Do Setting Details Really Matter by Steph Beth Nickel

When you read the title of this post, you may have had a strong visceral reaction.

Of course, setting matters. A clearly detailed setting enables readers to picture exactly where the story or real-life situation is taking place. Setting is, after all, a character.

My husband, for one, appreciates it when an author clearly describes the setting, painting a detailed picture for him. I, however, am almost on the other end of the scale. For example, it’s sufficient for me to read, “The walkway was lined with flowers.”

The only reason it would be of particular importance to me that those flowers were carnations in a rainbow of colours would be if it played a key role in the story. For example, say a young widower had let his wife’s treasured gardens become overrun because he couldn’t bear to work in the yard, but by the end of the story, he was pulling weeds, tending to the flowerbeds that were flourishing once again.

Such is the case with many of the details we choose to include in our writing, setting details have to do with our readers. We must accept that what is important to one reader is not important to another. What is important to us as readers, may or may not be important to those who will read our writing.

Here are a few questions to help us determine how many setting details to include in our writing:

  1.    Will the setting be familiar to the majority of our readers? The more familiar our readers are with the setting, the fewer details will likely be needed.

2.     What are the genre conventions? If readers typically expect extensive descriptions of the setting, it’s best to lean in that direction.

3.     Are we writing about a different time in history? While our readers may be avid readers of historical fiction, it’s best to include enough details that even those who aren’t will be able to picture the setting with a fair amount of accuracy?

4.     Have we set our story on a different planet or an alternative version of earth? If so, readers will need enough information to accurately picture the setting. Note: This can be revealed bit by bit as the story progresses. No need for an “info dump” even in this case.

5.     Does the setting—in particular, the specific details—further our plot, help with the pacing, reveal more than the setting itself?

Start with the amount of detail you prefer, factor in genre conventions, and seek input from beta readers who read extensively in your chosen genre. Determine how many setting details you will include and accept the fact that some readers will want more, and some will feel you’ve overdone it.

As is the case with any element of writing, perfection doesn’t truly exist—and that’s okay.

Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family after her husband retires in the spring of 2025. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)