With most of my books, I'll actually go out and look at the setting. If you describe things carefully, it kind of makes the scene pop.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I always try to make the setting fit the story I have in mind.
There is so much to do on a film set. It is an extraordinarily invigorating and wonderful place to be, when things are running well.
I write the kinds of novels I like to read, where the setting is rendered with love and care.
There is a comfort zone of knowing where things are going and having characters in place, but the action gets more and more dramatic and is very challenging to describe.
Setting is the bedrock of your story. If you choose a real-world backdrop, be certain you get your facts straight.
I think a setting is hugely important. I look at setting as a character with its own look, sound, history, quirks, goofy temperaments and moods.
I just like to go where the material is, whether that's TV, or movies, or the stage. As long as it's great writing, it's pretty much something I can't resist.
I look for two things when I am about to launch into a book. First, there has to be a dramatic arc to the story itself that will carry me, and the reader, from beginning to end. Second, the story has to weave through larger themes that can illuminate the world of the subject.
I think most fiction focuses on uncomfortable settings because that's interesting.
I jump around in the plotting stage, where I basically just make a bulleted list of every damn thing that happens in the entire book.