Is it better to draw out my setting? I used to do that in my early days of my writing but nowadays I stopped doing that, I only did it for my novels. What about for a short story, is it better for that? Give me your thoughts.
Whatever helps you visualize it, just make sure you do writing as well and don't "procrastinate" by pushing away the keys and sketching instead. I built a bunch of my world and scenes in Minecraft ...
I think it depends on your preexisting personal tendencies. If your tendency is to fail to fill in the setting for the reader (this describes me, btw), then yes, I can see value in having a visual aid to which you can refer. But if your tendency is to wax rhapsodic on the descriptions, then this may only exacerbate the phenomenon.
The most I do is make a rough sketch of maps to make sure I stay consistent (travel time, direction, etc.). I'd likely do the same for any location oft visited if the details mattered (i.e. a fountain has to be in the northwest corner of a courtyard for story reasons), but not for any other reason. I can see a crime scene definitely benefitting from a sketch, though. For every other setting, I just give a description upon entering it and leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks. There's usually only a handful of items interacted with in a given scene, so it's easy enough to keep track of.
I do not draw it, but I list all five senses and try to capture a few of them well in a scene. Some senses are powerhouses like smell or taste, but are often difficult to get into the story. You may, or may not need to include all five though. Here is a quick example of a few strung together to form a scene. The breeze sifting down through the alley carried a small plastic bottle in the eddy of its wake as it meandered around two dumpsters that had not been emptied in days. Alexis knew, because she could smell the refuse even from thirty feet away. So did two huge rats, drawn to it as only a rat would, except in getting there, it stepped over the top of one of her stiletto's. Too hard to run in such unpractical shoes, all Alexis could do was shriek, and give the rodent a hard kick as she felt its claws dig into her stockings before being propelled less than gracefully into the gutter. With a slight thud, it hit the hard surface of the granite-gutter, and then scurried off, darting this way and that behind the rattling, empty bottle. Even from the slight moment of panic, Alexis could feel her mouth go dry, and the taste of adrenaline overwhelm her, and yet Alexis knew, far more vile creatures then rodents, would soon be drawn to the alley...to her! Using these senses in order: sight, smell, sound, touch, sound, sight, taste, a vivid picture was "painted" of a woman of ill repute; in a vile alley, about to start her shift...reluctantly. By trying to connect with a few sensory words, you show instead of telling. I even got in a little alliteration (Granite-gutter). But the scene is not fully conveyed, I never once said what Alexis had for an occupation. It happens to be the oldest profession, but the reader can fill in the blank because we gave them a picture of what she was wearing. A reader WANTS to fill in the blank so never steal from your reader. So no drawing for me: I just use the 5 senses in some strategic spots in my stories/novels/memoirs to show and not tell. Note: This took about 10 minutes to do. I could not have searched for a photo on the internet, or sketched the scene in ten minutes, so it really is a time-saver...and really, do any of us have enough time to write?
