Earlier I referred to your character�s inner environment. It includes history and emotional state. The physical setting can help to reveal your character�s inner environment. For instance, when I�m stressed out, my house reflects that. Housework doesn�t get done, and my meals come from a box. If your character is a slob, but she�s thoroughly scrubbing her house, it might mean she�s trying to purge herself of something, like a memory. Or she�s nervous and expecting company.
I keep returning to possessions. Earlier I suggested you list your character�s possessions. You may not use all of them. Choose the significant ones that will reveal details about her frame of mind, emotional state, and her past. Does she have a doll or favorite toy she has kept from childhood? Why has she kept it? What does this reveal about her history?
History doesn�t necessarily mean distant past. The rose on her nightstand could be from the date she had the previous night. And whether she keeps it or throws it out after it has gone crackly and brown tells something significant about your character.
Also included in the inner environment is your character�s perception of setting. For instance, a child�s perception of her grandmother�s home will look different both before and after her grandmother�s funeral. In my novel, Living in the City, Cari is presented with a dilapidated house for her 30th birthday. When she sees it for the first time, she only sees the wet dog carpet, crumbling plaster, and cracked linoleum floor. On the other hand, her husband sees the potential in the woodwork and the 10-foot ceilings. Their differing perspectives of the same place reveal that all is not well in their marriage. Not only does the setting reveal the characters� frame of mind, it is also a source of conflict. Later, Cari discovers an abandoned farmhouse in a similar state. But this time her perception of a dilapidated house is different.
Place two different characters in the same place and describe it from their points of view. The lobby of the Four Seasons will appear differently to a president of a large corporation than it will to a homeless man trying to use one of the restrooms. Place your characters in the same setting at different times. Your character will perceive his favorite place differently in different moods and situations. If he has experienced a loss, he may see it as a refuge from the world, or he might nitpick everything around it. If he�s showing it to someone significant for the first time, he might feel either embarrassed or proud. Pay attention how setting affects attitude, action, and emotions as well as how setting reveals those things. |
