What Makes a Sense of Place in A Story?

[forestofglory]

I've been thinking recently about what makes a story have sense of place. I've noticed that quite a bit of fanfic feels placeless. Just the settings feel generic, like things are in a city, or maybe a university, and there are some streets but nothing has name or more than the vaguest description. To me as a reader it can feel a bit adrift. I like stories to feel grounded, and to have a lot of texture. My favorite books tend to be SFF that makes me feel like a whole other world is real. I know that not everyone is into that. So I thought I would chat about what does give a story a sense place for me.

A key thing is simply specificity, places with names feel more real. Also things like a quick nod to the existence of seasons and weather can really help. If people are eating something then what are they eating? All of these kinds of things helps the reader build a sense of the the place the story happens in.

A long the same lines sensory details really add texture to a story. I want to know what buildings look like, what the food tastes like, how it smells when the characters enter a new place. That kind of thing is very grounding.

Finally a sense of space and movement. This one is the trickiest. But if you've every read a story set in a place you know and thought "those streets don't connect!" you might know what I mean. This is about how spaces relate to each other, how close or far away in both space and time are things? How big are spaces relative to other spaces?

A sense of place is something that takes work to create in story. These things all require the author to do a bit of work. And it makes readers like me very happy. So what make a story have sense of place for you?

Comments

[elvenjaneite]

Hmmm, I have a bunch of complicated thoughts about this! Writing & reading-wise, I'm always interested in place and setting and the interplay between that and characters. I do think that I'm *personally* more interested in depicting domestic spaces and that doesn't always naturally lend itself to the bigger picture stuff you're talking about.

I also keep setting stories in places where I have lived, but not for a long time, which makes me hesitant to just name where they're set because of the "streets not meeting up" problem. I think the story where I got the closest is "Flying in silver moonlight" and actually someone named the setting in the comments, which made me feel happy! There's also the fact that each story is a little bit different in its scope and focus.

I guess what it comes down to is that it's all a balancing act and it's helpful to be aware of what you're naturally drawn to and what you struggle with so you can bring that perspective when you're writing and editing. (General you.)

[forestofglory]

I mean domestic details are very tied in to some of the larger picture stuff. Not so much the sense of movement but what people eat, what they eat with, what stuff they have in their house and what its made of all go a long way!

But I agree that its balancing act, and that different readers prefer different balances.

[elvenjaneite]

Oh yes, absolutely! Even the details of what houses look will be affected by the setting & the culture around it.