by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: September 15, 2010

Like character creation, developing a believable fictional world is a process that becomes more defined with experience.  If you're just starting out however, putting a lot of planning into your foundation will make the overall writing process a lot easier.

Why You Need a Detailed Setting

In some ways, being a novelist is similar to being a magician.  Your main audience is only going to see your final product-not the hours of preparation behind it.  That doesn't make the preparation work unimportant-in fact, it will make or break your story.  When writers sometimes get in a rush to produce a final product, the results can be sloppy-cardboard characters, predictable plots, and settings that are convenient rather than something that feels rich and believable.  Taking the time to develop character and setting details will help you write, and as a byproduct your readers will appreciate it as well.

Finding Inspiration and Developing It

The initial idea of a story can come from almost anywhere, but creative elements of character, plot, theme, and setting all work together.  It's often easiest to start in the area where you feel the most sure.  For example, if an idea for a character feels solid to you then can work backwards to how the setting of the story impacted your character.  If you have a great plot idea first, make sure to balance it with a character that readers will remember and care about as that character experiences the situations.  Did the setting somehow lead to the plot occuring?

Using a Template Approach

This works well for characters and setting, but you have to keep in mind that the majority of the information is for your reference instead of a list of traits to bombard your reader with in the first few paragraphs.  For setting, you can brainstorm about physical environment (landscape, weather, seasons, etc.), cultural factors (religion, important historical events), technology (transportation, communication), and other traits until you have a detailed profile.  How deep you go with this is up to you, and it often depends on the genre and length of your story.  You also don't have to buy a lot of expensive software-a few word processor files or 1-subject notebooks work just fine.

How to Incorporate Template Information Into a Story

The advice of "show, don't tell" is very important in this because there should be a balance between action, dialogue, and description.  Readers don't

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