National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is almost here! It is a writing challenge that takes 30 or so days to complete–in the month of November. Writers are encouraged to write a novel of 50,000 words during this time frame.
But how do you get 50,000 words on paper in just one month?
Here’s the answer: You need to prepare the month before. The month of October is known as Preparation Month, or Preptober.
To help you prepare for this writing challenge, I have created a FREE four-part preparation course. This course also comes with a Novel Writing Kit. (Learn more about the Novel Writing Kit here.)
The first part, or lesson, of the course is about generating story ideas and plotting your chosen idea. (Read about it here.)
The second lesson is on Character Creation, which you can find more information here.
And this article will focus on Setting.
WHAT IS SETTING?
Setting is the time, place, and overall environment of your story. It’s the “when”, “where” and “what” of your story.
For example, your story may take place in Victorian London. This makes the setting the 1800s, in London, England. It may be summer time, making the weather sunny, cloudy, or rainy.
View more setting examples in the video below:
WHY IS SETTING IMPORTANT?
Setting is important because it affects what happens in the story, and your characters react to the setting.
Not only does setting provide us with context to your story, but it may create mood and pacing, influence character behaviors, and reveal the theme or message to be learned.
To convey the importance of setting, my FREE four-part course and Novel Writing Kit gives you the exact template you need to play around with the setting(s) of your novel. You can work on it digitally or print out a character profile for each of your characters. (Obtain the character profile template here.)
CONCLUSION:
National novel writing month, or NaNoWriMo, is coming up. To help you create the needed setting for your novel, I have a free course and resources for you. Both teach you about setting, give you examples, and offer you the template needed to get started. Check those out now. Good luck and have fun!
