Lynne Kelly’s debut novel CHAINED was released in May through Farrar, Straus,
& Giroux. She’s represented by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf
Literary & Media. Lynne grew up in Houston, then lived in a
couple of much colder places before running back to the Houston area. For a few
years she was a special education teacher, until she realized it was a job for
someone with good planning and organizational skills. She now works as a sign
language interpreter and writes novels for children and young adults. CHAINED
is her first novel. Visit her website and blog, or follow her on Twitter.
Hey, How’d That Happen?: Mapping Out Your Setting
By Lynne Kelly
Back when
I received my first round of edit notes for CHAINED, one thing my editor asked
me to do was make a rough map of the setting. She was having trouble picturing
where things were in the story, so that was something I needed to make more
clear as I revised. Part of the problem was that the story had changed so much
that by the time I finished writing it, the way I envisioned the setting was
different than when I’d started the first draft.
I received my first round of edit notes for CHAINED, one thing my editor asked
me to do was make a rough map of the setting. She was having trouble picturing
where things were in the story, so that was something I needed to make more
clear as I revised. Part of the problem was that the story had changed so much
that by the time I finished writing it, the way I envisioned the setting was
different than when I’d started the first draft.
Most of
the story takes place on the old circus grounds where the main character,
Hastin, works as an elephant keeper. I used the Draw program in OpenOffice to
make a diagram of the property and came up with this:
the story takes place on the old circus grounds where the main character,
Hastin, works as an elephant keeper. I used the Draw program in OpenOffice to
make a diagram of the property and came up with this:
I sent the
diagram to the editor so she could see where everything was supposed to be, and
keeping a hard copy next to me as I revised really helped me firm up the
setting. Whatever a character was doing, I’d check to make sure his actions
make sense: Can he really see what he’s describing, or are the trees in the
way? Is he close enough to overhear that conversation he’s eavesdropping on?
What’s a water bucket doing by the arena?
diagram to the editor so she could see where everything was supposed to be, and
keeping a hard copy next to me as I revised really helped me firm up the
setting. Whatever a character was doing, I’d check to make sure his actions
make sense: Can he really see what he’s describing, or are the trees in the
way? Is he close enough to overhear that conversation he’s eavesdropping on?
What’s a water bucket doing by the arena?
The
diagram was a lifesaver when I worked on the scene where Hastin is bathing the
elephant, Nandita, and decides to escape
with her. The two of them take off and run away to the forest where Nandita
used to live, and from there Hastin plans to return home. Then I looked at the
diagram and said, “Hey, you two– how did you get past the fence?”
diagram was a lifesaver when I worked on the scene where Hastin is bathing the
elephant, Nandita, and decides to escape
with her. The two of them take off and run away to the forest where Nandita
used to live, and from there Hastin plans to return home. Then I looked at the
diagram and said, “Hey, you two– how did you get past the fence?”
Headdesk.
If Hastin were escaping on his own, he could climb the
fence, but with an elephant? Ummm, now what? Let’s see:
fence, but with an elephant? Ummm, now what? Let’s see:
·
People can do amazing things when they’re
really, really motivated. Powered by an adrenaline rush and desperation, Hastin
carries the elephant over the fence. (What? It’s not like she’s full grown.)
People can do amazing things when they’re
really, really motivated. Powered by an adrenaline rush and desperation, Hastin
carries the elephant over the fence. (What? It’s not like she’s full grown.)
·
You know, I’ve always wanted to write fantasy.
Hello, magical fence that disappears for a chapter!
You know, I’ve always wanted to write fantasy.
Hello, magical fence that disappears for a chapter!
·
That fence is pretty old. How convenient it’s
rotted away over there by the spring.
That fence is pretty old. How convenient it’s
rotted away over there by the spring.
·
Balloons. Lots and lots of helium balloons. (We
all loved the movie UP, didn’t we?)
Balloons. Lots and lots of helium balloons. (We
all loved the movie UP, didn’t we?)
But after
sleeping on it, I decided a fence that size would need a few gates, and I
hadn’t put any in the diagram. People are coming and going throughout the day,
and I don’t think they’re all climbing over the fence each time. And they had
to get the elephant in somehow,
didn’t they? They brought her in a big truck and drove right up to the arena.
After countless revisions, I’d never shown them opening a gate to bring her in.
But if the gates were too accessible, it would’ve been easy for Hastin and
Nandita to escape any time, and the story would be over.
sleeping on it, I decided a fence that size would need a few gates, and I
hadn’t put any in the diagram. People are coming and going throughout the day,
and I don’t think they’re all climbing over the fence each time. And they had
to get the elephant in somehow,
didn’t they? They brought her in a big truck and drove right up to the arena.
After countless revisions, I’d never shown them opening a gate to bring her in.
But if the gates were too accessible, it would’ve been easy for Hastin and
Nandita to escape any time, and the story would be over.
So, now I
had one wide gate–one of those big metal ones you might see on a farm, held
closed with a chain and padlock. In a couple other places I put gates for
people to walk on and off the circus grounds.
had one wide gate–one of those big metal ones you might see on a farm, held
closed with a chain and padlock. In a couple other places I put gates for
people to walk on and off the circus grounds.
There. Now
we don’t have an entire cast of characters trapped forever behind a fence. For
that scene I was working on, Nandita is a young elephant and can pass through
one of those smaller gates (barely), but when she’s older that wouldn’t be
possible.
we don’t have an entire cast of characters trapped forever behind a fence. For
that scene I was working on, Nandita is a young elephant and can pass through
one of those smaller gates (barely), but when she’s older that wouldn’t be
possible.
This isn’t
the only scene that changed–I tweaked so many scenes as a result of having a
map of the setting on the writing desk. It made everything so much clearer; if
you’re holding your setting only in your head, it’s too easy to change it as
you go along. You can have buildings that change locations from chapter to
chapter, trees show up out of nowhere, fences that disappear and reappear.
the only scene that changed–I tweaked so many scenes as a result of having a
map of the setting on the writing desk. It made everything so much clearer; if
you’re holding your setting only in your head, it’s too easy to change it as
you go along. You can have buildings that change locations from chapter to
chapter, trees show up out of nowhere, fences that disappear and reappear.
I’d have
saved myself a lot of revision time (and head smacks) if I’d had the setting
map from the beginning. It still would have changed as the story evolved, but I
would have changed it on the paper diagram too, so I could keep things
consistent in the story.
saved myself a lot of revision time (and head smacks) if I’d had the setting
map from the beginning. It still would have changed as the story evolved, but I
would have changed it on the paper diagram too, so I could keep things
consistent in the story.
So if you
haven’t made a setting map for your story, try drawing one out and see if that
helps you as your write your draft or revise.
haven’t made a setting map for your story, try drawing one out and see if that
helps you as your write your draft or revise.
Or a lot
of you may have done this already–have you drawn out maps of your settings,
and has it helped your writing? Have you used it to work out a problem that
came up? Or do you cheat and just add balloons?
of you may have done this already–have you drawn out maps of your settings,
and has it helped your writing? Have you used it to work out a problem that
came up? Or do you cheat and just add balloons?
