My setting and me

Ah, Setting – so often the poor cousin at the party next to Plot and Characterisation: a mere frame for prose; the humble stage for exciting drama. Yet, I find it’s regularly my starting point, even before my story has begun. 

For my first MG novel, The House on the Edge, I’d carried its setting – a house on a crumbling cliffside – in my head since visiting the clifftops of Whitby (many times) as a child. The story only began to grow later as an adult, when I embarked on a lone coastline walking trip (think mini Salt Path but with B&Bs). There, I became inspired by the many Dorset ghost stories, invented by smugglers to keep prying eyes away from their crimes; by Hallsands in Devon: an entire village that fell into the sea after its shingle was taken. 

In fact, the experience of such a solitary coastal walk became a metaphor for the whole novel. I was able to draw from it a sense of isolation that became the thematic backbone to the story and integral to my protagonist, Faith. I soon realised the setting connected with me as a writer, as much as my characters. Those original Whitby clifftops? Most likely they reflected my own anxiety as a child, constantly moving schools and leaving friends and homes.

Much more than a frame or a stage, then – my setting became integral to the whole experience of my story.

I recently made a trip to the setting of my second MG novel – the Lake District. Though this time, I had company: my daughter, Mae.

It's a story set within a fictional lakeside village that survives on tourism from its mythical (maybe sinister) freshwater mermaid. While it's an area I know well  – with half my family hailing from Lancashire – due to Covid, I'd not been able to visit while writing the first draft. And, oh, there’s nothing like experiencing first-hand the setting of your story. 

It means I can take silly photos searching for a Lake Mermaid (and embarrass my young companion) like this . . .

Lake Mermaid spotting

. . . and, more seriously, mull over some setting Qs:

• What are my senses experiencing, all five of them: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch?
• How might the setting have an effect on my character – internally as well as externally?
• How might the setting reflect what they are experiencing and feeling?
• What small details about the setting might cause conflict or collusion in their character arc?
• How can the setting relate to the story’s theme? Will it change and develop with the plot?

I find it helps to draw a map also, and to list particular observations; lots of photos, of course. I also like to explore its history, geography and local stories (local museums are always great for this). Even if I don’t use the information directly, it lends a backdrop of experience, like here: my (recently embarrassed) daughter at Beatrix Potter’s house.

Beatrix Potter's house

Finally, there’s a rainbow that plays a part in my story and, as Mae and I were walking, we saw this:

Rainbows over Derwentwater

Not one but two, and so close it felt we could almost touch them. I had already written the rainbow into my book – but seeing it, made it all the more possible, and just a bit magical too. 

Poor cousin? Pah. Rich aunty more like.

Alex Cotter’s middle-grade novel THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE came out in July 2021 with Nosy Crow. Find her at www.alexcotter.co.uk or on Twitter: @AlexFCotter