Research in Writing #2 – Setting
Last night when I was supposed to be finishing this lesson, I was instead attending our local ACFW chapter meeting. While there, I was happy to be able to tell a couple of friends about this good, kind group I’m working with in this course! Thank you all for your patience and hanging in here with so much detailed “stuff.” I hope this lesson is useful for your research.
As I was trying to learn the craft of writing fiction (not that I have arrived!) one concept I came across is that of treating the setting as a character. That is, our characters interact with their surroundings, and environment can also set the mood of a scene, chapter, or whole story. Before we dive into thinking about the research aspect of setting, I wanted to provide a few examples, since reading these (and others) helped me think about integrating setting more fully in my writing.
As the city faded into poverty, Simon’s rage finally erupted. He shouted at the westering sun and pressed the pedal to the floor. The Mustang’s engine bellowed a manic note, as though giving voice to all his bitter tumult. Simon blasted out of town and flew into the desert. The industrial zone and border station were masked by the dusty sunset. And beyond that lay two thousand miles of road and the cold, hard reality of nothing to lose.
~ Unlimited, Davis Bunn (p. 15)
Long, scorching days stretched into torrid, interminable weeks. Sunburn gave way to a leathery tan only to burn again. The smell of rotting food competed with the stench from the buckets of human waste from the ‘tween deck.
Mary’s attempts to thwart the ravages of the relentless sun seemed woefully inadequate, but the peril from the storms when the rain came was worse. One crew hand was washed overboard in a great wave, and a
search was not possible without risking more lives. Illness struck almost every family below, and half the crew.
~ A Place in His Heart, Rebecca DeMarino (p. 136-137)
He sat there while the rock beneath him cooled and his trouser legs siphoned water up his calf. But she did not return, and eventually the chill in his feet and buttocks forced him up. Damp toes slid grudgingly into loafers. He ignored sand that scraped at his heel, kept his head bent forward as he trudged up the hill.
The soles of his shoes flapped against concrete. The tap of his cane joined a cacophony of crsandmotorcycles and voices that all centered him in this place. Her voice, though remained silent, even as he pushed open his apartment door and settled his cane against a chair.
~ Sailing out of Darkness, Normandie Fischer (p. 51)
In this lesson we’ll think about setting, making a distinction between time and place. Some of the links may not apply specifically to your research, but provide ideas of places to search. For some URLs, go back toward the beginning of the address to get to the home site and begin a search from there. For example, one of the weather sites below refers to a specific city. Going back to the home page will enable a search for any other city.
I think it was at a writers conference that I heard a tip about adding just a few words about the lighting in a chapter or scene. Darla had sun positions on her list of items to research, so we’ll begin there.
My husband is a former weatherman, but he doesn’t share my interest in astronomy. This interest, along with wanting to include realistic details in scenes, led me to research sun positions, light, and shadows along with weather information. Granted, I may have gone a little overboard…! For example, it’s late afternoon when a character leaves a meeting. It’s late February, but the sun is shining. How should this scene be described so that the reader remembers it’s winter even though there are shadows?
First I found a site that gives the time of sunrise and sunset, along with twilight, and the angle of the sun on the horizon.
Then, I googled the angle of the sun and clicked on the tab for images for that location. It pulled up only picture that I felt was relevant, but one was all I needed. I could see the general length of shadows and light quality and describe from there.
Another site that gives sunrise and sunset information is
This site has a calendar for a month which gives an overview and allows us to see how much daylight is gained or lost over a period of time.
For weather, I often start with the National Weather Service.
From here, you can also find information on specific weather events, such as hurricanes.
Speaking of hurricanes, these sites are fascinating for those of you who love research.
This page lists the weather in review for a recent year. It’s a little harder to track historical data but it can be done. From the climate map,
click on a location. When that location’s screen comes up, scroll down for options to find dates and observation reports.
Linnie mentioned some other useful links to research weather for a specific date and place.
This site includes averages and historical data. Scroll down and look on the right side bar for links to more specific information, such as searching for a particular date.
I’ve not used this site personally, but Linnie says Daily Reports are available here. It does look like it might be more user friendly than the government site, and they reference government information.
I didn’t take the time to research this one…
While we’re on the topic of weather and related thoughts, there was a question about tides and winds.
Tide schedules
Generally speaking, I find NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to be a wealth of information, and I consider it reliable because it’s a team of scientists. However, it can be difficult to find exactly what’s needed. Once you find a few pages within their site that work for you, though, it gets easier. I’m including some of the sites that might be commonly used for research.
I recently wrote a lesson about tides and tide tables for the math book. Here are some sites I used to access the information. I would think you could change the location.
