One of the problems – or, perhaps, the best things – about Gothic Horror is that it does tend to be sad. Usually, there are at least one or two characters who don’t deserve whatever is happening to them, or who have done something which is being punished in a way which does not in any way fit the crime. M.R. James’s writing is perhaps a constant reiteration of the old proverb, “curiosity killed the cat”, but curiosity in itself isn’t a bad thing; while Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds himself in the initial dangerous situation through no fault of his own. Perhaps the saddest story in this anthology is The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes , which was first published by Sley House in Tales of Sley House 2022 . Here is the story of a man who is facing professional and financial ruin as a result of suggesting that mental health patients can be treated in the community rather than institutionalised. He is one of the most sympathetic narrators you will find in the book, but he bad...
Middle Grade Settings: An Introduction
Having photos in front of you can help you write about your settings
I’m going to make a confession. Settings are not something I often spend time planning. Perhaps my stories are the poorer for it, but the settings come as I’m writing or editing. The Glass Room, in Taking Wing, is not something I planned before I started writing. Personally, I’m a very visual writer, seeing my characters as though they are a video in my head, and I write what I see. As such, the setting just happens!
There are benefits and drawbacks to this. The main benefit is that the writing process is more interesting. Not everything is set, and my story can still give me surprises. The drawback is that, similar to AI, I cannot know that I’m not stealing settings from films and books I’ve seen/read previously. I certainly don’t mean to plagiarise but the concern is a real one!
With that in mind, I have started to at least have a vague idea of my settings before I start typing.
How much time should I spend on writing setting descriptions in Middle Grade?
Generally, I would not spend more time than necessary on descriptions, but then I’m more of a C S Lewis than a J R R Tolkien. The plot, to me, is more important than the language. Is it really integral to the story to know that there are five pine chairs around a shabby chic table?
So, how much is necessary? The reader needs to know where they are: are they in a house, a cathedral, a tundra…
The unusual aspects of the setting also need to be mentioned. Perhaps there’s a skull on the mantelpiece (I’d say that’s pretty unusual!) or a flight of stairs that lead to nowhere. These sort of comments, even if they don’t come into the story later, can give a view of the characters that live there. What sort of person has stairs leading nowhere? My initial reaction is that it could be a magician with a secret magic room at the top, only visible to those who know the password. Am I getting carried away? Quite possibly.
How to avoid the White Room?
The ‘White Room Syndrome’ is a problem many writers have of not providing any descriptions so that your characters may as well be in a white room. The reader has no idea what the surroundings look like.
A good exercise is to read your chapter to a friend, and get them to sketch out how they see it. If it is completely different to what you imagined, then you know you need to go into more detail.
Here’s a great video from one of my favourite Youtube groups about the effect of bad setting description:
The #1 Tip for Writing Settings
If you remember anything from this blog post, then remember this one thing…
(Yes, I am aware that, should this be a comedy, your computer would crash at this moment and you wouldn’t find out the most important of all settings tips!)
When writing setting descriptions, don’t just write what you see. You’ve probably heard this before, but sounds and smells are of vital importance when attempting to immerse the reader in the story. Touch, perhaps, as you brush against leaves or feel coarse sand between your toes. Taste, yeah, not so much!
Schedule
Every third Monday, I’ll post another setting-relation post on this blog. The schedule, to make sure I keep up with my goals, is here:
17/2/25 Setting Inspiration
17/3/25 Writing a Different Planet
21/4/25 Creating a World
19/5/25 Seasons and Keeping Track of Time
16/6/25 A Magical Setting
21/7/25 Writing Real Places You Haven’t Been To
18/8/25 Setting your Story in the Past
15/9/25 Writing Where you Live
20/10/25 Writing Settings to Invoke Fear
17/11/25 Isolation: Writing with Just One Character
15/12/25 Using Mythical Places
What’s New With Crowvus?
We have been busy writing to-do lists! We have written our lists for our first two releases this year (Sir Louis Curlewy on 21st April, and Doorway to the Sunset on 4th July). One of the main things we're looking for is to get as many reviews as possible for both books. If you would like to be part of the book launch team for either book, and would like a free ebook in return for an honest review on as many platforms as possible, then please get in touch by emailing
the_team@crowvus.com
Reviews are worth their wait in gold for authors!
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