Mackinac Island: The Perfect Setting for Romance

The website for Mackinac Island, Michigan, contains this fun question: “Is romance in your soul?” On this small island nestled in Lake Huron in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, you can step back in time and tap into a slower pace that allows your inner romantic to escape. The island has the magical quality that I love [...]

Studying Emotions in Life & Writing Through Friendly Fire

I woke in the middle of the night to the rooster crowing at the moon. Strange but true. Poor pea brained birds don’t know the difference between the moon, a bright light bulb or the sun! Later, and still before the sun had risen, I woke again to the sound of a single gun shot. [...]

From Mount Vernon Estates to The Smithsonian: How the Setting of Buried

“No estate in United America is more pleasantly situated than this.” – George Washington, 1790 Ever wonder where an author gets an idea for a story? The idea for Buried Deception came in 2005 when my family took a three week homeschool tour up the East coast. Mount Vernon was one of our stops. I [...]

How Setting Influences Your Characters

Your story setting should be unique, whether an exotic island, the Deep South, an airport terminal, or a fantasy world.  Consider the following movies: Gone with the Wind, Cast Away, The Terminal, and Lord of the Rings. All of these would be less effective and less memorable without their unique setting. “A novel is a [...]

Breathing Life into Your Setting

Setting in a fictional novel, if done well, can take on a life of its own. In order to create a setting that is almost like a character, there are two basic points to know: 1)      Know Your Setting, And 2) Know How Your Setting Influences Your Characters. To Know Your Setting, you must first [...]

Quick Fiction Fixes – Settings and Contrast to show emotion

We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Setting: One of the best [...]