Muse Food – The Path Itself
Often, when we hear about characters taking a path, we are most interested in where that path leads. We might also be interested in the beings they meet and the dangers they encounter along the way.
But sometimes the path itself can be fascinating.
The yellow brick road in The Wizard Of Oz, for example, is a key part of the setting. It is almost a character itself.
Perhaps the path your characters take is sentient. Maybe it twists and turns depending on its mood. Maybe the destination is whatever the path feels the characters deserve or need.
How can you make the path itself more interesting?
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Muse Food – How Does Your World Defend Itself?
There are a gazillion ways for a civilization or a world to defend itself.
The choice of method tells us a lot about the civilization, how they think, what they value.
A truly peace loving civilization, for example, might defend itself by building strong partnerships with other civilizations. They are less likely to be attacked because they have friends or they ARE friends. In a disagreement, their first response will be to send a negotiator. Partnerships will be valued and celebrated. They might even recognize the special celebrations of their partners as well as their own.
A war loving, violent civilization, as another example, might defend itself by attacking first. They will have a strong military with many of its residents expected to serve or have served in it. There will be multiple holidays or celebrations of the military. They will place special emphasis on wars in their history, maybe even reenacting them.
Adding these details can add richness to your world and/or your story!
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Muse Food – Add A Splash Of Color
This little boat is a splash of bright color amidst a sea of white and/or black boats. It stands out. It draws the eye. It is a MOOD.
Consider adding a splash of color to the scene you’re currently crafting. This could be a hero in a bright red coat. Or a word that is rarely used and fantastical. Or an explosion. (grins) I love explosions.
Make something in your scene stand out.
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Muse Food – Physical Space
There are many reasons why ‘Only One Bed’ is such an appealing trope and one of them is because there is a very small physical space the characters have to inhabit.
And that space can be even smaller. That one bed could have been designed for a single person.
Changing the physical space the characters inhabit can significantly change a scene.
A hero whispering in the heroine’s ear in a confined closet where they are forced to press up against each other, for example, is a very different experience than a whisper in a massive ballroom.
A heroine floating alone in the vast expanse of space is a very different experience than the heroine floating alone in a bathtub.
A battle scene inside a building is different than a battle scene in a wide open field.
Can you change the physical space your characters are inhabiting to make the scene more powerful?
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Muse Food – Love Vans And Time As A Setting
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this van while trekking around South American and we both immediately thought of the 1960s, the hippie era, a time when some young people embraced peace and love and unity.
Time can be a powerful setting.
It can influence language and fashion and thinking, whether the heroine is viewed as a rebel, for example, or the average girl.
Certain colors and images on covers, for example, can convey a time period like the rocket shaped spaceships on the 1970s SciFi Romances or the high waist gowns on Regency Romances.
What time is your story set in? How does that factor into your plot?
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Muse Food – Hong Kong And Unexpected Art
These stairs in front of a park in Hong Kong was artwork the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I didn’t expect to see.
Many officials in other cities would have left the stairs a plain, rather ugly gray, the color of the cement. That would ‘save money.’ It would be simpler to maintain. There’s less risk of it turning out terribly.
Hong Kong administrators allowed an artist to use it as a canvas. And that says a lot about Hong Kong and the people living there. They value art. They value beauty. They care enough to make their surroundings gorgeous.
Your description of your story’s setting communicates a lot also. It sets the mood. It conveys the values of the beings living there…or the absence of beings.
Setting is a character. Use it to better tell your story.
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