Settings - or where are you now?
I'll admit I'm not big on settings. I don't like to read chapter after chapter of details about where the character lives or works. Now that I've admitted that, I will say that setting is as important as the actual characters themselves and in fact, could be considered a character on its own.
Imagine the protagonist is a teacher, we'll call her Eve. Before you read the first words, you may already have a picture of where Eve teaches. Do you envision her standing in front of a classroom writing with squeaky chalk on a board? Perhaps, she's standing at a lecture before a thousand students at a university. Or is she in a third world country, the bare dirt beneath her scandals with a few worn books for teaching materials?
Looking at those three different settings you can see how the story could be completely unique for each one. If not handled well, setting can detract from the story or lead the reader in the wrong direction.
Consider Eve again, but this time she's a young single woman walking the streets of her town at midnight. Is the situation ominous or romantic? Is the moon shining brightly to light her path or hidden behind clouds? Are there shadows on every corner or do street lights shine like a beacon?
It's easy to see how significant setting can be. When reading your next book, pay attention to the settings and how the author handles it.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
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