Setting can play as big a role in your book as your plot or main characters. In fact setting can be a character itself. Think of the books that you've read where any other setting would change the tempo or plot of the book. Stephen King's The Shining was set in a Colorado hotel in the mountains, inaccessible in the winter, which heightened the tension because the characters were basically snowed in and alone.

The time period can also be an important part of the setting.  Gone With the Wind played out against the backdrop of the Civil War and the war played as big a part in what happened as the characters.  They were at the mercy of the setting. 

 You will need to research your setting, especially if you have never been there or if you are dealing with a different time period.

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Exercises to get started:

• Write a paragraph about a time period you find fascinating
• Write a
• Write a description of the buildings or fashions in that time period
• Write a plot idea that might be pertinent to that time period