setting – Kara Jorgensen

This week I thought I would talk about writing the beginnings of books since I am working on the fourth Reanimator Mysteries book. Opening chapters are often the hardest to write and the thing we spend the most time fixing/fiddling with. Part of this is because we put so much emphasis on attracting readers and keeping them hooked from the beginning. They are the first impression of the book that our reader has, so we need to make sure we use that chapter to set expectations and capture the general mood of the piece to avoid disappointing readers later. As a side note before we start, I think first chapters/openings are often something to worry about in the second draft rather than the first. Things often become clearer once we’re farther along. Remember, don’t get hung up on the opening when you start. You can always fix it in a later draft if you realize there is a better place to start the story. That’s what editing is for.

The Pieces

I really like the way Sarra Cannon lays out the structure of a novel (you can check her out at Heartbreathings.com). Let’s take a look at her Act 1 outline to remind ourselves what we need in Act 1/our opening

An interesting image/hook

Introducing our characters

Introducing the setting

Introducing conflict/mystery

The Hook

When you open a book, we want to put something interesting at the very beginning to keep the reader intrigued or entertained. We want to create this opening image in a way that sneakily introduces the character and the setting. What we do not want to do is put too much information into the opening because our reader won’t remember it’s important later. The opening is meant to be a brief image that gets us intrigued before diving in, and your reader will remember more of the feel of the scene than the information you give or the words you say, which is why we want to nail the vibe but not info dump.

A prologue can be used instead of an opening scene in order to introduce a mystery- like showing someone getting murdered or a god dying, but we have to be careful with prologues because they can become info-dumpy rather than intriguing. Save info/specific world-building for when you have the world more established and the reader can appreciate it. You also want to be careful with starting with dialogue as the reader doesn’t know who these people are, the context of their relationship, etc. It may be better to save it for half a page in when the reader has been grounded by the mood or setting.

Introducing Our Characters

During your opening chapter, we should be introduced to at least one of the main characters. If you have multiple POV characters, obviously that will be spread over multiple chapters or we will only get them from one person’s POV (aka don’t split the chapter in two with different POVs). You want to ground your reader, so e should get the character’s “normal” before the conflict really kicks in. This is important because we need to establish where your character is before they change over the course of the book. You can do this by showing us the character’s world, which also helps to incorporate the setting, and showing them interacting with others while giving us their thoughts and feelings.

At the same time, there should still be a hint of something being amiss during the opening scenes. Some examples:

If the MC is a workaholic, show them missing a holiday due to a work trip.
If a character has a gambling problem, show them checking their bank account and seeing all of the micro transactions.
If a character is lonely, hint at it by having them be alone or mentally commenting on the silence.

Your reader will connect with your main character first and foremost, so spend time fleshing them out by giving them thoughts, feelings, ideas, opinions, clothes, rooms, things, etc. By the end of the opening, the reader should understand what this character is going through, where they live, who they are, etc. Once again, is is often something that is strengthened in the second draft once you understand them better. The bigger point is that at the beginning of the story, these characters are wounded and/or missing something that they need. We need a hint of that wound/issue early on because it will drive the internal and potentially the external conflicts.

Introducing the Setting

Apart from your character, you also need to establish the setting, mood, and genre of your story. I lump these together because you’re doing all of the above at the same time. As you are writing, keep in mind that not every genre cares as much about setting as others do. Small town romances require you to create a realistic town while fantasy and scifi require a much greater level of world-building, so you will need to do this proportionately to the genre you are working in. At the same time, even if setting isn’t as prominent, like in contemporary romance, it is still important to ground your reader in a place by describing what the character is experiencing from a sensory perspective.

In this opening chapter, you are giving us hints of the world, the foundation and first glimpses of it. Only give us lore if it’s absolutely necessary, as in, we need to know this right now or we will be totally confused. Even then, I suggest doing so with caution and consider in your next draft if it is necessary. In your opening, we should be moving through the world via your main character’s eyes. Only give us things they would see or know. They take lore for granted since they exist in this world, so your opening should reflect that. You can also hint at fantastical things without being overt, like showing us bits of magic by offhandedly mentioning someone stirring a cup with telekinesis or a magical animal talking with the main character. You don’t need to give the reader explanations. They can suspend a little disbelief early on.

Having your character physically move through a space is a really good way to pepper in that world-building naturally. That way we follow their eyes over doors and paintings where you can add in little bits of detail that characterize the setting. During this time, we still need to set up the mood as well, and this should be baked into the setting and thoughts of the characters. Keep in mind that your genre can dictate the mood based on reader expectations. While a paranormal romance can be silly or serious, subgenres of mysteries or romances have more distinct moods. A cozy mystery can’t be too heavy, and a noir detective story has to air on the side of dark. Your world-building, thoughts, feelings, sensory words will all imbue the world with a mood. You need to establish that mood during your opening paragraphs, so you don’t pull a bait and switch on your reader.

