4 ms·
Is there no room for describing the setting? Must every utterance that sets the atmosphere also advance the plot or reveal character? Is there no room for mood?
by cobbzilla 7mo ago
Is there no room for describing the setting? Must every utterance that sets the atmosphere also advance the plot or reveal character? Is there no room for mood?
- hombre_fatal 7mo ago> Is there no room for describing the setting? Is there no room for mood? You mean the character of a place?
- cobbzilla 7mo agosure, setting and character are the same thing
- bryanrasmussen 7mo agothe implication is that if mood is the character of the place then those sentences that set mood are advancing character.
- josephg 7mo agoSome authors rarely describe a place objectively. We see a space through the eyes of the characters - and in doing so, we learn about our characters as we learn about the space they inhabit.
- bryanrasmussen 7mo agosure, if a character is in some narrative role; however I would argue that no author ever describes a place objectively, especially not a completely fictional place. The question really is if the unobjective description serves a coherent narrative purpose.
- IsTom 7mo agoHe's very efficient with prose and I find it a joy to read (well, given what he's writing about it's not always joy, but still). I'm not sure he's following that rule 100% of the time, but it's close. Depending on the setting, you can often describe it through characters' actions or how it shapes them.
- brigandish 7mo agoSetting would provide the context for action or characterisation to occur in a meaningful way, or provoke it, so it is necessary part of both (if done for either of those purposes). Given that, the charitable interpretation would be to only provide enough description of the setting for that.
- righthand 7mo agoThe “mood” should reflect the character not the author’s desire to detail out the room.
- alt187 7mo agodescribing the setting should (ideally) be done through a character's interaction with the setting. if you're developing some sort of dystopia where everyone is heavily medicated, better to show a character casually take the medication rather than describe it. of course, that's not a rule set in stone. you can do whatever the fuck you want.
- nkrisc 7mo agoWhat is the purpose of the setting if not to reveal character or advance the plot? I don’t need to know the color of the walls if it does neither.