Episode #21 – January 23, 2024
Welcome to episode 21 of the Writing on Caffeine podcast. My daughter (Ragan Franzone) and I (Jonathan Franzone) are a father and daughter who have decided to write our very first novel. In this podcast, we are inviting you to come along on this journey with us.
In this episode, Jonathan and Ragan talk about the role of the setting in fiction writing. What makes a good setting? What is the difference between a setting and a scene or world-building?
Don’t forget to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
What is Setting?
In storytelling, there is setting, backdrop, and world-building.
So what’s the difference?
- World-building: all-encompassing
- J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth
- Backdrop: just a passive, contextual stage
- “the city,” “the mountains,” “the forest,” etc.
- Setting: an immediate time, place, and atmosphere
- The moors in the Hound of the Baskervilles
Setting Can Become Its Own Character
- Influences the plot
- Evokes emotion
- Shapes character development
- Symbolism
- Dynamic and changing
Some Examples
- Harry Potter
- Hogwarts
- The Dursley House
- The Weasley House
- Hunger Games
- The Way of Kings
- The Shattered Plains
- Dune – Arrakis
- Paralandra (C.S. Lewis)
- Pandora (Avatar – “the blue people”)
- The Phantom of the Opera – the Opera House
- The Shining – The Overlook Hotel
Resources
Books We’re Reading
- Ragan
- The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
- Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett
- The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
- Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool
- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
- Jonathan
- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
- The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett
- Both
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
