Customer Reviews

Setting (Elements of Fiction Writing)

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I've read all the books in the Elements of Fiction Writing series and this is how I'd rank them.

"Scene & Structure" "Characters & Viewpoint" "Beginnings, Middles & Ends"

The above three books are invaluable -- must reads. They are the best of the series, in my opinion, and are packed with good information on every page. Well-done.

"Conflict, Action & Suspense" "Description" "Plot" "Manuscript Submission" "Setting"

The above five books are good, solid reads. Again, they contain good information and cover the subject decently.

"Voice & Style" "Dialogue"

To me, the last two books need to be rewritten. They are by far the weakest of the series. Both suffer from an annoying style, particularly Dialogue, and both are very skimpy on real information. Neither one is very helpful.

This is the order in which I'd recommend reading them.

Another Writer's Digest book that offers a multitude of ways ensure that your reader has a visual and sensual focus on place and time in your stories. The author not only tells you why setting is so important in supporting the plot and characters, but gives pleanty of exercises to help you create a clear picture of where and when your story takes place.

As a "mature" student I was in awe of the insights the author was giving us which he has obviously learned on the anvil of experience. As an avid reader I was able to relate to his comments and advice and found myself nodding in agreement. This book is easy to read and full of practical advice, and examples, just the book for budding writers.

As one version of the cover claims, this book is designed to help new writers "create and sustain a sharp sense of time and place in [their] fiction." Jack M. Bickham, a writer himself before his death, teaches you how to both develop your setting and incorporate it into your story. He insists that setting is a vital element of any fiction piece, because it is not only your story's backdrop, but a dynamic aspect that affects plot, character, mood, style, point of view, and more. Having made this point, he offers advice on conveying sensual detail, using vivid language, conducting research, developing an eye for detail in our real-world setting, and more.

What I like about Bickham's approach is his adherence to resource book formatting, meaning he writes simply, stays on track, and both orders and organizes his chapters well. Though he may reiterate some points on the grounds that they're "worth repeating," each chapter has a different focus that offers new insight. He integrates examples from his own work, as well as suggested exercises and self-evaluations, into the text, making it more interactive and illustrative. In addition, he bolds phrases starting paragraphs in chapters that require a more systematic approach to the topic at hand, in order to highlight a shift in focus and make referencing easy. He also uses subtitles to divide chapters, and develops many numbered questions and bulleted points in various chapters so no digging through blocks of text is required during referencing. All this formatting on Bickham's part combine to make this a great book to keep by your side when putting his advice to use.

I only wish that Bickham had been more comprehensive in his "Setting and Style" chapter. Though he recognizes that discussing style in terms of describing setting is a study in its own right--and such a study is beyond the scope of his book--I would have liked some input on how to use words and sentence/paragraph structuring, in terms of punctuation, length, and their grammatical entirety, to reinforce the setting information they convey. For example, isn't it okay to use a run-on sentence if you're describing, for example, how long a night seemed to drag on? Or, isn't passive voice in fact helpful at times, such as when you want to emphasize the passive, ineffectual nature of whatever is being acted upon by the agent of the action? Instead of commenting on such techniques, he offers a handful of rules on which he builds his text for the topic--rules that seem too general and don't allow for creativity in the way I'm inquiring about.

Below are all the chapters in the book, just so you have a feel for what specific topics Bickham addresses. I added to some of the vaguer titles by borrowing phrases from the contents page that appear under each chapter listed there.

1. Why setting is important
2. Presenting sense impressions
3. Presenting factual material
4. Fudging facts: Knowing when you can stray from the truth and when the truth isn't enough
5. Setting in specialized stories: Does your reader have set expectations?
6. Setting as your story backbone: Using setting to unify your story
7. Using setting to advance plot and increase tension
8. How setting affects character: Making the right match and using setting to enhance and change characters
9. How setting adds to story meaning and vitality
10. Setting and viewpoint: Finding the effective vantage point
11. Setting the mood: How setting affects story atmosphere
12. Showing setting during movement and action (without slowing the story)
13. The story behind your setting: How history, cultural attitudes, and setting link
14. Setting and style: Using precise language for vividness
15. Exercises to sharpen your settings
16. A program for further study and growth: Increasing your awareness and developing your resources
Appendix 1: Research resources and techniques, Appendix 2: Nancy Berland's setting research form, Index

Who knew there was so much to setting? This is a difficult read from cover to cover (as I trudged through it), but it is a good book to keep around as a reference. Not excellent, but good. This isn't so much a "how-to" on writing setting but more of a "why setting is important".

At the beginning of the book the author (Jack M. Bickham) explains that not enough detail is given to setting in writing classes and offers this book as a means to fill that gap. However, Bickham touches on most aspects of writing from the perspective of setting. So, is your plot weak? Look at it from your setting.

I would recommend that you read the first chapter or two and then keep the other chapters in mind if you feel you are stuck in a story and believe that an adjustment to setting could bring your story back to life.

Another excellent effort by Jack Bickham. Unfortunately his last book as he died afterwards.

Many nuggets of information that are indespensible for the writer. Here are a few:

When writing multi viewpoints you may want to introduce each viewpoint with a bit of setting to re-acquant the reader. For example. When Brenda, who just finished that horrible exam in History, left the classroom. . . .

Setting can set the mood. ie The dark clocktower with its crumbling facade rang yet again signifying Joe's soon demise. . . .

Setting should be brief and never stop the movement of a story.

Setting can provide a metaphor to underlie your story's theme.

How important it is for the setting to be factual.

When setting can be made up.

I could go on, but you should see the point. This is an excellent reference that will push your writing from hack to salable.

This is probably one of the best books out there on Setting. Some of the chapters get a bit long winded, but all in all this is the worth getting.

This was actually the second copy of this book I've bought. I enjoyed the first one so much I bought the second for a friend.
Bickham covers the subject of Setting and how it can be manipulated to enhance your story very well. I particularly liked the sections on how it can be used to advance the plot and build tension.

Teresa Reasor