Is there no room for describing the setting? Must every utterance that sets the atmosphere also advance the plot or reveal character? Is there no room for mood?

▲

nkrisc 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

What is the purpose of the setting if not to reveal character or advance the plot?

I don’t need to know the color of the walls if it does neither.

▲

root_axis 2 days ago | parent [-]

Framed that way you could characterize anything as ultimately serving the characters or plot.

	▲	nkrisc 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Not really. There are infinite insignificant details that could be included that should not be included because they do neither in any meaningful way.

▲

alt187 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

describing the setting should (ideally) be done through a character's interaction with the setting.

if you're developing some sort of dystopia where everyone is heavily medicated, better to show a character casually take the medication rather than describe it.

of course, that's not a rule set in stone. you can do whatever the fuck you want.

▲

hombre_fatal 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Is there no room for describing the setting? Is there no room for mood?

You mean the character of a place?

▲

cobbzilla 2 days ago | parent [-]

sure, setting and character are the same thing

▲

bryanrasmussen 2 days ago | parent [-]

the implication is that if mood is the character of the place then those sentences that set mood are advancing character.

▲

josephg 2 days ago | parent [-]

Some authors rarely describe a place objectively. We see a space through the eyes of the characters - and in doing so, we learn about our characters as we learn about the space they inhabit.

	▲	bryanrasmussen 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		sure, if a character is in some narrative role; however I would argue that no author ever describes a place objectively, especially not a completely fictional place. The question really is if the unobjective description serves a coherent narrative purpose.

▲

IsTom 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

He's very efficient with prose and I find it a joy to read (well, given what he's writing about it's not always joy, but still). I'm not sure he's following that rule 100% of the time, but it's close. Depending on the setting, you can often describe it through characters' actions or how it shapes them.

▲

righthand 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The “mood” should reflect the character not the author’s desire to detail out the room.

▲

brigandish 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Setting would provide the context for action or characterisation to occur in a meaningful way, or provoke it, so it is necessary part of both (if done for either of those purposes). Given that, the charitable interpretation would be to only provide enough description of the setting for that.