How to Describe Setting in Stories Like a Pro

You are not allowed to skip this step. Describing your story setting isn’t always fun, but readers love it. Your amazing plot and characters deserve a worthy setting. Would Rory Gilmore’s family drama hit the same if it were in Mystic Falls, Virginia instead of Stars Hollow, Connecticut? Compare Camp Half-Blood with Hogwarts, and Panem with the Reestablishment. These settings are unique backdrops to highlight colorful plots and characters.

The setting might play clearly and vividly in your head like a movie montage. But your readers can’t see, hear, or feel it unless you share it with them. And your readers need to be able to immerse themselves in a believable setting to be able to suspend reality (escape into your fictional world).

Follow these tips complete with examples and recommendations for a mini masterclass on how to use and describe settings in your story.

1. Start with a setting you know.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro at writing, consider using a familiar setting like your own hometown or vacation destination. Check out this blog post for tips on using your “boring” hometown as a unique story setting. Many famous authors set their stories in the places they grew up, from Zora Neale Hurston (Eatonville, FL) to James Joyce (Dublin, Ireland). Even if you are creating a fantasy or sci-fi book, add familiar details, such as a marina or train station you know well. As Mark Twain allegedly advised, “Write what you know.”

2. Research and collect as much as possible.

But writers should go beyond Mark Twain’s advice. According to Donald Maass, “Writing what you know means finding what is extraordinary in that which is ordinary.” So go beyond writing what you are familiar with. Research unique details your hometown or a different city or country if you want a new setting. Collect facts and details about the food, weather, geography, culture, and more. This especially applies to historical, fantasy, and sci-fi settings. If your story is set in steampunk London, dig into books about ordinary life and odd details. The more you know, the better.

3. Describe the setting carefully—first impressions matter.

The first time you describe the setting, you set the tone for the entire book. Whether the setting is dangerous (the Alaskan wilderness in Jack London’s To Build a Fire) or simply mysterious (the moors in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre), the first description matters.

Consider this description from Huntley Fitzpatrick’s What I Thought Was True. Early in the story, Fitzpatrick establishes a contrast between the rich, privileged Seashell Island tourists and the lower income locals who work for them.

“That’s about all we have here. Wild thyme, a seasonal community of shingled mansions, a nature preserve dedicated to the piping plovers, and the rest of us—the people who mow the lawns and fix and paint and clean the houses. We all live in East Woods, the ‘bad’ part of Seashell. Ha. Not many people would say that exists on the island. We get woods at our back and can only squint at the ocean; they get the full view of the sea—sand tumbling all the way out to the water—from their front windows, and big rambling green lawns in the book. . . . In the winter it’s like we year-rounders own the island, but every spring we have to give it back.”

This description, while painting the backdrop for a contemplative summer romance, also foreshadows the story’s conflict and immerses the reader in the setting.

4. Reveal the setting bit by bit.

After introducing the setting with a strong first impression, reveal more information in pieces as the story unfolds. Readers will enjoy moving from a birds’ eye view of a city to an up-close view of the protagonist’s studio apartment. Or they will enjoy moving from the protagonist’s studio apartment to explore different parts of the city. For example, Sarah J. Maas gives readers a detailed view of her fantasy version of New Orleans called Crescent City, from the beautiful Autumn King’s Villa to the murky Meat Market.

5. Slide the descriptions in subtly.

Laundry list descriptions are a big no-no unless you want your readers skipping them completely. . .especially if you only describe a setting once and never describe it again. Try sliding descriptions in throughout the story like this:

• Dialogue: She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as the north-east wind rocked the oaks. “You can’t love me.” Her voice was hollow. “You don’t know me.”
• Action: Their footsteps made no noise, muffled by the plush red carpet.
• Emotion: He missed the iron-gray mountains with icy water lapping at their feet. Here, there were only endless, rolling fields of wheat.
• Speedy Exposition: The train roared along, carrying them past a blur of brewery smokestacks, grain elevators, and meatpacking factories.
• Character Description: Perhaps growing up in the southern forest had changed her. Now she was as hushed as those great, dark trees, her brown eyes full of secrets.

6. Make the setting dynamic.

Just as the character grows and develops, so should the setting. For example, in Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns, the desert setting begins as an adversary to the frightened, inexperienced Princess Elisa:

“Walking through desert sand is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. It only takes moments for my ankles and calves to burn with effort, for my breath to come in dry heaves, for sweat to soak through the first layer of clothing. But I press forward, nearly gasping with relief each time our small group crests a dune. Inevitably, I lag behind.”

