Hi again everyone, I'm around 30k words into my novel, and I'm pretty pleased with how it's going. However, I want to know if I need to vary my settings more. It's a very character driven book. Currently the book mainly revolves around my MC's seafront apartment: it's where most of the important dialogue takes place. There's a few sections that have/will take place in a rubbish night club, a coffee shop, there is the odd walk down the beach and a few outings to London (which are needed to advance the novel and to understand my MC's motives, without vomiting a load of internal dialogue and blocks of narrative onto the page). Is this OK? Would those not emotionally involved in the book (i.e, readers, agents etc) find this dull? Many thanks, P
I don't think so so long as everything else is up to par. Can't remember the last time I read something and thought, "Good book, but it could have used more settings." Or heard anyone else say something similar in a review or critique. Hell, most contemporary/modern life novels are set in everyday locations like yours seems to be. Overall I think a cool/unique setting can certainly elevate a story but I don't think a mundane one will necessarily detract from it. Provided that the story and characters aren't inherently boring already, in which case no panoply of settings would help it much, regardless of how spectacular they might be. Of course, a variety of settings will make give you a bit more of a driving engine to play with, but that can get cheesy if you have your characters zipping off between here and there for no apparent reason.
For a perfect example of how excellent a story in one setting can be, see The Sunset Limited. Great movie, happens entirely in one guy's apartment. Also, Moon. I had to physically restrain myself from quoting this as my sig. It was like something out of Evil Dead.
I agree. I actually prefer stories that take place within a limited scope, especially for slice-of-life stories. As long as the settings have reason to exist and the characters and story have reason to be there, I think you're fine.
Yeah this is totally fine. You don't have to have super complex settings to make a story work. As long as your actual plot and characters check out you should be good to go. While I am a fantasy reader, and therefore experience the wide array of settings in one book, that isn't what captures me. Its the driving forces and the unique characters that do. As I say a lot, a story can only be as amazing as an author allows it. Just let your story flow, and if you keep in mind the plot and characters, it will have that chance to be amazing. Keep it up, and don't ever let anything get you down!
Not the same medium, but one of my favorite Hulu Original series is The Booth at the End: I think you're good
Thanks a lot for all your replies...you've all made some good points. I can put this out of my head and relax now
