My Writing Guide

A Letter for Settings

Dear Settings,

Why do we authors so brutally underestimate your power?

You are the backbone of our stories. You give our characters a place to roam, a time to pass, a culture to live in. You lay the foundations of all of our highs and lows. You show us things we didn't know about our characters, our themes, our moods.

Yet day after day, we authors sit down to write and halfheartedly give you a line or two. They aren't purposeful lines. In fact, we write them as a prerequisite, like we have to get them out of the way before we can move on to whatever is on our hearts. We never fail to leave you feeling unappreciated.

It's not you, settings, it's us. We are the problem. We are the ones who aren't paying enough attention to our relationship. But we aren't breaking up with you yet. You are one of the best story elements we have ever met, and so we are dedicated to getting this relationship back on track. We'll strive to learn more about you, to understand and appreciate your subtle intricacies, and to communicate with you clearly.

We want the whole world to know just how wonderful and purposeful and amazing you are. We're sorry.

With love,
Your Authors

Oh, ahem. Uh, were you reading that? *blushes*

Settings are like the Swiss Army knives of story elements; they serve so many functions! But authors always seem to keep their knives bunched up in their pockets, only pulling them out to use when it's absolutely necessary. It's time for that to end. Let's put your settings to work, starting today.