This week: Setting: Enough Is Enough Edited by: Cinn  
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Just a quickie this week. I know, I know... I just can't stay away!  I think I've been writing more regularly for Action/Adventure than I did when I was a full-time editor. No poetry this time. Unlike everyone out of work or working from home, I'm still working full time... with the public at that. I'm tired. Apologies! |
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This is another newsletter inspired by a novel I read. And yes, I just read it. I finally finished a novel! Since grad school, I hadn't completed a single novel... they just bored me at some point or other. Glad the hypercritical dry spell is over!
So here's what happened. I was reading a scifi story that takes place on a generational star ship (a favorite trope of mine). In the first pages, the city layout was described to some degree, but I wasn't paying super close attention because I wasn't even close to hooked at that point. The guy was wandering through "the strands". This area of the city seemed to be the "seedy" part of town as well as an area where conduits and electrical stuff ran. I couldn't really picture it in my head.
The problem? It was never described again. Ever. Just... the strands. He was hiding in the strands and running through the strands and so forth... couldn't picture this at all. It wasn't an alley but had that shape. Otherwise, I've got nothing.
I was reading on my Kindle app, and going back to the first chapter seemed like work... so I waited until I finished the book before going back to read the description again. Guess what? Still couldn't picture this city layout at all. And the strands? Total mystery. I kept wanting to think of them as a grated floor with walls of glowing cables, but the action happening there-in kept shattering that image.
The simple lesson would be just... add more description for setting. However, one of the reasons I was able to finish the book was that the description was minimal and didn't slow down the action. Instead, I will go ahead and suggest that anything recurring frequently in the story get at least two descriptions somewhere throughout the novel. You know... just to give the reader some sort of visual for what you're talking about.
I suppose all you non-genre writers have it easy. If you say "alley" or "street" or "apartment complex", readers know what those look like.  Save your description for things that matter... details that add flavor. That is how I managed to read to the end of the novel. The action was described beautifully. It was never bogged down. If you have beta readers, you might want to ask if there was anything about the setting or characters that they felt needed more description... just to avoid missing something major. Like "the strands". 
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I have limited time right now, the newsletter is due tomorrow, and the site is crawling. I've checked two items, and it took 5 minutes just for those two pages to load. Rather than include subpar picks, I'm just going to skip them this time (or perhaps come back on Wednesday or Thursday to add a few if the site isn't so lagged). Apologies, friends!  |
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What is the hardest setting for you to write?  Do you find settings easy or difficult?
Below are your comments on my last Action/Adventure newsletter: "A Whiny, Selfish Hero"
Great NL, Cinn! Regarding your question, I think flawed heroes and characters, in general, make them believable and readers can then relate to them on some level. ~ Lilli 
Thanks, love! Agreed!
It's hard to hide a lingering disappointment, but most of the time I wear it well. ~ Monty 
Indeed! I read that comment to the tune of "You Wear It Well" by DeBarge, by the way. Amused me!
Thank you so much for including my story, "Socrates Buys a Suit", in your Editor's Picks. ~ Beholden 
You are most welcome! I do strive for quality in my picks. So you might well make it in again!  |
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Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
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Action/Adventure: April 22, 2020 Issue [#10135]
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