To develop a good Horror/Scary story one needs to develop a good story.
Recapping the steps to developing a good story, we need to
1. Break down the basics of the story to a simple one or two word definition.
2, Decide which slant of the story, or genre, we want to use
3. Establish which elements (character, action, and/or setting) are necessary to convey the story basic.
4. Establish which characteristics and descriptions are necessary to support the element(s) above.
In the previous issues we have worked with the use of Character as the prime vehicle for propelling the story. We have also worked with how support Characters work within a story. This issue we will discuss how Setting functions as a prime vehicle.
Setting?
Once again we need to turn to the various genre (there’s that word again!) so see which types of writing will be most effective using Setting as the central presentation of the story.
1. Environmental
2. Home and Garden
3. Nature
4. Regional
5. Transportation
6. Travel
7. Weather
These genre are all about the Setting. Without the Setting, the writing won’t work.
What is Setting, then?
Most of us recognize places as Settings. Within places, we recognize that structures---outside and inside---are part (or all) of the Setting. What kinds of structures? Houses, factories, castles, ships, roads, stores, offices, huts, etc. Genre, one more time, greatly effects which Setting(s) will be used and how. Setting, of course, is often very vital to the creation of a good Horror/Scary story.
Dank cellars. Imposing castles. Haunted houses. Dangerous factories. Alien spaceships. All of these and more do a lot of the work for us in developing the mood for our more frightening stories.
Going on, landscape, too, is part of the Setting. When we look at both structures and landscape, we realize that within them, under, above, below, over, around, and through are part of the setting. As with structure, we have any number of uses for the landscape part of Setting in Horror. Again, the landscape can do several things in such a story: develop the mood, impede the progress of the protagonist, inspire foolish action, even (or especially) maim and/or kill.
Time is another part of the Setting---hour, day, week, month, year, season, century, phase of the moon, position of the sun/stars, and so forth. Depending on the focus of the story, any one of these times could be vitally important, even central, to the writing. Time is often used to set up tension (the ticking bomb set to go off a specific time is a prime illustration), develop mood, impede the actions of the protagonist, and define the situation to list a few examples.
Weather is part of the Setting. Stormy, sunny, windy, rainy, snowy, thunder, lightening, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, volcano, et al. Light, dark, and the various shades between are Setting. The weather part of the Setting, too, can be either central to the writing, or supportive to it in numerous ways.
Much of Setting, by its nature, calls for description. The descriptions used are once again strongly dictated by genre. In a Romance/Love genre the castle can be a nirvana to which the Prince takes his glowing Princess. In an Action/Adventure genre it can be something to attack, defend, or seek shelter within. In the Environmental genre, or the Transportation genre or the Travel genre, Setting can be beneficial, destructive, necessary, or unnecessary.
So, without getting too long winded this issue, there are some thoughts on Setting. We will get into some more uses of Setting as a secondary vehicle to writing in the next issue. An exercise for this section of writing a good story will be: Read something in a genre that makes Setting the central vehicle. Try to write a story or figure out a way to use the same Settings and descriptions in a different genre.
Note: This article as well as the previous ones on developing a story can be found | |  | Invalid Item 
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Horror/Scary: September 20, 2006 Issue [#1272]
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