Setting

This is another post that will be mostly review, but I want to cover it anyway. The setting is the time and place that a story takes place in. Setting is often regarded as one of the least important aspects of a story, being upstaged by plot, character, and theme. It is seen as the backdrop, not really important. It is assumed that a great character can perform in limbo, and still create a marvelous story.

Most of this is true, but that does not mean that setting can’t be an excellent tool for writers. In fact, I would say that setting is growing in importance at about the same speed as genre fiction is gaining in popularity, because genre relies heavily on setting to establish the world the writer is crafting. However, don’t confuse world building with setting—the two are certainly related but still quite different things for reasons which I will touch on here, and most likely develop further later.