Friday, July 6, 2012

STEP FOUR





                             Step Four - 

Sketch Your Setting


Like paper dolls, coloring books and paint by numbers, Step four is a fun step, especially helpful for all of us visual learners.
If you don’t have a notebook for your novel, buy one. You want to physically draw the neighborhood and the interior space where most of your story will take place. No need to be a graphic artist for this step, a rough picture of your scene will do.
For example, a room used frequently in your story: etch in the major pieces of furniture, placement of windows and doors, as well as which direction is north. In the novel I’m working on, I had to do this for a neighborhood that held a string of buildings important in the storyline. Also, I had to do the layout of the apartments above the stores. With a sketch, you won’t be floundering around later, like I did before the sketch, trying to decipher what’s what, and making sure the layout made sense to the readers.
If your book is set mostly in a neighborhood or small town, sketch out the relevant cross streets and put labeled boxes where you imagine all the businesses and homes would be.
Setting sketches anchor your writing and allow you to maintain congruity in your place descriptions. Staple in a photo or two if you come across an image that visually captures an element of your setting. This step, like the first three, will enable you to go with the flow when you write.


Dear Readers,
Have a good time playing with your scenes this week. If you recall, the Pyramid method, is a “reversed” pyramid with the smaller steps at the bottom. Not sure the next step is harder necessarily, but will be more time consuming.
Have a great week,
Marla

7 comments:

  1. Writer Dave Here.
    For my novel I cut out a picture from a magazine of the house my characters were living in, but I didn't draw the rooms where some scenes are in. Sounds like a good idea. A picture is worth a thousand words!

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    1. I like that idea! I think the room sketches are important depending on how many scenes will be in a particular room. I did do a whole apartment layout for my current book so it would make sense to me. It's easier to refer to a sketch later than try to find a certain line in the novel!
      Nice to hear from you,
      Marla

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  3. Now THAT is an awesome idea. Wish I'd thought of it years ago.

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    1. So happy you found something helpful! I learned it the hard way on my last book!
      I'm slowly accepting the fact that "some" structure will help my writing!
      Thanks for joining me!
      Marla

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  4. That's a great idea Marla! You're a gem :)

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    1. Glad you got a good tip, Constance! Thanks for visiting my blog.
      Stay cool,
      Marla

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