The Ultimate Guide to Writing the Setting of a Story

The plot and characters of a novel must be planned and executed brilliantly, and so should the setting of a story. If your novel lacks a strong and colorful backdrop, your plot and characters will be floating in emptiness. Yet with a well-planned and described setting, you give your cast of characters a firm foundation to wreak havoc and make peace. 

A good story setting enhances your plot, characters, and even themes, while a weak setting leaves the reader lacking understanding and love for your novel. Would J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series be as magical without the vivid descriptions of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Would The Book Thief by Markus Zusak be as moving a story if he neglected to display the terrifying culture of Germany under Nazis control? 

Absolutely not.

The storyline and characters in these books would still be acting and present, but they would be playing on a blank canvas without context or connection. To ensure we transport our readers into our books, we must paint our backdrop boldly and concisely. This is an intimidating feat, but an intriguing endeavor worth every reward we’ll reap. 

To succeed, we must ask what lies under the category of story setting, what information we need to gather, and how we can describe our story settings with such vibrancy and depth our readers can’t help but fall in love. 

Let’s dig in!

What’s a Story Setting? 

So, what constitutes the setting of a story? More than you would expect. We are tackling a large umbrella of topics. Here I’ll list the majority of elements which story setting encompasses. 

• Geography
• Topography
• Flora and Fauna 
• Culture
• Weather
• Architecture
• Interior Design
• Technology
• Historical Period
• Timeline
• Government 
• Politics
• Job Environment 
• Home Environment
• And More

These elements relate to every genre of fiction. To present a fully developed setting to readers, each of these points need to be considered, even when a point seems irrelevant to your story. 

For example, perhaps government politics aren’t a major player in your plot. However, to know how your story’s society works, you should at least know what type of government the country your story takes place in has. Knowing this detail will influence your story in between the lines, and add realism. 

Research the Setting

Research will need to be conducted on the setting of your story. While beginner writers are told to write only what they know, a person’s natural knowledge is rarely wide or diverse. This ‘rule’ is important because we need to know something about our story setting before we can write intelligently. 

For example, if I were writing a story about a trip to Mars but my knowledge on spaceships, astronauts, and galaxies was lacking, my novel set in outer space would be unrealistic and laughable. Even if I was writing sci-fi, my book should have a foundation of real science and theories.

However, I could learn about historic and modern space travel, theories on unsolved mysteries of space, terrains and weather conditions of various planets, etc., and then write an intriguing and informed fictional tale in space my readers could imagine and understand. 

Now, to research the setting of your story in person would be optimal, but not all of us could (or should) become astronauts, have the budget to travel the world for research yet, or are capable of walking through a wardrobe to visit our fantasy worlds. 

If you can’t research your setting up close, do so through reliable offline and online resources. Go to your local library and trustworthy websites to research your story’s setting. For a visual view of someplace on earth, try a 3D satellite map to visit any place from the comfort of your desk. 

Senses, Settings, and Story Descriptions

Now, you have all the information you need on your setting. The next step is conveying this information to your reader in a way they will experience for themselves. The most magical books are ones we can see, smell, taste, hear, and feel the environments. To immerse our readers in our story world, we must utilize the five senses and breathe life into the setting. 

The Five Senses: 

Sight: What your setting looks like. 

Smell: What your setting smells like. 

Taste: What could be tasted in your setting. 

Hearing: What sounds are audible. 

Feeling: What is physically felt in your story’s environment. (Wind, textures of objects, sun on skin, etc.)

Your goal is to bring as many senses to your readers as you can. In your descriptions try to hit at least two of these senses at a time. In the duration of your novel, you will want to hit all the senses for a well-rounded experience. 

Warning: it may be tempting to over-describe by cramming all five senses into every description you write. Using too much description does not enhance but hinder your setting. 

Not every description will need each sense, sometimes sight will only be required, and other times Taste will not be applicable. When deciding which senses to use experiment with each, then choose by which gives your setting the best effect.  

Related: How to Write Effective Descriptions and Nail Your Scene’s Setting

POV Character Immersion Exercise

Here’s a little trick I use when deciding what senses I should use in my descriptions, what I should describe, and what should be left to the reader’s imagination.  

