SETTING – The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):

place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place? time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like? Does the story contain local color (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)? mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

1. Every story takes place at some point or points in space and in time. The writer must “place” the store as early as possible.

2. The degree of elaboration with which setting is depicted depends upon a number of considerations: importance of setting in relation to plot and character familiarity of setting to majority of readers- less familiar, more detail for pleasure of recognition broadness and generality of setting or the minuteness of detail depends on the writer’s mode— Modern Realism, Romantic Era, American Regionalism, etc.

Setting: A Sense of Place  Provides background  Provides conflict-antagonist  Provides complication to plot  Provides mood  Creates character

How is setting created? Imagery sight: symmetrical summit pyramid sound: stupendous crash of thunder rattled the windows smell: rich vanilla aroma of the candle sitting on the antique coffee table in the family room. taste: the puffs of acrid black smoke from the factory filled my mouth with a bitter taste and made me cough touch: icy peaks of frozen snow jutted up out of nowhere, poking sharply into my thin, but fashionable, boots.

Setting Develops Character Amanda sat by her phone, her eyes viewing the reflection of her tiny bedroom in her oval mirror, with pictures of prom, snowball, and homecoming plastered all around its perimeter. She fingered the wilted red rose Zach had given her in fourth grade sitting in a chipped milk glass candy dish and the movie stub--her first date with Jarret—tucked half way into the mirror’s edge. Ahh, Jarret, she sighed. Some things are just not meant to be, she thought, wondering dreamily what new picture she would add to her mirror collection.

Setting creates mood... “…(the mountain) seemed, somehow, less to tower than to crouch--a white- hooded giant, secret, remote, but living. Living and on guard. What mood does it create about the mountain?

Setting can be part of conflict: The snow storm tossed chunks of wet snow at my Polaris, blinding me, splatting against my windshield like snowballs. The temperature plummeted ; my hands numbed quickly as I removed my glove to unfold the map. My tiny flashlight flickered; its battery about to die. My gas tank neared empty. Complete darkness would soon ambush me. The storm charged forward as if angered by my intrusion.

The Setting Can Be the Antagonist