Set the Scene
One of the foundations of good writing is a good setting. Setting is the physical world in which our characters live. It's the house, the forest, the space ship, the castle, the city, the school, the mall, etc. Think back to your favorite stories: how much impact did the setting have on how you felt? Imagine the physical elements of the saddest and happiest scenes. Imagine Ursula in her cave deep within the abyss of the sea, remember the brooding beast in his dark castle in Beauty and the Beast. Think back to the happiest of wedding scenes: the sun shining on everything, the bright silverware and happy faces all around. Setting is one of the tricks we writers use to establish mood and tone. It can represent the feeling of our characters - it can define who they are.
Spend at least thirty minutes working on the following prompt (set yourself a timer if you need to): Describe a setting of gloominess or happiness. Choose either. Consider it as an onion: you start with the broader details on the outside and peel away the layers. For example:
City -> Yard -> House -> Inside House -> Kitchen -> The items on the counter top.
Do not describe any characters. For the purposes of this exercise the setting will act as a character. That will come later. I've written an example below.
The trees wave beneath the ominous glow of the harvest moon. An wolf cries in the distance and within the trees there are small animals scurrying with a frightened kind of fervor. The harsh wind rolls down from the mountains like some kind of phantom wave. Nestled in all this darkness there is a lone cabin with a single flame burning bright in its window. Inside the cabin is hollow. It's not been lived in for years. Dust covers everything. There are large, gray spiders sitting in their webs in every corner. A skinny rat scurries across the floorboards, makes his way under the sink. There is no sign of human life in the cabin save for the open notebook on the desk and a lone pen.
