The Importance of Writing Good Settings  




		The manner in which you introduce your reader to the setting of your 
		story will very much determine whether you keep the reader's interest 
		in the story and whether you keep your credibility. There are therefore 
		some factors you should consider.
	
		Firstly, if you are writing about a real town in a real state or county, make
		sure your facts are correct. Make sure the buildings you write about existed
		at the time you set your story. Make sure the streets existed at the time you
		set your story. Sure is the bet someone who reads your story will come from
		that place and will delight in letting you know you were wrong about some
		point or another. It is therefore easier in fiction to fabricate a town, even if 
		it is based on a town you know.
	
		Settings are more than just places to lob your characters in, they create 
		atmosphere, mood and realism to your story. How you write your settings 
		and arrange your props will reveal the level of your craft. Backgrounds should
		be subtly filtered through the scene, producing a living world behind the action,
		showing that life goes on behind the plot and action of the story.
	
		Create an image the reader unconsciously responds to by play with the five
		senses. Make them see the scene, feel the wind, smell the rotting garbage 
		or the new mown grass. Let them hear the sounds of children playing, or dogs
		yapping. Make their mouth water at the hamburger sizzling on the grill of the 
		food van. The living world behind the characters interactions can make or 
		break your story.

				(First page of the article)





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