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Setting is defined as: 

The place or location of action that provides the historical and cultural context for characters.   Setting often symbolizes the emotional state of characters.

Questions to ask yourself about setting:

The questions below are designed as a check list to critique your own work or the work of others.

• How does the setting enhance the mood of the characters?
• Does the setting enhance the mood and overall emotion of the story?
• How is the story grounded in time – is the era defined at all?
• How is the story grounded in place?
• Is the cultural context/historical significance defined in the setting? This does not have to be spelled out.  A writer can use symbols once again to enhance the story.
• What amount of description is included in the setting – too much or too little?
• Is your description of setting too flowery and off point?
• Does the setting move the plot forward?
• How is the setting symbolic in reference to the emotional state of characters?

What all the above questions regarding setting are designed to do is to build upon the reading presence of the story, making the story more pleasurable to read.

Keep Writing!

The Golden Compass is the first book of a three book series by Philip Pullman.  At the Oxford University in the frozen tundra of the North, Lyra Belacqua, along with her sidekick, Daemon, whose nickname is Pan, go on a quest to save kidnapped children who are part of an evil experiment from the tormenting Gobblers.  The Panserbjorne are holding Lyra’s father captive.  Panserbjorne are speaking, armed, mercenary polar bears.  Lyra and Pan team up with gypsies, witches, an outcast bear, and a Texan hot air balloon to save her father’s life.   While unraveling the plot of this story, I discovered that the novel makes use of effective dialogue tags.

Authors use discretion in stories to omit dialogue tags when appropriate.  When they do this, the conversation is more powerful and increases in meaning.   There are no rules stating that a writer is forced to use a dialogue tag.  Dialogue tags can be omitted as long as the reader knows who is speaking.  In the first chapter, the Master is speaking to the Butler and says, “I expect he’ll be hungry when he arrives.  Show him straight to the hall, will you?”  Then the Butler responds, “Very, good Master” (Pullman, 5).    Pullman effectively and correctly uses no dialogue tags throughout the conversation between the Butler and the Master.  In this scene, the dialogue stands out and has more meaning.

Without dialogue tags, the conversation moves smoothly, propelling the plot forward.  However, there is an exception to the no dialogue tag rule.  An author may only leave out dialogue tags if the reader can infer from the conversation who is speaking; therefore, dialogue tags under certain circumstances have to be used to maintain the story’s cohesiveness.

In stories, action before a dialogue tag should be used.   When the Librarian speaks, the action comes before the dialogue, “The Librarian murmured back, ‘He’s going to ask for funds.  If he forces a vote’” (Pullman, 19).  The incorrect example of usage of dialogue tags would be, “He’s going to ask for funds,” murmured the Librarian.   The action before the dialogue tag allows the reader to visualize the character.  Furthermore, when the action is placed before the dialog, it shows the Librarian’s speech pattern and volume; whereas, if the dialogue tag were to precede the action, most novelists would perceive the writing as telling.

Another dialogue tag rule is to use “said” with action, interrupting the flow of dialogue.  “Said” is boring and is an overused word. The “said” word is often overlooked by the reader and results in faster reading which moves the plot forward. The combination of “said” and action is used when Lord Asriel is speaking, “’Dirty’, said Lord Asriel, pushing her hands away.  ‘Don’t they make you wash in this place?’ ” (Pullman, 37).  The mixture of “said” and action has more impact because the passage allows for more visualization when the character is speaking.  The reader can visualize the action of the character during the dialogue.   This visualization technique moves the plot forward.