This week: Bring the Setting On! Edited by: StephBee  
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“As a writer, you have to respect what was real at the time of the story you’re writing.” – Joan Lingard
Action: the state of doing; organized activity to accomplish an objective.
Adventure: An undertaking of a hazardous nature; an unusual or exciting experience.
Action/Adventure stories typically put our hero & heroine in settings that elevate risk and contrast sharply with their normal environment. I think of “Romancing the Stone,” where Kathleen Turner’s character, a romance author, is plunged into a very different environment than she’s used to. A good setting should be visually engaging and contribute to the story’s tension. Let’s take a look at some great action/adventure settings that up the anty in your story.
I’m StephBee and I’m your Action/Adventure Guest Editor this week.
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The settings of an action/adventure story can take on a life of their own. Not only can the setting take the reader to a place they’ve never been, the setting can increase the risk, build the mood and tone of your story, and emphasize a theme.
MOOD
Settings help to accentuate the mood of your action/adventure story. Think of rainy Washington state in the Twilight series, which sets a bit of a bleak tone. Hogwarts Castle is another setting that captures a bleak essence. The settings in the original Star Wars series, from the desert in Tatooine to the forests on Endor, help to contribute to the mood of those story arcs, from the world is harsh and unforgiving to mystery and danger.
THEME
Settings that align with the theme of your story, can help to emphasize the message. Lavish mansions can underscore material excess and the technological world of Coruscant from Star Wars can speak to the ethics of technology vs humanity.
CHARACTERS
Your characters should shape their beliefs to the time and place the setting establishes. A World War II setting allows your hero/heroine to chafe against the restrictions of their totalitarian surroundings.
RISK
Settings contribute to the plot by posing conflicts for the hero/heroine to overcome – they allow for your hero/heroine to meet the change and grow in the face of escalating tension. The more risk and danger, the more opportunity for your hero/heroine to meet the moment and overcome. Changing settings, like in the original Star Wars series can keep the story dynamic and add another layer to character growth.
BACKBONES
A story’s setting establishes the backbone of your story. Some dynamic action/adventure settings include:
Desolate Wilderness – I’m getting a “Plant of Apes” vibe here, where the world “devolves” from an urban setting to one of overgrown vegetation which emphasizes isolation and survival.
Bustling Marketplace – A place for plot twists and pure action to test your hero/heroine.
Overgrown Forest - Indiana Jones loves a good overgrown forest. There’s plenty of mystery and danger in one.
Underground Lair – These places add an element of secrecy to the story.
Deserts are harsh and unforgiving
Swamps have hidden dangers lurking around the corners. (like crocodiles and alligators)
Mountains provide challenges with their extreme weather and terrain.
Urban environments (like the skyscraper in Die Hard) pull in crime and espionage elements.
Ancient Ruins add to mystery, secrets, and danger.
Settings are more than just a place to visit – well written, they can subtlety influence the mood, theme, tone and risk in your story, testing the mettle of your characters and leaving the reader, with a sense of awe.
A list of the Ten Greatest Action/Adventure Novels at Amazon yields these titles:
The Stand, Stephen King
Shogun, James Clavell
Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
All have a different setting which plays into the mood, tone, theme, and risk of the story.
Question for you: Have you read or watched the movie/mini-series of the above mentioned books?
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Feedback from my Action/Adventure Newsletter dated: 19 FEB 2025:
Monty 
What do I take away from your NL ? You write about exactly how I feel. You can find it in my poetry. Some day I may share more of what I have written besides poetry here.
Looking forward to it!
While preparing this newsletter, I asked a question on my newsfeed: Do you like action/adventure stories that take place in space, in the desolate wilderness, a bustling marketplace, an overgrown forest, an underground lair, the jungle, the desert, the swamp, the mountains, or ancient ruins? Or other?
Here are some of your answers:
🌖 HuntersMoon 
Yes!
Princess Megan Rose 
I love Jack and Rose. I love this movie (Titanic). I like stories that take place in England in Medieval and Regency times in fantasy land.
Kåre เลียม Enga 
To be honest. No. I will follow characters anywhere. I'm not an adrenalin junky in real life nor in my dreams. I've never been in Space; but, when I've been in exotic places it was the five senses and how I interacted with them and the people I met there that mattered.
Elycia Lee ☮ Reviewing 
This is scary. As I was reading this post in bed, I saw something flashing outside... Maybe the UFO has landed. It is afternoon and not raining... So... I think it is a sign I need to read your newsletter.
Pensivity 
Abandoned mansions in forgotten overgrown backwood country. At night. You're all alone and stranded.
S 🤦 
I like my action/adventure stories to be based in a touch of reality, because that way I can superimpose myself on a character. Jungles, ancient ruins, wilderness, cities, marketplaces, et al. - if I can picture it in my mind, then so long as it is well-written, everything makes sense from a story context point of view and the characters are believable and realistic, then I will take my action-adventure in many stripes and colours.
I think the best stories in the action-adventure genre I have read have either been in crowded cities or ancient ruins, though. But that is probably a lot to do with the writers.
HollisFrances
Yes! All of the above.
Question: What topics or action/adventure stuff you’d like me to tackle or what else would you like to see more of? Superheroes? Every day heroes? Action/Adventure prompts? What does the Villian bring to an action/adventure story? Themes in action/adventure writing? Star Trek ?
StephBee is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her story, “A Polish Heart,” takes place in Warsaw. When Darrin goes to Poland on assignment he’s not expecting to fall in love.
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Action/Adventure: March 19, 2025 Issue [#13024]
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