This site gives a good explanation/overview of different types of tides.
My favorite – quick! – way to check the wind is to use a site that lists the Beaufort wind scale. This enables us to describe what’s happening outside when the wind is blowing. We most likely wouldn’t include specific details, such as miles per hour, but we know if we want to describe a breeze or a storm.
What does it look like when the wind is blowing?
Wind scales
See how much I love weather??!
Even before we think about weather, we might research a location itself using Google maps. This site is great for giving distance from one place to another. Down in the right hand corner of the screen is the little yellow person that will take you into street view. This is a camera view, set up at different locations. Some areas have more complete (more cameras) views than others. I was even able to view stretches of highway to see what my character would see as he was driving out to a military base!
I can also get wonderfully sidetracked researching and learning about the plants in an area. Again, starting with the government page saves time. On this page I can get a scientific name for whatever I’m looking up, and then google by that name. Searching by common name works most of the time, too. However, when I look at a google map street view or other picture of an area, how can I identify the plants I see in the picture to look them up?
USDA Plants Database
USDA plant sheets
The US Forestry service also has a database.
To find the plants that grow in a particular area, a nearby national park can give a good overview, and plants might be listed by name/species.
Another approach is to look for a (local to the area) university extension site. I’ve found a wealth of information from these agricultural documents, along with agricultural information from state government Web sites. Here are some examples:
In the interest of time, I’ll save the discussion about food for the next lesson
It’s also possible to search for a biome: desert, forest, grassland, ocean, shoreline, arctic, etc.
Desert plants and animals
Finally, here are a few tidbits from researching a Native American historical novel. These might provide ideas for your own research on plants and how people interact with the environment.
For flowers local to area/culture:
(Four Directions Institute of Native American studies)
Uses of common plants
As we’ve discussed, setting encompasses the natural environment. For those who love research, a few things to consider:
* What role do bodies of water (rivers, lakes, streams) play in the setting or story?
* Is the area (climate, culture, etc.) affected by mountains or other topography?
* What about rocks? I’ve been fascinated with studies about mining and quarries.
* For stories set near the ocean, not only might tides affect the story, but waves, sea swells, winds, sand dunes or shifting sand…
Already there’s been quite a discussion about the places characters live, specifically towns. In every book in the math series, I have one unit based on “small town, America.” Many towns have their own Web site, but again, these serve partially as a jumping off place for further research that might enhance the story. For this type of research, here are some sites that might be helpful.
has a zipusa feature. Search by town name to see if the magazine has done any features on it or a similar location.
provides geographic information about a place. It takes a little time, as when you type a city name into their search bar, it pulls up a list of articles. It might help to be as specific as possible in the search phrase.
Interesting site for all things Arctic.
The Department of Natural Resources Web site for that state.
Before we leave setting, let’s think about physical structures. Again, some examples might help the thinking process. For a recent nonfiction piece, I wrote about the Pentagon. A wealth of information was available through government sites. It did take some digging to find what I wanted, since I was *not* writing about 9/11 and related incidents. I also enjoyed researching (and comparing) bridges when learning about the Florida Keys.
City government sites have helpful information for public transportation schedules, such as ferries. Often public transportation will also have their own Web sites, so obtaining schedules and other information is quick and easy. To travel from one place to another takes a bit more searching, especially in a historical context. Distances between places hasn’t changed, though, so we can use today’s maps to find distance and then find average speed of whatever mode of transportation was used at the time to figure time.
Someone mentioned (the history channel site). I do like this site, although this is one I turn on the mute on the computer so I can just read. Sometimes I double check with another site for accuracy, but this gives me a good overview and a start on specific aspects of a topic I might want to research further.
I thought it was great that one of you had access to a historical house for description! When researching for early 1940s in a large city, I wanted one of the characters to have a small house. Not that these specific links will be of help, but it gives an idea of the types of things that are available.
David’s house
colors in houses
office pictures
I also typed in date and specific room then clicked on the Images link to view room interiors for the time period. Someone mentioned being able to visit a museum related to the area and time period – great idea! If a hands-on experience isn’t possible, historical photos are a great way to research. Again, some examples that might guide your own search (I hope), without sending anyone on too many rabbit trails!
historical photos Los Angeles
When researching Arizona as a specific location, I ran across this Web site for archived photographs. I haven’t tried researching universities in other locations for a similar resource, but I imagine they exist. Here’s the URL to try a similar search phrase.
In the next lesson we’ll touch on animals and wrap up any further discussion about natural or structural environments (settings) and then dive into cultural topics.
Homework:
1. How does the weather affect your character or the story?
2. In what ways does your character interact with the setting?