12 questions to ask your character about the setting

Posted on 06/22/2021 at 09:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Authors frequently talk about how characters make plot decisions for them, sometimes to their great surprise. So it’s not a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Characters, Setting

5 tips to write vivid historical-fiction settings

Posted on 06/14/2021 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Authors of any genre want to keep their readers deeply immersed in the story, not stopping to scratch their heads...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Historical fiction, Setting, Writer's Digest

What to consider about your crime novel's setting

Posted on 04/28/2021 at 01:30 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Setting may not be the first issue a writer thinks about when it comes to working on a crime novel....

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Mystery, Setting, Thriller, Writer's Digest

How to efficiently make a scene feel real to your readers

Posted on 01/11/2021 at 10:52 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Regular readers of our C.S. Lakin posts know the value of bringing a scene’s setting to life. Her latest advice...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Scenes, Setting

Bring a scene to life without relying on the five basic senses

Posted on 11/04/2020 at 03:34 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Past teachers may have encouraged you to add adjectives and adverbs to your essays and discouraged you from beginning a...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Scenes, Setting, Writer's Digest

C.S. Lakin: Why and how to choose powerful settings for your scenes

Posted on 08/13/2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The town in which we attended college was, objectively, not an interesting place: 18,000 residents (counting generously), few of the...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Scenes, Setting

Zara Altair: Use detail judiciously to bring your story's setting alive

Posted on 07/21/2020 at 10:21 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The setting of your story may seem as real as the room you’re physically in, as you’re writing. But how...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Setting, Zara Altair

How authors can dream up strong settings while stuck at home

Posted on 04/29/2020 at 12:38 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Writers have the reputation of being happy homebodies. Whether that’s true of you during normal times, these are not normal...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Setting, Writer's block / writing prompts, Writer's Digest

5 ways your novel's setting can power the story

Posted on 11/02/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Your choice of a setting for your story should be anything but accidental or incidental. Author Jane Bernstein shares five...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Plot / narrative, Setting, Writer's Digest

How to build a house in your reader's mind

Posted on 10/22/2019 at 11:27 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Experienced writers know to consider their novel’s setting as another character. Today, former structural engineer and current author D.M. Pulley...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Setting, Writer's Digest