StoryCraft Novel Challenge Day 13: It’s time to build the most important character, your world.
Have you ever thought about your setting as a character in and of itself? The world of our story is just one of the three vertices of what we call a story triangle: the plot, the character, and the world. But the world shouldn’t just be a static set piece. It should feel like a living, breathing part of the story.
When the setting can provide conflict to both the plot and the characters, it makes for a dynamic story readers can get lost in. A great example is The Great Gatsby, one of the highlight texts of our online course StoryCraft: Writing Your Novel, which is currently in Beta for $150 off with the code SCBETA!
Because Gatsby is a bootlegger, having the setting be prohibition in the 1920s automatically provides more conflict to the plot. It’s the one, pivotal setting that contrasts that specific character choice. Likewise, prohibition allows Gatsby to host his elaborate parties to try to connect with his old flame Daisy once more. This interaction of elements allows us to fall into the story as readers.
Some questions to ask yourself about your setting are:
Why does this story NEED to take place in this setting?
How can the setting provide conflict to the plot? To the characters?
What about this setting makes it the most interesting time or place for the story to take part in?
If you can’t answer these questions, it might be a sign to do a little more introspection on exactly the kind of book you’d like to write. The more time you spend at the planning stage analyzing these questions, the more free you’ll be when it comes time to draft.
Use the hashtag #StoryCraftNovelChallenge to share you progress and connect with other writers!
Happy Writing,
Jess and Theo