But as Elisa gains confidence and experience as a leader, she grows to love the desert:

“As we travel, I’m delighted to see the vegetation disappear, to feel the air warm, hailing the encroaching desert. When the soil turns red and buttes reach for the sky in fiery layers, I even feel a pang of homesickness. . . . At last our mountain rises before us, the huge overhang of the half-cavern embracing the village tight within its shelter.”

Think of your setting as a character in its own right—a character who has a personality, who can grow and change, who can serve as a symbol, an antagonist, a friend, and more.

7. Show, don’t tell.

This simple rule is easy to forget. In the words of Anton Chekhov, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass.” But this is easier said than done, and it’s easier done than explained.

Don’t write, “Rain poured from the sky.” Write, “The windshield wipers squeaked and thumped, trying to clear the blurry flood of water over glass.”

Don’t write, “The city bustled with noise.” Write, “He pulled the pillow over his head, trying to muffle the thump of the bass next door and the sirens and horns in the street below.”

8. Use all five senses.

You are the movie director—show readers the beautiful settings you’ve designed. Usher readers into your world by allowing them to experience every sense. Let them hear the register of your characters’ voices, smell the sea breeze, feel the shaggy fur of a wolf’s topcoat, and taste the blood from a bitten tongue. Here is a lovely example from Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals:

“She gnawed on a hangnail, tasting a faint trace of metal from the typewriter keys. . . . Iris abandoned the obituary and followed him into a glass-walled chamber. It always smelled oppressive here, like oiled leather and tobacco and the strong sting of aftershave. When he sat at his desk, she settled in the wingback chair across from him, resisting the urge to crack her knuckles.”

9. Remember perspective for your descriptions.

Who is narrating the story, and what would they notice? As you look through your characters’ eyes, see the world the way they do. What details would stand out to them? How would they react to what they see?

In her book First & Then, Emma Mills skillfully describes scenes through the eyes of the main character Devon, a humorous, cynical high school senior:

“I stared at a poster on the wall behind Mrs. Wentworth’s desk while she read. It was this National Geographic-looking photo of a pride of lions on a veldt. One was out front, looking particularly majestic. Golden sun dappled its mane, and whereas the background lions were looking here and there, this one’s dark eyes gazed right at me. Underneath the picture, the word ACHIEVEMENT was printed in big serif letters.”

“Clearly, this was supposed to inspire something in me. I wasn’t sure what. Run faster. Kill more gazelles. Be better than those riffraff lions hanging at the periphery.”

Similarly, in her memoir Lab Girl, Hope Jahren uses her perspective as a child to describe her curiosity about lab equipment long before she became an acclaimed scientist:

“In the cupboard by the door there was pH testing tape, which was like a magic trick only better because instead of just showing a mystery it also solved one: you could see the difference in color and thus pH between a drop of spit and a drop of water or root beer or urine in the bathroom but not blood because you can’t see through it (so don’t try).”

As you are describing settings, ask yourself what your character would notice. What details would stand out, and what words would they use to describe these details? Would your character use elegant metaphors or sharp, sketch-like details? Is your character an engineer who notices building materials, or an artist who notices paint colors?

10. Pick a season for your setting (and use a calendar).

 Unless your story spans several seasons, you will need to choose a season that best showcases your plot. The nostalgic romance of The Summer I Turned Pretty could only work at a summer beach house, and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman could only work in a winter setting. Although not every book focuses on a seasonal theme, centering your story on a specific season can help readers find familiar details (autumn leaves, winter snow, summer storms, spring apple blossoms, and so on.).

Use a calendar to keep track of time passing in your story. If the story starts in early September, describe the transformation of brilliant red and gold foliage to bare trees in November as the story progresses. And definitely do not describe roses growing in a winter garden (I have made this mistake in first drafts).

11. Pick locations (and use a map).

If you don’t want to create a brand-new map, simply use a map of a current city and sketch on top of it. You don’t need a detailed map, but you do need a basic idea of where your characters live. After all, your hawk-eyed readers will notice if you mix up the South End and the North Side of the city, or if your characters can see the setting and rising sun from the same apartment window.

12. Choose your description style.

Are you a minimalist or a maximalist? A metaphor lover or a realist? Are you Thomas Hardy or Ernest Hemingway? Jane Austen or Joyce Carol Oates? Explore different styles of description to find what works best for you and your characters.

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And there you have it: a comprehensive guide to describing setting. Describing a vivid setting makes your story unforgettable and showcases your unique writer’s voice. As you read through your current story or work on a new one, add touches of descriptions—like sprinkles on a cupcake, or fairy dust on snow.

If you enjoyed learning about describing settings, check out this blog post to learn more about worldbuilding for your stories.

Happy writing!

Sending love,

Anastasia xoxo