by Gail Lowe
I have entered that time of year in which I become a set designer.
Thanksgiving gets me going. The front step pumpkin patch grows with each trip to the store. Scarecrows wave from piles of leaves in the sleepy flower garden. Fall garland and orange twinkle lights twine the railings, offering a welcoming vibe to the changing season. Halloween follows and I ramp up my efforts. There is so much you can do with the darkness. It’s perfect for playing with the light. My candles come out in full force, bolstered by strings of purple lights now entwined with the orange. Pumpkins have been carved into wide-mouthed demons letting our little neighborhood monsters know that candy awaits if they brave the walk to the door.
Create the right setting and you can transport yourself and those travelling with you into a world that’s…well…not ordinary. Dinner is more fun with spider encased webs and crime scene tape covering the railings behind you. Blue corn nachos become bat wings with gore. Black cats perched on the shelf, witches and monsters watching you from the corners and insidiously large bugs just waiting to be discovered – why would you live any other way in the shadow of Halloween. Movies are scarier, the dark seems more dangerous, and you may come face-to-face with a vampire on the way to the bathroom.
Cross my threshold and you’ll immediately pick up a flavor of where you are and what kind of world you have entered. Which begs the question: Have I done the same with my writing?
Setting is a form of magic that translates well into story telling. I remind myself of this as I put my characters through their paces. What I see in my mind needs to be reflected on the page. How rich in detail is the setting I have created so far? Can I taste it, smell it, see it, hear it, feel it? Have I devoted as much time and effort to creating my fictional world as I have decorating my home?
I know what I want people to feel when they cross my threshold, whether in this setting or the one I create word by word.
Setting is my imagination made visible. The world inside of me being shared with all the other dreamers, and more importantly, the non-dreamers. The ones who don’t yet know how to visualize magic. When I see them stop to look, to be present in the moment, a light goes on inside of them. And for me, nothing beats that kind of satisfaction.
