Setting as Character

Just give this a listen while you read and think...(by the way, this is from the film A Love Song for Bobby Long, which I can't recommend enough.)

The novel that I am currently writing, which is tentatively titled Saving Me, has been heavily influenced by its setting, which is of course here in north-east Georgia, particularly the city of Clarkesville and its surrounding areas. Though the novel is a lot of things, I most describe it as being written in the tradition of Southern and Southern Gothic literature. Southern Literature was a particular interest of mine in college, and if I were ever to get a master's in English Lit, I would most likely concentrate in Southern Lit.

Something that's always stood out about Southern Literature is the consciousness of place/setting, whether the characters are living in the deep South during the novel's events, or if they are displaced (and displacement is often a theme: fish out of water, etc). Think on some of the classic Southern literature that you've read (Faulker, anyone?), and think about the setting. I'm willing to bet it stands out clear to you, huh?

I've been working on my novel for a year and a half; it started as a NaNoWriMo in 2008, and quickly developed into something seeded deep in my gut. I've blogged about it before, how it's almost like an entity inside me, compelling me to finish. I've been writing for a long, long time, but nothing I've ever written or worked on has enraptured me like this one.

A lot of it is the setting. The novel's events take place during the summer months, from early June through the beginning of August. Where I live, July and August are the hottest months of the year, with temperature often averaging in the triple digits with humidity well over 50%. If you've ever spent much time in this kind of weather, you know that it really has an effect on your mental well-being. Heat drives people to do things. How often have you heard or read a crime story in which a heat wave equals a crime wave?

My main character, Lily St. Martin, is having the worst time of her life, and it's also a record-setting hot summer.

The book would be completely different if it were set in, say, North Dakota in the fall. Or Vermont in spring.

Setting is everything, and the setting of your book should feel as alive to the reader as any of the characters. I haven't perfected this by any means, and it's something I'll definitely be paying attention to in edits/revisions.


How does setting influence your writing?

Lily

I'm in a weird mood this weekend. It's hormonal, but that doesn't make it any less real. Just ask the husband. And I realize it's no longer the weekend, but my conception of days is different than those working the 9-5 with the house and the 2.5 kids and the dog and cat. In my mind, it's still the weekend.

Anyway, an old project is on my mind, has been for about a week. In actuality, the project never really leaves my mind.

I'd never heard of NaNoWriMo until about 9:45pm, October 31, 2008. I saw a mention of it in a friend's status on Facebook and was intrigued. I followed the links and officially signed up at 10:01pm. I didn't have an idea, of course, since I'd had no clue about it.

The next day at work I told the other tech Dan about it. I'd brought a notebook to record any ideas I got.
This is what I wrote:

"Tom Quillian asked about you today at church," the sweet, high-pitched voice of my only Aunt Julie informed me over the buzz and crackle of her Walmart cellphone. It was just after noon; she would be in the kitchen fixing gravy for the Sunday pot roast, Baptist-best dress covered with the floral apron I'd given her five years ago.

I don't know where it came from, but that sentence, that cobbling together of words poured out into an idea, a story that gripped not only me, but everyone I let read my work. I didn't win NaNo that year; I did my best and ended around 38k. It was the most I'd ever written. 

The protagonist's name is Lily St. Martin. 

My co-workers still ask me about once a month, "When are you going to finish Lily?" 

Everyone calls the story Lily, even me, even though it has a working title. 

I've never really been a rebellious person. I've always been smart, and I've always been stubborn, and I've always done things my way. And they've always worked out. I grew up in the South in a very religious family. When I left home for college, I stopped going to church and didn't apologize for it. I wasn't rebelling, I was just doing what felt right for me. I was taking the opportunity to act on my feelings.

I'm not going to talk about religion, don't worry. I'm still talking about Lily.
Lily isn't about me, even though some might question.
Despite the religious aspects, I had a good childhood. My parents were supportive and loving. Still are, even though we still butt heads about religion.

Getting this apartment is exciting, but once the initial glow faded, the fear starts kicking in. I'm moving closer to my parents. I've been living about 1:15 away from them for 4 years now; when we move, they'll only be about 20 minutes away.
The fear about the inevitable religion question comes up again.

Whenever I start feeling this way, I always think about Lily.
In some ways, Lily is my darkest feelings. In other ways, Lily is my feelings on hope and renewal.

Lily is semi-stream of consciousness, and Lily often flows best when I'm buzzed (and drunk).
Lily isn't based on anything I've experienced, except in the broadest of terms. She goes to college at the same college I went to, lives in the same town I lived in during college, of course. She's from a rural community, like me. She was raised in a religious household.

The similarities end there.
Lily's story is very dark in many places, but it ends with light, with hope. My boss, one of the people at work who read the story, told me, "I can't wait to see Lily finally find happiness."
I can't either.

I think about Lily all the time, because I'm not finished writing her story.
In many ways, I feel like it's the one story I'm supposed to write. It sounds strange, but it's almost like a biography.
I've never been one of those people who has characters talk to them. I get strong ideas about stories, but I'm more visual. I see scenes like movies, see the setting, see the conflict, see the climax. I don't have conversations with characters.
But Lily.
Lily shares part of my mind. If I see something or experience something, Lily does too. And Lily processes it differently than I do, of course. We have completely different backgrounds.

I realize this makes me sound a little schizo, but that's not I mean it. Lily doesn't talk to me--she lives in me.

That's kinda creepy, huh?

Anyway, I'm thinking about Lily a lot the last few days.
I have the manuscript open most of the day.
I've read through a lot of it.
There's even a scene I'm going to use for the Drunk at First Sight Blogfest.
I haven't started typing quite yet.
I did make some notes in my sketchbook (because I like the weight of the paper for idea processing.)

Here's my one-sentence plot summary, in the barest of senses: Lily St. Martin gives up her dream fellowship and returns home to take care of her mentally ill uncle after her aunt's sudden death.

Sounds boring as hell, huh?


Do you ever use epigraphs for your novels? I never have, but one of my good friends uses one for every book he's written, and I'm always impressed with how fitting they are.
I thought an epigraph would be fitting for Lily's story, and the epigraph I chose is from the song that I feel most encompasses the story.

The epigraph is this:

“I said yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me.” 

And the song is this: