tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254902043762303002.post2820540856322580291..comments2024-03-20T00:15:49.597-07:00Comments on Nancy S. Thompson: Setting: Better Real or Imagined?Nancy Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05735642863696266005noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254902043762303002.post-28198127083428076842011-05-23T11:58:55.480-07:002011-05-23T11:58:55.480-07:00I'm a people watcher. I'm detail oriented ...I'm a people watcher. I'm detail oriented and when I read, I want to be fully immersed. I want to know how things smell, how they feel, what they look like. I want to know it all. However, I DON'T like gratuitous detailing. There are ways to fully describe a setting without info dumping. That's why Stephen King is my writing God of choice...I love the way he describes everything - to the point where I feel like I'm actually there - but doesn't bog the story down. That said, not everyone agrees with me.<br /><br />I enjoy stories where the author takes a 'normal' every day setting and makes it their own. For example - The Sookie Stackhouse books - Charlaine Harris takes what would be a normal, maybe even boring setting, but changes the world to suit her plot. I don't know that it's necessarily world building, since IMO, the town could be Anywhere, LA, but it's different. I also like how Stephen King places his characters in Maine, a place that he knows well, but creates a new city, based on others. And...I love dystopian worlds...I find them incredibly interesting and it helps me 'see' how the author thinks.<br /><br />Still, in all honesty, I have no preference if the plot grabs me. I can read about an actual city or an entire new world (Love, love, LOVE Tolkien) as long as the story is interesting. And detailed. ;-)Tarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07807432443934355757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254902043762303002.post-86395340417757027572011-05-17T11:05:35.425-07:002011-05-17T11:05:35.425-07:00I have to say that I'm not a big fan of settin...I have to say that I'm not a big fan of setting. I've seen a writer spend ten pages discribing the falling snow, and it's bored me to tears up to the point where I start skimming ahead to the good parts. As long as the book focuses on my favorite characters, that's enough for me. <br /><br />My husband loves James Patterson. I picked up one of his books, and he doesn't seem to spend more time than necessary describing the surroundings. <br /><br />I've read several urban fantasies where they mix it up. They take a state, let's say California and add places that aren't there at all. Most of us don't know the difference.<br /><br />I guess I can go either way. It's fiction. All we can do is play with it and see what works for what we're writing, or reading.Laila Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430076999393883312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5254902043762303002.post-70042883541862800752011-05-16T17:20:45.942-07:002011-05-16T17:20:45.942-07:00This is a really interesting post. I am one of th...This is a really interesting post. I am one of those people who--as a reader (and probably as a writer)--believes less is more with setting. I get really irritated and bored when writers spend an inordinate amount of time on setting. For me, I'll never go to most of the places the stories I'm reading take place in so I don't really care about the author fleshing out the setting in the book. I mean I like a little bit of orientation--a general feel for the setting. I think you do it just right in your book--not too much but not too little. I am flattered to hear you say what you've said about Finding Claire Fletcher. I've thought so many times of changing the setting but many people have told me not to. I just want to say that I've read a lot of books that are set in Philadelphia and I've only ever seen one writer get it right. If you live here, you can tell who is doing it from research and who is writing from experience. (That might also be because anyone famous or semi-famous who says they are from Philly are actually from a suburb well outside of Philly so they've been to the city about 5 times in their whole lives. Apparently, Philadelphia reaches about 50 miles in every direction. But I digress.)<br /><br />Even so, I don't much care. I'm far more interested in the story. I really enjoyed the way John Hart used setting in his book--it kind of mirrored the plot. It would be rainy and gloomy (the lives of the characters were gloomy)or hot and oppressive (the evil the characters were facing was oppressive) or the forest would be thick and nearly impassable (much like the issues the characters were dealing with). I enjoyed that and I enjoyed that he didn't spend a lot of time on it. I love Iles but sometimes I get bored with his descriptions of Natchez. I am probably the exception but I like as little time as possible devoted to setting. That said, to answer your question I don't care whether the setting is real or not as long as the author doesn't talk about it too much! LOL.Lisa Rhttp://www.lisalregan.comnoreply@blogger.com