What is your novel’s point of view (POV)? In my current novel project The New Dawn (working title), I am writing in Deep POV and from both my main characters perspectives. Now, my two characters see the same world through different lenses. Therefore, what I choose to describe in each scene depends on which POV I am writing from. 

This is how it works: Take a moment to imagine yourself in your POV character’s shoes. Now, what are they seeing? What stands out to them? Would they notice the television or the kitchen of an apartment first? Would they call a well-used couch ratty or vintage? Each person sees the world uniquely, and so should your characters. 

Likewise, what senses would stand out to your character first? Take your time immersing yourself in the setting and experiencing it in your imagination. Once you know what your character is experiencing, then describe the experience to your reader. 

The Show Don’t Tell Rule

It’s time to address one of the most famous rules of writing: show don’t tell. I believe C.S. Lewis explained it best: 

“In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

[Letter to Joan Lancaster, 26 June 1956]”

― C.S. Lewis, Letters to Children

This is brilliant. The show don’t tell rule isn’t supposed to be followed for the sake of following. The reason for showing and not telling your setting is to give the most evocative description to the reader.

Another famous example of this rule is by Anton Chekhov:

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

― Anton Chekhov

See how evocative Chekhov’s second example is? The image your imagination generates switches entirely from something bland and ordinary to something breathtaking. Let this extraordinary outcome be your goal, not showing because it is a rule of writing. 

In fact, there will be moments in describing your story setting where telling is the best course of action. Places where some element has already been described or another lengthy description will bore the reader. Use your best judgment, and choose the course your reader will benefit from most.

Intentional Vocabulary

Choose your words intentionally. There is a big difference from saying a street was noisy and crowded to describing the clamor of vendors at an outdoor market. Saying a window is dirty gets your point across to the reader, but using filthy, cloudy, or smudged gives a more accurate image for the reader to process. Describing a sunset sky as crimson instead of red can create a dramatic difference in a scene’s mood. Choose the word which best conveys your wanted effect. 

This is where thesauruses are invaluable. However, don’t get carried away by big and flamboyant words no one knows. Don’t choose your vocabulary by how impressive the word looks on a page, but by the pinpoint accuracy of the description. 

Putting this technique into practice will show immediate results with little sentence structure change. Be precise with your words, and your story’s setting will begin to breathe on its own. 

Story Description Tools

And finally, a note on metaphors, similes, and clichés. 

Metaphors and similes can enrich your story’s setting with powerful imagery and ideas. Let’s start with the definition of a metaphor.  

metaphor – noun: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money)

Merriam-Webster online dictionary

More examples:

• An ocean of sapphires
• Blood dripped down the evening sky
• His voice was sandpaper on wood

A great metaphor can send chills up and down a reader’s back. In places where your setting needs to smack your reader in the face or you wish to evoke a specific feeling (love, joy, heartache, remorse, etc.), try a metaphor. 

Likewise, similes are a powerful tool in your arsenal. 

simile – noun: A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses)

Merriam-Webster online dictionary

More examples:

• The streets were busy like bees in a hive 
• Clouds like tufts of cotton floated in the sky 
• She was as fierce as a lioness 

A simile adds imagery which a plain description can’t conjure. As in the second example, the clouds could have been described as white and fluffy, but “like tufts of cotton” creates a more vivid and fun image. Metaphors and similes are great ways to not only describe your story setting, but your characters as well (see the last examples for both metaphors and similes). 

While utilizing metaphors and similes, beware of using clichés unless in an intentional or innovative way. We are all familiar with the phrases “as clever as a fox” or “shaking like a leaf” which means they have lost some of their power. Instead of relying on clichés, stretch your boundaries by thinking of original ways to spice up your descriptions. 

Story Setting Checklist 

Congratulations! You are now an expert on writing a brilliant setting for any story. Here’s a quick recap of all we’ve gone over: 

• Why the setting of a story is important
• What a story setting entails
• Researching your story setting
• Using the five senses to describe settings
• Point of view immersion trick 
• The core of the Show Don’t Tell rule 
• How to use intentional descriptive language 
• Metaphors, Similes, and Clichés 

Your next step is to begin applying these elements to your current novel or short story immediately. Don’t be afraid to dive deep into the waters of story setting and bring to life a world your readers will hold close to their hearts for years to come.