Grr, I cut my pinky on a mandoline blade when cleaning out a kitchen drawer today. The giant bandage is making it hard to type.
Today, March 21, is the 2016 Blogging from A-Z April Challenge Theme Reveal! This year, I have a plan, and I’m actually ahead of myself for once. Cheers for me!
RULE BRITANNIA–oh wait, that’s the wrong cheer. Calm down, Grandma.
Image: stockimages / freedigitalphotos.net
Ironically, the captcha for downloading that image was “forever and ever.”
I really enjoyed writing the Character series in the 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge. In that vein, this year I’ve chosen to pick apart different elements of settings.
In this post on The How to Write Shop, Kathy Steffen states:
A setting does more than add interest; in fact, if your story can take place anywhere and nothing else in your story would need to change, rethink how you have used setting. Make it integral to the story[…].
Check out her post; it’s from a few years ago, but she shares some cool creative writing prompts you can use to establish a setting. And you might want to look at this one on world-building from Chuck Wendig. He’s so good he makes me feel like a clumsy farmer trying to plow a field with a fork, but he’s also pretty inspiring in between the swears. In fact, that entire post kind of negates my entire series here.
Your lack of faith disturbs me. — Darth Gorilla
Image: Arvind Balaraman / freedigitalphotos.net
And the captcha for that one was “Plan Ahead.” I’m on a roll here.
I already wrote about setting once before, in this post. For the Challenge, I’ll cover a few things I didn’t mention and try to expand on those I did. These posts will pose lots of questions. You don’t have to answer them all; just pick the ones most applicable to your story. It may seem overwhelming, but if you picture the setting in your head and you know where you want to put your characters, the answers will come to you.
And remember, nothing is set in stone at this point. A first draft is only that—a first draft. But a solid setting in your mind will make moving your characters through the story much easier, as well as orient your readers. World-building is fun, but it requires careful consideration.
Stay tuned for the Challenge. I’ll see you there!
Graphomaniac - A. Elizabeth West 
Setting it something that sits in the background and yet can be so important – I look forward to your posts with interest. Good luck with the challenge.
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
Thanks, Tasha! I hope it lives up to my hype, LOL.
Sounds like a useful theme to read. All the best with your challenge! :-)
Thank you, Misha! :)
Congratulations on having a plan and being ahead of it! I’ve got my theme sorted, but I still have a lot of posts to pre-write before April 1st rolls around. Looking forward to getting some useful tips and tricks from your A to Z posts.
Thanks Ellen! I hope I can think of some. ;)
Hahah, I have a lot of notes–now to work them into posts. :)
UPDATE– Ha ha, whoops; clearly I forgot to set the Theme Reveal badge when I scheduled this post. Fixed now!
Interesting theme and definitely worth checking. I’m curious how you’ll cover all the letters of the alphabet with it. :)
Thanks, Melfka! As usual, the letters toward the end are hardest. But surprisingly, I actually thought of something for X!
Ooh, I love settings and world building :) I am very intrigued by the different ways people do them. Cool theme! :)
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
Thanks, Tarkabarka. I hope people can use some of my suggestions, and even have some of their own in comments. :)
Agree. World building is fun and a lot of hard work and rewarding if done right. Cool theme. Good luck with the challenge,
Best wishes.
Nilanjana.
Madly-in-Verse
Thanks, Nilanjana. It’s tough but yes, it is fun. I’m re-reading Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series now and just marveling at how much depth Mid-World contains.
I love writing tips, there’s always something new to learn no matter how long you’ve been writing! I’ve added you to my “to visit” list :)
Debbie
Thanks, Debbie! I’ll check yours out too!
Cool theme. Sounds like fun. I look forward to learning more about settings.
Ha, thanks Jamie. I hope it turns out okay–what if I’m just blathering and have nothing to say!? #writerfears
I’m doing world-building, too – but I bet we have a completely different take on the subject! Have fun :)
Jemima Pett
Ooh, that should be fun. I’ll have to check it out. :)
On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 3:31 PM, Graphomaniac – Elizabeth West wrote:
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World-building is my writerly weakness! I can soooo use the posts you’re going to write in April.
I hope they’re helpful!
It’s so fun, isn’t it!? :D
The challenge is tomorrow, wooo hooo!
Pam Margolis
An Unconventional Librarian
Co-Host, Blogging from A to Z April Challenge
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
AND OF COURSE I AM NOT READY LOL
On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Graphomaniac – Elizabeth West wrote:
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