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I’ve noticed that my story could probably take place somewhere else and not a lot would change.
Honestly…I’m not exactly sure why that’s a problem XD I mean…technically…any story can be taken out of it’s original setting and put somewhere else, with only a few little tweaks. I could easily move my story to Earth, get rid of Andromeda, and just change the races to different groups of people.
And since technically your story takes place on Earth…it’s just dystopian…I’m not really sure how you can really incorporate the setting any more. Unless you have a specific example? Maybe I’m just not understanding, lol
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333Only advice I have is just brainstorming. If you want it to be really unique, think of a different concept or idea that could maybe be tied into the story, but I don’t think it has to. If the plot and characters are good readers won’t care if the setting isn’t super distinct. Maybe @thearcaneaxiom could help? (Sorry if she already tagged you.)
Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. ~ C.S. Lewis
speaking of “any story can be changed to something else with only a few tweaks”, after watching Disney’s Cars trilogy this week, I decided to draw all the characters and reconfigure the entire story so instead of them being sentient vehicles, the cars and trucks are flightless dragons, the planes/helicopters are winged dragons, the boats are water dragons, and the trains are like snakes.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
Honestly…I’m not exactly sure why that’s a problem XD I mean…technically…any story can be taken out of it’s original setting and put somewhere else, with only a few little tweaks. I could easily move my story to Earth, get rid of Andromeda, and just change the races to different groups of people.
And since technically your story takes place on Earth…it’s just dystopian…I’m not really sure how you can really incorporate the setting any more. Unless you have a specific example? Maybe I’m just not understanding, lol
See, I’ve always heard that the setting should be a somewhat important part of you story and it makes it more realistic. I wouldn’t say it’s a terrible writing sin if you don’t do that, lol, but it is something that I’m trying to do.
No, I think you’re understanding fine, maybe I’m just overthinking this. XD
Only advice I have is just brainstorming. If you want it to be really unique, think of a different concept or idea that could maybe be tied into the story, but I don’t think it has to. If the plot and characters are good readers won’t care if the setting isn’t super distinct.
Ok, that makes sense, thanks!!
Yeah, true. Like I told Sara, I’m probably overthinking this, lol. XD
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
@hybridlore @trailblazer @anyone-else
So guys…I started writing another chapter of my sci-fi thriller that I’m writing just for funzies and to get a breather from Andromeda. I tagged you guys cuz you read the first chapter (and I may or may not have almost made Janessa cry…heh…heh..) and I know Hybridlore wanted to read more…so here it is! It ends really abruptly… cuz I didn’t finish the chapter but thought I’d share it anyway XD
I slam my locker closed, fury building in my chest with every passing second.
I want to whirl around and cuss out Jenna. I want to shove her against the lockers and wipe that lip-glossed smirk off her unrealistically perfect face. I want to scream at her.
But I don’t.
Instead, I smile sweetly at her, dig my nails into my textbook like it’s Jenna’s face, and brush past her and her fan club….which consists of all the popular girls—and the entire football team.
Never mind that she just insulted my dead parents, me, and pretty much my entire family within the confines of one stupid sentence.
Never mind that she had the nerve to pretend she was being all sympathetic and a good citizen of the United States of America, even though her manicured nails held her phone two feet from my face.
I know her better. She’s a two faced, lying brat who isn’t deserving of even half the popularity she gets.
My stomach tightens with rage as Jenna’s smug face morphs into an innocent, adorable girl that attracts half the boys in the school. The same expression that stole my boyfriend sophomore year. In seconds, she’s flirting with every boy that dares steal a coveting glance at her, and the thing that boils my blood is that they flirt back. I can even see Mason going goo-goo eyed and practically foaming at the mouth as she runway-walks past his locker.
I glare at him.
If looks could kill, he’d be dead. A hundred times dead.
Traitor.
Oh, if they could see how toxic she really is, they’d sprint halfway to China and never come back.
