Set the Table, Not the Scene: Setting in Fiction

The autumn leaves outside the window of the small bedroom were crimson and gold, fluttering in an apple-scented breeze that brought the promise of rain. It was a crisp October Thursday and Petunia, a 35-year-old librarian, was sitting at her 7-drawered oak rolltop desk, fingering an heirloom fountain pen. The chair beneath her was the same rich hue as the late apples that sat between the golden leaves outside, on her 19-acre apple ranch in rural Vermont.

What you have just read is calling "setting the scene," and I hate it.

Some people love environmental writing, and when it's well-done, I understand why. Consider this passage from "The Blue Castle," a criminally underrated book by L.M. Montgomery:

“But now she loved winter. Winter was beautiful 'up back' - almost intolerably beautiful. Days of clear brilliance. Evenings that were like cups of glamour - the purest vintage of winter's wine. Nights with their fire of stars. Cold, exquisite winter sunrises. Lovely ferns of ice all over the windows of the Blue Castle. Moonlight on birches in a silver thaw. Ragged shadows on windy evenings - torn, twisted, fantastic shadows. Great silences, austere and searching. Jewelled, barbaric hills. The sun suddenly breaking through grey clouds over long, white Mistawis. Ice-grey twilights, broken by snow-squalls, when their cosy living-room, with its goblins of firelight and inscrutable cats, seemed cosier than ever. Every hour brought a new revelation and wonder.”


Wow. I want to move to Canada now, and not just for the health care.

Here's a guilty secret about me: I am not L.M. Montgomery. And, as much as I love her writing, I kind of don't want to emulate it.

There's a technique I really enjoy in writing, known as in medias res, or "in the middle." It's a way of writing that dumps you right smack dab in the middle of the action, right away. No setting of the scene, no leisurely introduction of characters, just open the book and bam, you're dueling an angry viscount.

I read books for the characters. I read for plot. I read for relationships. And yes, it is amazing to be transported to a different world, a world that is immersive and distinct and interesting. But I want to discover that setting through the eyes of character. 

Some people can read page after page of general city description. Some people (my husband springs to mind) would happily read whole chapters on the imports and exports of the second-largest city of the kingdoms' five neighbors. This is the type of reader that laments the chapters that were "cut" from the fictionalized source material of "The Princess Bride." And that's awesome, and there are books out there that are perfect for that reader.

My books aren't like that.

I'm a character writer. So the world, although it may be different and complex, is going to be revealed in the context of character. That means not every question a reader has is going to be answered. You're not necessarily going to know what the gross national product of the nation is, or whether the grain farmers prefer mill-grinding or hand-grinding their wheat. Because, well, frankly, I find that about as interesting as dry, unfrosted, shredded wheat.

What I reveal about my world is always going to be relevant to the story. So if the country, in my mind, has a thriving silk trade, but that has nothing to do with the story, you're probably not going to know about it. In my current WIP, the original cause of the destruction of the earth has no relevance to the immediate story, so I'm not going to go into it. I know what it is, but the story doesn't need it, so I cut it. It might become relevant in book 2 or 3, and I'm open to exploring that, but I have no intention of explaining it just to explain it.

This is what I call "setting the table." While setting the scene, to me, means delving into overly detailed, often-irrelevant descriptions of the setting, (and pages and pages of exposition), "setting the table" means thinking about the meal you're about to serve, and providing the necessary tools to enjoy it. 

Is your protagonist a boy disguising himself as a girl so that he can learn the exclusive art of dragon hatching? Ok, then set out that "bowl" of explanation about this world's rigid gender expectations. Are your fearless heroes going to be kidnapped by nomadic slavers and forced into servitude at some point? Introduce the silverware that this is not an entirely free land. 

This also doesn't have to relate to just the plot. Perhaps you plan to have two characters bicker a lot, so you put them on opposite sides of a relevant political or religious debate--worldbuilding through, and supporting, character dynamics. Maybe you need to show the way most two-toed aliens are docile and accepting of their lesser status, to exhibit just how unique and brave your two-toed rebel protagonist is. You get it. Provide relevant information.

Consider also narrative tone, consistency, vocabulary choice, etc, when setting the table. Don't set your reader up in chapter one to believe they're about to read a heart-pounding action thriller, only to turn the whole novel into a slow-simmering romance. (Note: I'm not talking about subplots. I'm talking about actually misdirecting the reader.) That's not the kind of surprise readers enjoy. When you write a book, especially an opening to a book, you're making a promise; as responsible caretakers of the time of others, we should always try to fulfill the promises we make. So don't get my hopes up for a piracy subplot by dropping in a detailed description of the piratical problems off the coast of your country, and then never give me pirates, and call that "worldbuilding."

What do you think? Do you like environmental, setting-heavy novels? Or do you prefer action-driven stories where the setting is described as little as necessary? 


What I'm Reading:

Beautiful Ruins: A Novel by Jess Walter

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by MacKenzi Lee

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

If you want to purchase any of these books to read along with me, purchasing them through my links helps support this blog :)