Richard Harland is a fantasy writer and had been chosen to talk about setting. Obviously in fantasy, setting is built largely by the writer’s imagination. Richard’s latest book is a style of fiction known as ‘steampunk’ which uses an alternative nineteenth century world as the setting. His book is called Worldshaker (a sequel is coming) and is set upon a kilometres long Argonaut which travels along the surface of the earth, powered by steam. We used an area of the Argonaut to do an exercise and use our five senses to describe it. This was to remind us with setting to describe settings with more than visual details. He also reminded us that weather, time of day and general lighting can completely change a setting.. In fantasy you plan out the literal setting and then flesh it out with the experience of being in that place.
He advised that parts of a scene that work have emotional value.
Richard gave lots of good advice on setting but it was his work habits that stuck in my mind. He writes in the morning from about 9 till 1 or 2 then has a break. In the afternoon he has a think about what he wants to write about the following day then he sleeps on it, finding the notes stored in his brain overnight have been sorted a little and he is able to begin the days writing with that. And that is how he gets his writing done. For me that has allergies to schedules, it gave me an idea for an effective work habit with a flexibility of time. So it is Richard’s habits that I am trying out at the moment. I am trying to write for at least 4 hours a day, a length author Gabrielle Lord managed to do as a single mother and worker. She said she never worked so effectively as when she only had that window to work in. I’ll pass on my gleanings from her next.
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