How to Describe a Setting

[Ladyeshu]

Hi!

I am writing a novel, and while I am doing pretty well (attentively paying attention to Jim Butchers blog on how to do so) I still can't figure out how to describe a setting without getting all in a jumble; confused and overall frustrated. 

I want this to be an enjoyable experience and I especially want it to be an easy read when describing where a character is at. Any suggestions on how I can do this?
 

[Snowleopard]

Well, you can have a character describe or react to his/her setting that's one way of doing it.
(One thing - the more senses you involve the more memorable the scene.)
sight, sound, smell, touch - all can be used for a scene.

Look at Harry's description of his apartment when he comes home and Thomas is 'entertaining' in Dead Beat.

"The fireplace was more or less the epicenter of the slobquake. There were discarded clothes there,
a couple of empty wine bottles, a plate that looked suspiciously clean -- doubtless the cleanup work
of the other residents." 

There's more before and after this but it delineates the scene and Harry's mood.

[Paynesgrey]

Bingo.  SnowLeapord preachin' it down the sawdust trail. 

It's easy to get wrapped up in minute visual details, but if you provide a description that touches the other senses, what it feels like to be in a place then you'll lead the reader's mind to create the more complex details on it's own.  Cold concrete making feet ache through thin shoes, the signature autumn smell of wet, rotting leaves, the smell of rain concrete, etc.

[Starbeam]

I would suggest either posting with a link to this, or asking in the site suggestions to movie this, in the Author's section.  You'd likely get more responses from there.

Also, part of how you describe setting depends on the story you're writing, and how you're writing it.  A setting in Lord of the Rings will be described differently than a setting in Dresden Files.  The level of detail can also depend on how often the setting is seen.  It can also vary from author to author, and book to book.

[Paynesgrey]

You know, I didn't even notice until now where this was posted.  Ladyeshu, try reposting this in the "authorcraft" section, you'll find yourself thick with advice, instruction, ideas and the like in short order.

http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/board,10.0.html

[Ladyeshu]

Thanks! I think I'll do that! 

And thanks for the tips.

[cheesemaster]

I really believe people over think this one a bit. Put yourself, in general, in your characters eyes. What do they see (or feel, for the mood of the room) when they come in....and what do you want the reader to notice? The character may noctice that thing just in passing to be remembered later. Maybe that's to simplistic, lol.

I find that sometimes, when I am over thinking something or just not getting it down how I want it, I have to start fresh and just let flow as I go along. the finished product might not be what I keep in the end, but it comes a lot closer to what I had started when I was feeling stunted and my mojo was off.

[Sirra]

I'm not a writer, but the best environment descriptions I've read are from Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay. I'd suggest you read the description written by authors you like and see what and how they do it.

[black_hawk_sam]

one of my favorite ways to describe a setting... at least initially anyways, is to describe some specific detail, like a bird on the wind; and zoom out and around from there. Like to describe a city, maybe the wind blew angrily through the streets, rattling the windows and blasting gritty sand to all things unsheltered.

Take one object, and describe how it interacts with its environment. From that description, it is easier to branch off to other senses and aspects. Not to be used constantly, but at least it helps to brainstorm the area better if you don't actually place it word for word in the story.

[OZ]

First you have to know what you need the reader to get from the setting. What's important? If it's a crime scene then every detail about the setting may be important. If it's lovers on a walk then only the general atomosphere may be needed. Once you've figured that out then you can figure out the angle you want to take on the setting description.

If your book is first person then of course you are taking it from the character's view. As cheesemaster mentioned you would notice what the main character would notice. If it's familiar territory you might only notice what's different. If you are coming in from the cold, anything warm might be important. First person will also give you some of the main character's personality. Harry's snark in the aforementioned "slobquake" is both descriptive of the room and of Harry himself. If your character is very observant, or snarky, or in tune with nature, or happy or sad or a hundred other things, these could all affect how he or she describes the setting.

If you are writing in the third person then you have other avenues available. You can simply describe the setting that you see or you can use anyone or anything's perspective. Robert Jordan started many (maybe all) of his books talking about the wind, where it blew and what it crossed, going from the general to the specific.

What Paynesgrey said is very good. A room with clothes thrown on the floow may just mean someone came in late last night and hasn't picked up yet. A room with clothes thrown on the floor, a musty scent of unwashed socks, and the sound of an old pizza crust crunching under your foot is indicative of a much greater degree of sloth. Seeing a cat in someone's house and smelling a cat in someone's house are two very different things.

edited for typos

[Snowleopard]

Or the crunch of kitty litter hidden in an old unvacumed shag carpet.