Setting the Scene by Janice Seagraves

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Setting the scene

By Janice Seagraves

Settling scene is very important in writing. You want to set the scene correctly, so your readers know just where your characters are.


I was told by my editor that she felt like she was really in the Bahamas when she read my book, Windswept Shores, and she had been there before. That meant to me that I really set the scene right, especially since I’ve never been to the Bahamas in my life.


But I did have some real world experiences to draw on. 


My dad loved to fish and took us camping every summer to every lake within a 90 mile radius of our house. So that means I know camping.


In Windswept Shores my couple basically camp and cook most of their meals over a campfire.


Example from Windswept Shores: Seth followed [Megan], leaning heavily on the stick while he watched the sway of her behind. Her meager campsite was neatly laid out; the paths lined with large shells and stones. To one side a tiny fire blazed, a pot with a fitted lid peeked out from a nest of coals giving a delicious aroma that teased his nose.


“A camp-oven? I haven’t seen one of those in years. What’s ever ya got in there has to be tasty.” He salivated. His gaze settled on a small A-frame made from lashed palm logs. Then he noticed a zippered closure. “That’s not a tent is it?”


She glanced at the shelter. “We had a few scientists on the plane with us. They had intended to transverse the cays, camping on the beaches while they studied the flora and fauna. Lucky for me their supplies washed ashore. That’s what has helped me survive these past two weeks.”

~***~

I’ve also been to the beach. I love the feel of the gritty sand underneath my feet and the roar of the waves as it rushes toward the land. Then I added the details: the Bahamas have teal colored seas and light colored to snowy white beaches.


Example [beginning] Windswept Shores: Breathing hard, she flicked a glance at the teal-colored sea. She'd thought a vacation to the Bahamas would be the perfect getaway, would be a solution to the problems she and Jonathan had faced. She'd been wrong—dead wrong. Tears of grief filled her eyes. The never-ending crash of the waves on the beach and the cries of the seagulls seemed to mock her with the reminder she was utterly alone.

~***~

The rest is basically research.


I found out that all manner of tropical live thrive there, including tropical fish. When I found out their dolphins are spotted, I had to add that to the story too. Megan sees one when Seth teaches her how to snorkel.
I’ve never actually snorkeled in the ocean, but my husband did try to teach me how in a swimming pool, so the problems I had trying to learn, Megan has too.


Example from Windswept Shores: The next day started calm and clear. Seth found goggles and a snorkel for Megan. She reluctantly went with him to the lagoon for her lesson. “I know ya can swim. This part isn’t hard. Just breathe out of the mouth piece, like so.” He slipped his snorkel on, blew out loudly, then started to hum.


Megan tried to place the melody, it sounded familiar. Maybe one of those old songs I learned to sing at school? Dancing Matilda or something?


He took his mouth piece out. “Okay, try it now.”


“I don’t know about using something that’s been in someone else’s mouth.” Megan looked at the snorkel with suspicion as she rinsed it in the water again. It’s probably Bill’s. Yuck! Old man’s drool.


“Luv, you been doing that since we got here. I reckon its clean now,” he encouraged her.


She frowned at him, then at the mouth piece. Megan sighed and stuck it in her mouth, breathing through it. Okay, it’s like breathing from your mouth.


“Orright, now stick your face in the water,” he instructed her as he did so himself.


Megan stuck her head down, took a few breaths. She pulled her head up and took her mouth piece out. 


“Hey.”


Seth’s head came up as he took his snorkel out. “Oy, what, luv?”


“What happens when I get water in this thing? How will I breathe then?”


“Ya blow it out like a Dolphin does, then ya can take a breath.”


“Oh, okay, but what if I can’t get it all out. See, it’s got a bend in it like a sink trap, not all the water drains out of a sink trap.”


“Fixed many sinks, have ya?” He smirked.


“Actually, I have,” she admitted.


“Luv, if you are that worried about it, then stay near the surface. There is still a lot you can see from up top.”


“Oh, good, I thought you would insist that I learn the whole thing all at once,” she said, relieved. Jonathan would have.


“You aren’t ready to learn it all at once,” he told her. “Just float on you tummy and watch the fishies.”

~***~

So you see a lot of scene setting is using your own world experience to draw on then combining it with your research.

~***~

Janice Seagraves bio: When not writing late into the night, Janice takes care of her hubby of thirty-one years and a just grown daughter. They are owned by an overly affectionate cat and a pigeon who is in love with her husband (not kidding).

Windswept Shores by Janice Seagraves Cover Contest Winner erotic contemporary romance novel (approx 50K) price $4.95 Cover Art by Pink Petal Books with assistance from Winterheart Design Blurb: The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas until she finds a nearly-drowned man washed up on shore. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck. With only meager survival skills between them, will they survive and can they find love?

You can find Janice’s book, Windswept Shores, at Pink Petal Books.
Windswept Shores’ book trailer

Janice Seagraves’s website: http://janiceseagraves.org/
Her main blog: http://ladyjanice.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/janice.seagraves
And twitter: http://twitter.com/janiceseagraves

 

Stories that leave you breathless . . . 

Janice Seagraves

http://janiceseagraves.org/