Hi everyone. It’s 💙 Carly - aka Joan Watson ! I’m back with another instalment of the writing coaches’ look at today's assignment.

I apologize for being so late on this... I got sidetracked by a job interview.

Today we are focusing on Setting. The Cultural setting. What does that mean exactly? Well, unlike the physical setting which we can see, our characters also need to inhabit the cultural, political and / or religious aspects of their setting. These aspects can be purely fictional or, if you are writing a historical novel, they will be historical in nature.

Considering these aspects will build dimension into your novel. We do not live in a vacuum, our characters do not, as well.

Oct. 18: - "Setting: Cultural Setting" ▼
Describe the cultural, political and/or religious setting in your novel, regardless of whether the cultural setting is fictional, historical, or modern.
(1) What do your societies believe?
(2) In what practices do they engage?
(3) What laws or rules of society are in place?
(4) Who/what enforces the laws and rules and how successful are they?
(5) What technologies are in use?
(6) How does the setting impact your protagonist(s) in their pre-story lives?
(7) How does the setting impact the plot of your story?

It is always a good idea for the writer to know these details whether they make it into your novel or not. The more you know about your story the more real it will seem. The more real it seems to you as a writer, the more you are able to convey that to your reader.

Happy prepping.

This video may get you thinking: