(NOTE: We had a technical difficulty and this post did not go out last week like it was supposed to. We’ll publish this week’s lesson tomorrow as a result.)
Click here to join us for a FREE PLOTTING WORKSHOP Sunday, April 30th at 12pm EST.
During Working Lunch this month, we’re working on creating our Idea Machine Notebooks. Last week, we worked on characters. Today we’re working on settings.
Settings can be as small as a chair or a shelf and as huge as a galaxy. And literally everything in between.
Your job this week is to start a list of every setting you have living rent-free in your head right now. List everything from the places you know really well, to the imaginary places you made up when you were a kid, to the places you’d like to visit.
Your list won’t be super detailed. No more than a few words per setting. Here are some on my list:
Virginia City when Mark Twain was a reporter there.
The storm drains that run under the Las Vegas Strip.
A tiny house in the woods.
A huge rambling Victorian House.
The space under a staircase leading to the beach.
Long Beach in the 1980s.
Las Vegas in the 1950s.
Just enough detail to spark your imagination. You don’t want so much detail that it dictates the story. The idea is to let the story spark from the setting.
Here are some categories that might help you mine your brain for ideas:
Think about spots. This is the tiniest space. Think about a pillow fort. Or a favorite bookshelf. There’s a big whiskey-barrel planter full of geraniums on my list. I have no idea what I’ll ever do with it, but it feels separate enough to be a setting. It gives me The Borrower’s vibes.
Think about rooms. Your childhood bedroom. The bedroom you wanted when you were a child. Your dream kitchen. Your grandma’s kitchen. A kitchen in a fantasy world. You get the idea.
Think about houses and buildings. Is there a type of house you’re fascinated with? What about your best friend’s house when you were ten? Your favorite aunt’s house? A house in the town you grew up in? Don’t forget other buildings like stores, barns, etc.
Think about neighborhoods and other spaces. This is where you’ll list things that go a bit wider than the house itself, but not as big as a whole town or city. The street you grew up on, an abandoned shopping mall, a carnival–all fit in this category.
Think about towns and cities. Ones you know, ones you wish you knew, and ones you make up straight out of your imagination.
Think about countries. Just keep scaling up. Is there a country where you have some experience? One that fascinates you? For instance, I’ve always wanted to set a story in Morocco. I’ve never been there. I don’t have enough knowledge to drill down deeper. So, Morocco is on my list.
Think about universes. Now, we’re going really big. This might only apply to you if you have sci-fi/fantasy ideas. But go ahead and list anything that comes to mind. You never know!
Just like with characters, you want a big, varied list. And this is something you’ll add to the rest of your career. Every time you come up with an idea for a setting, you can pop it here.
Next, we’re going to talk about situations.
Love,
Shaunta