Writing Lesson: Time and Place in a Story

The plot and the characters are important; the setting equally is. There are several times when the setting itself could be as strong as a character with a personality in the text. When thinking about the setting of a work, you may ask the following questions:

• When does the story take place? What time of the year of the day is it? (If it’s night, don’t make it seem as if your character is dressed up to go for work except they are on night shift!)
• Does the weather play a meaningful role in the story? (Please do not go around writing about summers and winters when your characters are in Nigeria)
• Where does the story take place? A physical known place or does it exist only in your imagination? (If it’s the latter, the more reason you should make it so believable that the reader wants to pay a visit!)
• Does the setting have a major role to play in the story? Does a change in setting it alter a character’s life or progress action?

Now, start painting those settings!