Tag: Ideas for writing settings

Setting Inspiration for NaNoWriMo

Setting inspiration for NaNoWriMo

We’re almost halfway through NaNoWriMo, and you may have hit a wall of writer’s block. It often happens when you are pouring yourself into a creative effort. Never fear. I’m providing writing prompts this month to break that block. Sometimes, a writer needs a new setting to suggest new characters and plot points to get their creative juices flowing again. In my first novel, A Shadow on the Snow, I had to watch how many scenes I had take place in vehicles and while eating. So examine the photos below for setting inspiration for NaNoWriMo. If you find something that snags your attentions, please leave your ideas in the comments.

For more settings prompts, click here. What are your favorite settings to write about?

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Analyzing the Mood of a Setting

analyzing the mood of a setting

One thing I enjoy about visiting new places is analyzing the mood of a setting. Of course, the mood I bring to a location will affect how I perceive it, but I also try to examine the “vibe” a place gives off, independent of how I’m feeling at the time.

For example, I visited a library in a small city. Now I’m predisposed to love libraries because I’ve used them since I was a child and was a children’s librarian for ten years. But I wasn’t in the building long before I felt uncomfortable and even depressed. This wasn’t a friendly library. So I tried to figure out why I felt that way. Signs were posted warning patrons about rules. The library was extra quiet. Although the staff was polite, they weren’t friendly, as if they had other things to do than wait on patrons. I have the impression that removing books from the shelves would have been frowned upon.

Once I’ve dissected the mood of a place, I can file it away for possible use in a story.

Want to try out your analysis of setting? Check out these setting prompts.

Do you analyze the mood of a setting? How do you write about it?

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Settings for NaNoWriMo

Settings for NaNoWriMo

As you tackle your novel for NaNoWriMo, you may run into writer’s block. One way to overcome it is to find fresh settings. Setting as a source of inspiration is often overlooked. But a new setting can provide the spark for new characters and fresh plot twists. Let’s say your city police detective needs to question a suspect. Sending him to a location where he feels uncomfortable is a perfect way to create tension. Where could that be? A rural location could work, like a farm. A farm suggests a farmer. Who could this farmer be? Would he or she want to take to the detective or not? So the right setting can be just the first step in a new creative process. Take a look at the photos below as settings for NaNoWriMo if you need inspiration to break down a writer’s block.

For more photo prompts for settings, click here.

I find this photo fascinating. Where is the house built? It could be a setting now or in the future.

Let me know if any of these photos inspire you!

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NaNoWriMo Prompts for Settings

nanowrimo prompts for settings

While writing my YA mystery, I noticed that my characters seemed to hold a lot of conversations in vehicles. Since the book is set in a rural county in Ohio, driving is an integral part of the lives of my characters. But I didn’t want to bore my readers. So I changed one scene from a conversation in a SUV to the two characters talking while hurrying to the SUV and then just the final lines while they were in the vehicle. A small change, but I knew I needed to provide more variety in my settings. If your characters need to find some fresh locations, take a look at these NaNoWriMo prompts for settings.

Let me know if one of these photos inspire you!

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Where Does It Lead?

where does it lead

As I looked under the pier in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, toward the sea, I had the overwhelming feeling that I was staring into a magic portal. If I could make it past the clashing waves to the end, I would be transported to … where? Where does it lead? To the past? To the future? To a planet on the edge of the galaxy? Or to a world of our innermost fears?

Please share in the comments. Where does it lead?

For more setting prompts, click here.

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