The Conflict

As mentioned in the character section, your reader should get a hint of what the internal conflict is early in your book. Chapter one or the prologue can’t be aimless, so by having the internal conflict rearing its head, we give the book a bit of direction. There can be hints of the external conflict, mentions of money troubles, a bad guy looming, newspaper headlines, etc., but the external conflict shouldn’t quite appear in the opening. That should be saved for the inciting incident, which is at the very end of act 1 and pushes the main character into the meat of the story. This is sometimes called the call to adventure. The main reason we don’t want to do this is that we want to build up the world and the characters before shoving them into the main part of the story in order to build up the stakes or what the character could lose if things don’t work out for them. Without that build-up, the story can feel very flimsy or your reader isn’t engaged because they haven’t connected to the main character yet. This doesn’t mean there can’t be a murder or something intriguing, it just means that the thing that really forces the character to move hasn’t happened yet. If we don’t establish the internal conflict, the stakes, and the characters, the story will feel rushed, and we don’t want that.

I hope this break down on the opening of your book helped you! I would consider the opening to be the first 10-15% of the story with the inciting incident happening at the 25% mark. Next week’s post will talk about potential pitfalls in the opening of your story and how to avoid them.

Recently, I’ve been reading Maggie Stiefvater’s series The Raven Cycle, and what has blown me away (besides the characters, plot, and just amazing story overall) is her ability to create atmospheric settings. What I mean by that is that the settings evoke a specific feeling, and this feeling adds to the tension or heightens the mood of the piece. Atmospheric settings can sometimes be so evocative that they are characters themselves. I found this in The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, Jazz by Toni Morrison, and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.

In my own writing, I’ve tried to develop this skill while building the backdrop of London in The Winter Garden and Brasshurst Hall in The Earl and the Artificer. While working on this skill, I’ve learned a few things.

Write your scene first. Add your atmosphere after. I tend to write my scene in layers where I write out the dialogue and overall scene direction first. Then, I do a quick pass through where I add more detail until the scene is fleshed out. When it comes to writing, dialogue, plot, and character movement is much more important than atmosphere. My suggestion is always to work on your scenery after you’ve gotten the essentials down. This also tends to eliminate pages and pages of atmosphere/scene building because you already know what you need in your scene instead of tossing in everything and the kitchen sink just in case your character needs it.
Know what you’re trying to evoke. It makes infinitely easier to build tension or heighten the mood if you know what you’re trying to accomplish. Ask yourself a questions. Is your story paranormal or a western? How does your genre affect the atmosphere of your piece? What’s the overall emotion in this scene? Suspense, mystery, anger, romance, sadness, etc. Does the feeling fit the genre or scene? Does it fit the characters? Sometimes the feelings will conflict with characters to create tension, but if it stands out in a bad way against the rest of your story, you may want to rethink what you’re trying to create.
Figure out what your scenery looks like before you start adding it in. I don’t mean that you need to break out the Sims and start building an entire house, but you should know the major features or the features you hope to highlight. My suggestions is to jot down the defining characteristics of the character the scene relates to. For example, when I was creating Dr. Hawthorne’s home office, I knew he he was a busy doctor who was progressive for his day. This comes out in his bookshelf, which is filled with medical texts from scholars throughout history, and between books there are rather disgusting anatomical specimens in jars. Because he’s busy, his desk is covered in notes that need typing and random bits of paper for his own research. Personal spaces should reflect the characters who live in them. As always, knowing where you’re going makes it infinitely easier to avoid writer’s block.
Focus on the senses. And not just sight. Pretend that you’re where your characters are. What would you smell? Could you taste or hear anything? The more sensory details you include, the more evocative your scene will be. When I get stuck in this area, I go onto Pinterest to look for photos or Youtube for videos of scenery or thunderstorms, depending on the scene. If need be, look up words to describe smells or tastes. I know I’ve looked up how to describe the smell of rain.
When you’re all done, go back and prune. You don’t want pages and pages of atmosphere, so go back after you’ve written your scene and see if you can get rid of anything. Pay careful attention to word choice as you’re editing. Are your descriptions succinct and do they make sense? Show them to someone else and see what their feelings are about your descriptions. Sometimes what’s in our heads doesn’t come out on paper. Atmospheric writing should add to the scene, so if it’s doing nothing but adding to your word count, cut it.

If you’re trying to boost your writing skills and learn how to create atmosphere in your story, my best suggestion is to read and take notes on what other authors do. The best way to learn to write is to learn to read as a writer.

Do you have any examples of writers who rock at creating evocative scenery?

Tag: setting

Writer Tips: The Beginning Pt. 1