They’d-
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” I feel a hand grab my shoulder, startling me enough to disrupt my train of thought. I whirl around to face Brooke, latte in one hand, stack of books in the other. She tilts her head, and the cascade of her straight brown hair hides her right shoulder. “Ry, you’re face is so red, you look—”
“I know, I know…” I mumble, brushing past her.
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333So this is a good thing to be aware of when writing your story. Your definitely right that you want to have your setting more tied into the plot. I like how Brandon Sanderson puts it: Character, setting, and conflict are the three pieces, and the plot is the glue that keeps them together in a story.
You care about your characters, they’re vital to a story, so if they are passive, where the story is happening to them instead of them happening to the story, then they become a boring character. It’s the exact same thing with setting. The setting, no matter how interesting will need to be an active element in the story, instead of a passive backdrop, like you’ve observed about your current setting.
So the solution to making setting a more active element is similar to making a character more active. Simply have it influence the plot, influence the characters and their choices. In a way, you can think of the setting as a character if that helps. Give it a personality, goals, relationships with other characters (speaking abstractly of course), and simply let it act for itself. Remember to also think about how this ties to the existing characters arcs. The characters arcs should be related to whatever is the conflict, and the setting may be part of the conflict, part of the solution, both.
When it comes to worldbuilding advice, I would just say stick to the ‘what if’ principle. For that, you really just need to brainstorm, but there’s a lot you can do to help. You can study different concepts online, you can take something you love outside of writing, and think of a way to apply it to your worldbuilding somehow, or something mundane and trivial, and simply ask the what if question about what might happen to this in an economic collapse, and what are the implications of that, ect.
Some of these ideas might help, they might not, but if nothing else, remember the principles of the What If, and making the setting an active player in the story.
I hope any of that helps!
Which story is this by the way? Is this a new one?
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Maybe @thearcaneaxiom could help? (Sorry if she already tagged you.)
No problem, thanks for the tag!
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
(It deleted my post for some reason)
So I just saw the other comments saying that the setting isn’t as big a deal. Personally I think setting is very important, but it also depends on who you are as the author, and what kind of story you want to write.
Your not over thinking it for being concerned about whether your setting is playing an active role or not, but you also don’t have to stress about it if you don’t want to care as much about that aspect. My story Lucid Wraith can’t be told in any other setting then the one I made, because I’ve made the setting so intimately tied to the protagonists whole conflict and arc.
@savannah_grace2009 ‘s story as she’s mentioned, could probably be told in a different setting without much difficulty switching around a few details. In this regard, the setting is simply a fun backdrop where Sara can play with the world and magic as she likes, and that doesn’t draw from the story at all.Going back to the character metaphor, you can have passive characters, and that’s ok, just as long as your main arc is not passive. If the setting is a character, then it can be a passive side character, or it can be a character inseparably integrated. It’s up to you and what you want out of your story.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Thank you so much for all this advice!! I’ll definitely be applying it.
Which story is this by the way? Is this a new one?
Not a new one. It’s actually my dystopian trilogy that I’ve been working on for over a year now. It keeps changing as I mature as a writer and lately I’ve been really focusing on revamping the first book because I tweaked the MCs’ arcs.
I should also be editing my NaNo project cuz I promised to let my parents read through the whole second draft by February… I’ve still got a lot of work to do XD
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
(and I may or may not have almost made Janessa cry…heh…heh..)
Lol is that gonna become one of your writing goals now?
Anyway I don’t fully remember the first chapter you posted… do you know which page that’s posted on so I can go re-read it?
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
here’s the first chapter cuz I’m too lazy to dig for it lol XD XD
I bury my face in Bear’s fur and concentrate on the slow, steady rhythm of his breaths, my tears drenching his soft coat.
He whimpers as I squeeze him to my chest a little harder than I meant to.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, scratching him lightly behind his ear.
I’m laying on the floor of my bedroom, Bear next to me, his large head in my lap. I’m still wearing my black funeral dress, still holding the flowers from the ceremony, and it still feels so surreal.
How could my parents be dead?
