Today I’m the guest blogger on The Bookshelf Muse, the terrific blog run by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. My entry in their Setting Thesaurus (a great resource) is about Trailers, of which I have a lot of memories from growing up in Arizona. Warm climates do seem to get a lot of these mobile homes, but they are everywhere. Thanks, Angie and Becca, for inviting me.
Writing Tip for Today: When you describe your setting, pay attention to the following:

• It’s all in the details. A reader can usually tell if you have actually been to a location. That’s not to say you can’t fake it pretty darn close, but there is no substitute for experience.
• If you are writing about a place you’ve never been (except virtually) look for someone who has and interview that person. Questions might include: What sensory detail (sight, sound, smells, etc) do you think of first when you think of this place? Most encyclopedias don’t give us any ideas beyond the sights.
• They say your setting should be a character. How does the setting of your work compare to the problems faced by your protagonist? Use the elements to heighten the tension. EX: A character who’s worried her marriage is falling apart lives near the Northern Pacific coastline. The storms and raw weather can subtly add to the character’s dilemmas.
• Weave, don’t chunk. Learn to write the setting all around the action of a scene, instead of chunking long descriptions at the beginning of that scene. This helps the setting become dynamic and helps the reader remember the setting details.
• Finally, treat the people in the setting with respect. In my trailer entry, for example, I must remember that the place itself may be tacky or trashy, but there really is no such thing as trailer trash when it refers to a real person. If you make fun of the characters, you look like a snobbish bully, not a writer with generosity and compassion.