Last night I sat in a small circle of writers disguising themselves as readers. As we discussed the book of the month, one of the reader-writers said,
“The dialog and language really drew me in. It was part of the setting, really.”
That hooked me right there. Not to read the book because, well, I wrote the book, but as a blog topic!
Using Dialog and Prose to Create the Setting. I never thought of it before but word choice, dialog, the arrangement of words can really help put the reader in the mind set of the PLACE the story is being told.
The era. The region. The social class. Education. Even values and belief systems.
We’ve all heard word choice is key to the author’s voice. We’ve also learned to keep the dialog true to the era which we are writing, but I’m not sure we’ve delved into the notion that these word choices actually help with story’s setting.
Let’s define setting. Setting is what draws the reader into the story’s era or region. It’s what helps them picture a heroine in a hoop skirt gliding across a green southern lawn or a heroine in skinny jeans scurrying to her car because she’s late for work.
Setting is the era¾historical or contemporary. The region¾north, south, northeast, northwest, west coast, southwest, Europe or Latin American, Canada. Any place the story takes place.
Setting is the dialects and cultures within regions. A Charleston southern accent is very different from a New Orleans southern accent.
But, in writing, it’s hard to show some of those nuances. Misspelling words to get dialect can be distracting, so how do we show speech by region or era to help paint the setting?
Word choice. Word order. Phrasing.
When writing The Wedding Dress, I decided on two heroines. One in 2012 and one in 1912.
The contemporary heroine was easy in that I could make her speech as modern as I wanted with a little bit of a Birmingham southern thrown in. Because of television and movies, contemporary language is pretty common among all American region with local idioms thrown in now and then.
But in 1912, I had to go back to a deep south kind of language spoken by the upper class and the educated. I also had to have a more formal approach to my prose.
I pictured Scarlett O’Hara, imagined what she’d say and put that “tone” in Emily’s dialog.
I also worked on changing my prose in 1912. Not a lot, it’s still “me” telling the story, but I tried to show the different era, the different way of life.
But I think the most important thing to remember is the dialog must reflect the era of your story in order to help “set the stage” and become a part of the setting.
What are ways to use dialog and prose to boost the sense of setting?
- Read books written about the era or region.
- Read books written in the era you’re writing. I found a romance book written in 1912!
- Look for letters or diaries written in or about the region or era you’re writing.
- Watch old movies. Sometimes a movie made in the ‘30s might help you with ‘20s lingo.
- Try to find old newspapers online to read. The descriptions of the region or the people, the events of the day will help you “see” the setting. It will help with your word choice.
- Watch old movies set in the era. I watched a ‘40s Titanic movie. Since there were people alive in the ‘40s we were also alive in 1912, I felt the dialog and phrasing was realistic of the era.
- Read your dialog or a particular scene out loud. Does it sound too old or too modern to your ear? Change it up by rearranging your words.
- Break out the thesaurus and find older synonyms to use as a word choice.
- Use story world word painting to set the scene. Get down deep into the details. In The Wedding Dress, as Charlotte’s scene opens we see a row of cars with the sun glinting off the windshield. In Emily’s opening scene, she’s running home from the trolley. We also see her ex beau’s horse, Two-Tone. Right away we get a sense of a different era.
- Research customs and traditions from your region and era. We tend to think people in 1912 went to bed at 9:00 p.m. But they didn’t! In fact, the wealthy didn’t start partying until that time. In Birmingham, there was a midnight supper club. Those kind of details really paint the setting. So dig deep.
Hopefully this was helpful. It’s basic, 101 writing, but I wanted to inspire us to think about dialog and word painting as part of the setting.
Happy writing.
***
Best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She excels in seeing the deeper layers of a story. With a love for teaching and mentoring, Rachel comes alongside writers to help them craft their novel. A worship leader, board member of ACFW and popular writing teacher, Rachel is the author of over 15 novels. She lives in Florida with her husband and her dog, Lola. Contact her at: Rachel@mybooktherapy.com.