Today was the day that we were all supposed to go to the beach. I glance at my calendar, today still circled red.
I had circled it red for important. Never had I dreamed that important would mean attending my parents’ funeral.
It isn’t fair.
But then, when has life ever been fair?
I should have seen this coming.
I should have hugged my parents goodbye when they left.
I shouldn’t have let them leave without saying goodbye.
What was the last thing I said to them?
I remember I was mad when they left.
Oh God. What if they died thinking I was some prodigal daughter who didn’t love them?
Last Thursday was supposed to be a normal day. I was supposed to come home from school, work on homework, and scroll TikTok for hours on end.
Getting called to the principal’s office to be picked up by Gramma Rachel because my parents had just been killed in a plane crash was not my definition of an ideal afternoon.
Neither was attending their funeral ten days later.
Even while I watched their caskets being lowered into the ground, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all some sort of dumb joke. I kept waiting for Dad to tap me on the shoulder and say, Surprise! I got you! and proceed to laugh hysterically.
But the casket kept lowering.
And Dad didn’t show up to crash his own funeral like we always joked he would.
The four of us stood around the coffin, Nolan, Audrey, Mason, and I.
I was the only one not crying.
What kind of horrible daughter doesn’t cry at their parents’ funeral?
Me.
At least, until Audrey started screaming.
As the remains of our parents disappeared from view, and Nolan tossed the first clod of dirt onto the coffin, Audrey looked down into that dark hole and screamed.
I guess it finally hit her that we were orphans.
She looked at me, her blue eyes glistening with tears, her chest heaving with every hysterical sob. The bright afternoon sun struck her blonde ringlets, giving her the natural highlights I envied.
“Rylee,” she whispered, clinging to my arm, “can we go home now?”
I took one look at her, and I couldn’t do it anymore.
I was bawling like a baby.
Nolan had to grab both of us hysterical girls and drag us to the car, because we were crying too hard to move.
When I say the next days were horrible, that’s the understatement of the century.
But on the bright side, we had casseroles! Endless mountains of lasagnas, taco casseroles, enchiladas, meatballs. I knew all the neighbors were trying to be nice, but it seemed like it was all a mockery. Like, oh sorry, you’re orphans now, but look on the bright side, at least you’re not going to starve! At least you get lasagna! What do they expect? Me to look them in the eyes and say, oh, thank you so much, I feel so much better now! Lasagna really lifts my spirits!
Um, no.
Everyone knows that chocolate is the only food capable of performing such a feat.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I wipe away a tear.
It’s Lydia. I’m coming over. Armed with your favorite chocolate and tissues.
I smile.
Not that chocolate’s going to fix all my problems, but chocolate is better than casserole. So much better. Why don’t those old ladies take a hint?
In fifteen minutes, Lyds barges into my room and drops an avalanche of tissues, cartons of ice cream, and chocolate at her feet.
She sits down beside me.
“How are you doing?”
“Great,” I grimace, rummaging through the grocery bags she brought. “Ooh, moose tracks!” I feel guilty for getting excited about ice cream and not crying over my parents like Audrey and Mason and Nolan are probably doing, but I’m tired of crying. I’m tired of missing the smell of Mom’s shampoo, tired of feeling Dad’s strong arms around me. I’m tired of feeling.
“Okay, that was a dumb question,” Lyds pulls me into a hug. “Sorry.”
I pop the lid off the carton, and Bear licks the freezer burnt ice cream off the lid before I can stop him. Lydia strokes his fur.
“I don’t want to talk about how I’m doing,” I snatch a plastic spoon from the bag and stuff my face full of ice cream. “I just want to sit here and pet Bear and eat ice cream and forget about all this crap.”
“I can do that,” Lyds nods.
Why does she have to be so nice? My chest tightens with constrained emotion.
And then my tears are falling faster than I can grab the box of tissues. Lyds snatches it for me and grabs a whole bunch. I wad them up and press them against my swollen eyes. “I can’t forget….” I cringe, embarrassed of how I sound like such a two year old, but then I realize I don’t care.
“Oh, Ry,” Lyds’s voice breaks, and she hugs me all the more fiercely. I hug her back, smelling her Ariana Grande perfume that I want but can’t afford.
We sit there for a long time, holding each other, not saying a word. Bear snuggles closer, now draped across both our laps.
“He’s so good at comforting people,” Lydia buries her hands in his thick fur.
“I know,” I hug him. “Oh, Bear, what would I do without you?” He raises his head and showers me with doggie kisses. I’m too depressed to pucker up my face in revulsion.
Two hours later, and we’re watching Despicable Me. I’m sitting next to Lyds on the couch, and Mason and Audrey are passed out on the floor. I don’t know how they sleep through movies. I never can. Nolan sits in the huge armchair.
Why Despicable Me? I really don’t know.
I need something to laugh at.
On the screen, Dr. Nefario mistakes “cookie robots” for “boogie robots” and I can’t stop laughing.
I laugh so hard I tumble off the couch and Nolan stares at me judgmentally. I honestly don’t know why I’m laughing, tears spilling out of my eyes as I laugh, hysteria taking over my body. And I don’t care. It’s better than thinking.
I’m laughing so hard I don’t even realize when I start to cry.
I miss Mom. I miss Dad.
Bear licks my cheeks, standing over me, nuzzling his nose into the side of my neck. I stare up at the ceiling, tears trickling from the corners of my eyes. Bear should get an award for being the world’s best therapist.
I finally stop cry-laughing and hug Bear to my chest, my hands disappearing in his soft coat.
I don’t even realize my eyes are drifting closed until I open them and the credits are playing on the TV.
“Rylee,” Lyds whispers in my ear, “I’m going home now. I love you, girl.” she squeezes me tight.
“Thanks for everything,” I mumble. “I’m going to bed.”
I crawl into bed, and pull the covers up to my chin.
I close my eyes.
“Rylee! Wake up!”
“Huh?” I open my eyes to someone shaking me by the shoulders.
“Rylee, honey, it’s me.”
“Dad!” I sit up and launch into his arms, breathing in the scent of his cologne. I feel safe, with his strong arms wrapped around me. The stubble on his jaw tickles my ear. “Why’d you have to go?” I say, my voice muffled by his shirt.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he pulls away and cups my chin. His brown eyes meet mine. “I never wanted to leave you.”
“Promise,” I wrap my arms firmly around his neck, “Promise you won’t leave me again.”
Dad works his jaw, his eyes misting over.
“Promise!” I scream at him.
“Rylee…” his voice breaks.
“Dad?” I whimper.
“I can’t-” and then he’s gone.
I start awake. My room is silent and dark. Too silent.
“Bear,” I whisper.
I hear the rattling of his dog tags as he stirs and is at my side in an instant.
“Get up here,” I tell him, and he hops onto my bed beside me like it’s nothing. He lays down beside me, and I pull the blankets over both of us. “I miss him so much,” I whisper. My voice echoes in the dark, out of place and foreign. “I miss Mom too.”
I look up to the ceiling, squeezing Bear tight against my body, and cry until I have no tears left to cry and grief crashes into me like ocean breakers.
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333Ohhh yes now I remember why that almost made me cry
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
@freedomwriter76
I love it!!! those characters sound amazing!! and Conrad!! *wipes tears from my eyes* his story is so sad!!!
Do me a favor…. Tell Cress I meant it
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@smiley TYSM!!
And i knowwwwwwwww, the poor boi!!! 😭😭
I didn’t get notified by your tag for sone reason.
I don’t really have much to add. Setting is definitely important, but less so than characters and plot.
I don’t really know what to advise, because I’ve never tried to create a new setting for a story that is already well under way. (I almost always create the setting first.) I would say just think of cool ideas for a setting and how to integrate them into the plot. Alternatively, you could try taking characters or plot elements and thinking of setting details that would enhance them in some way.
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