As we round up this month of setting tips and inspiration, I wanted to leave you with a list of settings you may not have considered before. My kids and I brainstormed and compiled these 29 unique settings to spark your imagination.
- Inside a termite mound in Africa
- A strip mine
- A sinkhole
- A sledding hill
- Marching band practice
- A 4-H meeting
- A demolition derby
- A space station
- Jupiter’s smallest moon
- A flooded cave
- A fire tower
- A sewer
- An orthodontist office
- Antarctic research station
- A blimp
- The top of a dam to a lake in a state park
- A church during vacation Bible school
- A car stuck on a road that is closed due to a snowstorm
- An alpaca farm
- A small, older home next to a new development with huge, new homes
- A fishing tournament
- A science fair
- A prairie dog town
- A rest stop along a highway
- An electric company’s substation
- A catamaran
- An abandoned railroad line
- An outdoor art festival
- An open mausoleum — This one needs a word of explanation. My oldest and I took a history walk with a librarian at a local cemetery. Her research had uncovered records of three mausoleums built into the hill below the cemetery. The one closest to the road had fallen into such disrepair that the doors had opened. The county had bulldozed a mound of earth in front of it to keep out vandals. The other two mausoleums were lost in the woods that had overgrown the hill. Being curious, I returned to the cemetery and found the other two among the weeds and trees. They were both open, doors having come loose and hanging crooked. But I didn’t get too close. It seemed disrespectful to do so. But I really want to use this scenario in a mystery.
For more inspiration, visit my post “How to Thicken Your Plot, Part II” about how to examine settings to generate ideas for plot. All my posts under the category “Writing in Time” are listed here.
And last but not least, this post on “Almost an Author” recommends changing the setting in which you write to give you a fresh perspective as well as ideas.
What other unique settings can you think of? If any setting from our list inspires you, let me know!