Evoking atmosphere with setting

Using your chosen setting as more than a backdrop is an important way to create an atmospheric story and enhance a sense of escapism for the reader. Here are my top tips on how to do just that:

Have the weather affect your characters’ emotions. Does the stifling humidity make everyone irritable? Does the non-stop dreary rain bring on a sense of gloom for characters? The extreme cold: lethargy? Impending natural disaster: anxiety? Just think about how you yourself feel in these environments, then ramp it up.

Marry your environment descriptions to your characters. Use choice words that relate to your environment when describing characters or their emotions. For instance, if the weather in your story is particularly windy, you may choose to say, ‘the anger buffeted through him’, or if its set at sea, ‘a wave of grief washed over her’.

Incorporate the environment into your action beats. Swap he said/she said for some apt action beats. Have your characters interact with the environment instead of using dialogue tags. Get them to slap a midge if they’re in the topics or wipe the sweat from their brow. Have them breath clouds of condensation or rub their hands together if they’re in the snow.

Do your research. Whether it’s in person or online, make sure you know things like the local flora and fauna, weather patterns and seasons. If there’s something unique about that area, use it; it can create intrigue.

Give readers credit. Don’t spend a page and a half describing a thunderstorm. Readers know what a thunderstorm is. Choose a few pithy sentences to really capture the scene and move on.

Photo credit: Thought Catalogue via Unsplash