What Does Setting Say?

I’ll flat out say it, setting is almost always overlooked by a reader.

I’m not even sure how much writers think about their setting. I mean, we tend to focus on our characters, the interactions, the personalities. In reality, a setting is simply a backdrop for the stories we mean to tell.

Authors will spend a varying amount of time painting the world into which they are inserting the characters and the story. In space operas and high fantasy a great deal of time is spent building a rich and vibrant world. But, how much do authors think about the setting? Is the setting simply a trope of the genre, for instance the dusty range for westerns, the dark city for crime thrillers, space for sci-fi, or vibrant medieval landscapes for fantasy?

To be honest, the answer is as varied as the authors out there.

There are even a few novels where the setting is a character.

For me, the settings need to be varied. They could be interchanged, but I need variety in my imagination. I don’t know that it would alter Genesis much Atom and Daisy crossed paths on a water world, aboard a fishing trawler instead of in a bar on a desert world.

The important part of the story for me is their meeting.

Across the course of two books I have worlds of many varieties: desert, ice, jungle, man-made space stations, hollow asteroids, savannah, and tech worlds. Now, I have to keep in mind that each of those settings is simply a snapshot of an entire world.

I’m not sure how much the settings play into the story, but I wanted to demonstrate the wide variety of what man could face out in the Black.

Planets are different, but humans remain the same across the universe. Humanity is shared.

* * *

The Gospel According … to Mary has arrived. I am proud to announce that my father, Carl Winderl, has had his fourth book published. He has continued on his Marian journey in this book of poetry. If you or someone you know enjoys poetry or a literary perspective on one of the Bible’s most mysterious figures, check it out.

Also, this is the first book by Carl Winderl to be available in hardcover.

* * *

Lastly, I am between publishers. This means Genesis: Atom & Go is currently unavailable through the usual outlets. If you would like a copy, please contact me through my contact page and I will see what I can do about getting you a copy … perhaps even a signed copy.

In the meantime, keep on reading, keep on soaking up some spring sunshine, and keep on flying the Black

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