad you dropped by. Happy creating.

It's Easter. Here's a whimsy doodle for you: Superhero egg designs.

Put this in your back pocket and bring it often.

I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

Walt Whitman

Blooming: Setting

Hi, folks: I'm continuing my blog series Blooming, and I'm keeping with the list-y format. I'm offering pre-writing activities for setting this week. Authentic setting will make your stories pop!  I hope that something here helps you utilize place within your stories like it is a living breathing character. 

Travel -- One powerful way to create setting is to go there. Here is a link to Stephanie Meyer's trip to Forks, WA.   Take a camera, a notebook, a recorder and go crazy!  Don't  be shy. Talk to old timers, visit old houses, tromp through historical sites, and tiptoe through graveyards!

Shop -- I have more than one friend that shops for vintage photos on eBay. I also like to rummage around in antique shops. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words.

Maps -- I love Google Earth. Man, it is addictive. At Google Maps you can get directions to drive, take transit, walk or bike there. Very handy.  I also like Map Quest.  Here is a link to 3-D virtual room software.  I also am a pretty handy doodler and create maps for my fantasy and sci-fi worlds. If you don't doodle, try fantasy map making software like at ProFantasy Software.

Model -- Here is a link to Dollhousecity. You might want to but miniature set of furniture for a room. Here is a Wooden Dollhouse Set from Amazon. This can be handy if you have a fight scene and need to toss some furniture around.  Exactly how does a chair look that is tossed out a window? I mean you could really toss a chair out the window or ....

Archives -- Did you know almost all major cities have online photo archives?  Here are a couple to get you started.   Here is NYC Municipal Archives.  Here is a link to the City of Houston Gallery.  Newspapers also have photo archives.  Here is one to the Chicago Tribune. I am also a big fan of the digital collections at the Library of Congress.

If you are in doubt, Google it. 

I think following up with some of these pre-writing activities are a great way to build strong story bones.  I hope that you are moving forward with your project.

Here is this week's doodle:  "Dandelion".

Here is a quote for your pocket.

All the ideas in the universe can be described by words. Therefore, if you simply take all the words and rearrange them randomly enough times, you’re bound to hit upon at least a few great ideas eventually. Sausage donkey swallows flying guillotine, my love assembly line.
 Jarod Kintz

Writing Novels: 7 Unusual Ways to Develop Your Setting

Welcome, friends. I hope all is fab this week. This is my last post about novel writing. In February, I will continue my Golden Advice series. But before we move on, let's think about setting. I always see setting as another character in the book. Like all characters, especially such an important one, I must work hard to slant the details in an original and proactive way. Here are some uncommon things that I do to help me bring "Reality" to the page.

1. Scrap. Scrap is cut-out or cut-and-pasted photos, paintings, any visual images --collections of everything that you know about a setting -- this includes clothing, your characters (they are part of the setting too!), stuff in their pockets, the knife, the oatmeal, the bubble path, the blood....put all together to help you create a sense of place. Not sure about your setting, make a collage of your scrap. Stare at the collage especially before bedtime or nap-time. It is VERY helpful to fall asleep staring at your scrap. Wake up and begin writing about your setting. See what happens.

2. Write a letter to your main character about your setting problem and then write another letter from your character to you, answering your questions. If your main character doesn't have a clue, ask some of your other characters.

3. Make a list of the top 5 places that your character absolutely would not like to go. Be sure your character is going to at least one of those places in your novel.

4. Draw a map and make a line indicating your character's path through your story. Is there any place she is not going?

5. Stop thinking about it and start writing. The process of writing can jar your brain and make you put begin to block out your scene. Make a commitment of 30 minutes a day for a week and write without stops for the whole time. Does anything emerge?

6. Think about your experiences. I have climbed in space shuttles, walked over lava beds, crawled into giant pipes, braved dank dark caves, jumped off of building, rolled under the bed, put on waders and headed into mountain streams. Characters often go where you have been. Daydream about that and see if anything pops up in your memory. Let that inform your story setting.

7. Sometimes you have try stuff out to get it right. Jump the fence, climb on the roof, hid under the bed, go to the park and swing. Take your notepad and write down everything -- smells, tastes, visuals, textures, sounds. Don't forget this stuff: pressure, vibrations, and proprioception (sense of how your own limbs are oriented in space). Really digging deep into perception can help you develop your novel's setting.

So there are 7 things that might bring some jazz to your story setting. I hope you pay attention to the details. See ya next week.

This is a guest doodle from my son. "Still Life" by Jesse Blaisdell. Check out his website: www.jdanielblaisdell.com.



"Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else..." Eudora Welty

Novel Writing: Setting As Character

I've been taking a few posts to share some information about novel writing. This week I will focus on setting, and specifically how to get more mileage out of the setting by considering it a character in the story.

What exactly is setting? It is the milieu: the social and physical environment that wraps around the characters and events of a story. The more present the writer is with this milieu, the more complex and textured the story. An effective setting must have depths and layers and be true to life just like a believable character. The setting must contain unexpected incongruities. The best settings are showcased by revealing flaws not perfections.

The setting will help create the tone of a story. If a story is lighthearted, pensive or tragic, specific setting details can bring cohesion to the author's intent. Tone is about considering how you, the author, view your story. Are you angry, amused, or passionate? Hopping bunnies and flitting fireflies may be just the ticket to slant in your sarcastic view of your story. You as the author may have very complex feelings about your story; the setting is a great place to connect the reader with your attitude.

Also, consider the mood of the story. Generally the mood of the story rises directly from the reactions of the main protagonist. Using the setting to reflect these reactions is a power device. Think about this classic moment. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, the Gothic lightning bolt strikes the tree just as the brooding Mr. Rochester makes a fateful decision to marry his Jane. This bolt signals the storm that will destroy his and Jane's happiness for a time. This is an over the top classic moment but gets the point across. Be mindful of the setting details and how they reflect the characters choices. This will serve as a support structure for the original voice.

It is a useful exercise to write a scene in a working story in a new way. Think about the context of the scene like a depiction of a first betrayal. Take this context and then rewrite the scene but use only the setting of your story to reveal this context. Does a spider pounce on its prey? Does the wind tear glorious fall leaves from a tree? Does the ocean wash away a fortress of sand? Will the unwelcome smell of burnt toast flood a rose garden? Exploring context through setting is a way to expand your storytelling skills. Give it a try.

I hope something here will bring richness to your endeavors. I've been traveling, so not very much writing over the past couple weeks. I've reached the 40,000 word mark with my work-in-progress. I turned in my two picture books, received copies of two other books and am working on a polish of a favored manuscript.

I leave you with a poem that perhaps says more about what I am trying to say than all my words put together.

The Fog
by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.