Sometimes I get so involved in the setting of a story, in atmosphere, that the place becomes a main character. I try to curb the tendency and not detract from my hero and heroine, and yet…I enjoy reading books that develop the setting, using rich detail and ambiance to strengthen the plot and convey backstory.
The balance between setting as character and setting as, well…the backdrop against which my characters act, is a narrow crossing–at least for me.
In my very first book, I wanted the farmhouse and the fantastical woods with their trees that bleed silver to come alive for the reader and become more than a simple location for dialogue and action, but a living, breathing persona.
Those trees in the silverwood were more than a mere forest, more than organic–they were sentient on a level we humans could not perceive. They were a conduit for communication between our world and the alternate reality or alterrealm of Lugh’s world.
Being an erotic romance writer doesn’t mean skipping depth of plot or setting in order to get to the “good” stuff–the sex. To my way of thinking the entire book, including all the bits between the sex scenes, should be “good stuff” as well.
What do you think? When you read erotic romance, do you skip to get to the “good” parts, or do you linger over the story like one would a fine wine?
I think the mark of a good writer is the ability to lead the reader on a wonderful journey and to engage their imagination, and heighten all their senses. I know that is what I want when I read a book. I want to disappear in the writer’s imagery, in the world they’ve created just for me.
And I know that I want my readers to feel that same sense of excitement and surprise before the journey’s end.
Cass
This issue of setting keeps coming up to haunt me this week. My Australian set stories don’t sell, and top agents have told me it’s the setting. My latest MS is set in NYC and Alabama. Bulko research/time involved. Now there’s a discussion over at RD about you lacking integrity if you write about somewhere you haven’t been. Say what??? WIsh I had the income to visit wherever I wanted, but until I’m selling lots of books- not gonna happen.
Very demoralizing.
As to using setting as a character, depends on the story. Sometimes it is necessary, often not. If people skip the description it probably isn’t well done or isn’t relevant.
To me,the good stuff is the whole thing. If all a reader wants is the sex, then a picture is quicker, yes?
I may not like paragraphs of setting description–but I like to know the way the setting affects the POV character. Too much is tell, too little is a void. I probably don’t put enough description in–and my stories are not all that erotic.