Oct 3, 2011

Sara Foster - Author Interview: Setting

Pick one of your favourites among the settings from your published fiction stories or a setting which is an interesting example from your published fiction. What makes this setting one of your favourites or an interesting example from your fiction?

My second book, Beneath the Shadows, is set in the fictional village of Roseby on the North Yorkshire moors in England. The setting came to me at the same time as the story, as though the place and the characters were inextricably bound to one another, and it seemed impossible that the story could occur elsewhere. My imagination was encouraged by my intimate experience of the location – my husband’s family are from the North Yorkshire moors and I have spent a lot of time there over the last fifteen years. They live in a beautiful old cottage in a small village called Commondale, which I used as the blueprint for Roseby. Having spent my childhood in the suburbs of a big city, I was fascinated by life in this out-of-the-way place. It was perfect for my story, as behind its barren facade it has many wonderful features and folktales that all added to the atmosphere I was trying to create.

What is a setting from a published fiction story by another author you would compare this setting to, and why are they similar?

The most obvious comparisons are to other classic gothic fiction where landscape crosses storytelling boundaries and becomes character. For example, in works by the Brontes the natural environment of the Lancashire/Yorkshire moors stands strong, symbolic, and richly evocative beneath its apparent desolation. In other stories, such as The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, or Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, the wildness of an ungoverned, untamed landscape is used to magnify a sense of danger. An unconquered landscape contains unknown threats, and when characters are pitted against the elements as well as other characters we instinctively understand that they are fighting something much bigger than themselves: that which exists beyond our grasp, the greater mysteries of life, and/or the relentlessness of nature.

How would you describe the way you introduced this setting to readers of your story?

My story begins with my central character, Grace, looking out of a window across the deserted, darkening moors. Immediately, character and landscape are cast together, and thus identified as playing central roles within the story. And yet the window is significant too, a manmade barrier from which Grace can look out onto this unfamiliar, intimidating landscape with some degree of safety. I wanted to instantly highlight the isolation, the stillness, the strangeness/otherness, the cold, and the undercurrent of hostility. So it is appropriate that the reader first meets the landscape at twilight, as the clarity and colour of daylight are lost to the night.

How would you describe the integration of characters and setting in this story?

There are two distinct groupings in the story. First, the outsiders – Grace, her family and friends – whose actions and conversations continually highlight the landscape as unfamiliar. Their observations of the area and reactions to it continually convey their lack of knowledge and subsequent discomfort. There is also a cast of local characters, whose habits and discussions show they are much more comfortable living in this part of the world, usually because they have grown up there. By seeing the landscape through Grace’s eyes, we get a sense of both extremes – there are moments when she is absolutely overwhelmed and alienated by her surroundings, but at other times she feels almost at home, as though within this strange world there is the promise of something new.

How would you describe the interaction of story and setting in this story?

Story and landscape are inseparable throughout Beneath the Shadows. Not only does the landscape stand as an extra character, with its own secrets and stories, and its own past, present and future, but shifts within the landscape also reflect the changing moods of the characters, and developments in the plot. Grace becomes aware of different aspects to her surroundings depending on whether she is hopeful, fearful, etc. And when the snow comes, obliterating everything in its path, it is just as Grace is trapped at the deepest point of her doubts, when all seems hidden to her and she cannot find a way forward.

How much research did you do for the setting of this story, and what did that involve?

I was fortunate to have a good grounding in this setting because of my family connections, and my husband, my mother-in-law and my father-in-law were all rich sources of information. It was my mother-in-law, Jo, who first told me about witching posts and Whitby legends and the infamous hand of glory. Nothing beats local knowledge for the finer details, the things you can’t find in books. I did augment my research by going online, and reading books about the area, its history, flora and fauna. And during the times I was in the UK I also visited places of interest such as the Ryedale Museum in Hutton le Hole, which has a witching post in one of the old cottages. I did everything possible to immerse myself in the place so I could feel it and visualise it while I was writing.

To what extent would you describe the setting of this story typical or atypical of the settings in your fiction stories?

This book was always intended to be a stand-alone story, as my main interest in writing it was to explore characters and circumstances through psychological suspense. However, writing Beneath the Shadows deepened my understanding of what an integral, absorbing facet of storytelling a setting can be. I would never underestimate its potential. If you think of a story without a setting it is as though your characters are walking around in front of a green screen, waiting for you to colour in their world. Everything you add into that world gives those characters different opportunities for interaction, exploration and interpretation.

How do you usually decide on or develop a setting for your fiction stories?

My settings are influenced by a few things. First of all, what I want to write about – as I usually begin with an interesting character dilemma. Secondly, how familiar I can become with the place. There has to be some kind of spark, something I feel I can work with to bring a location to life, and certain places provide me with that impetus more than others. A bare room is as good a setting as a fantastic tropical landscape, depending on how it supports and interacts with your story. The best settings should frame your story, not only to make it stand out, but so that whilst reading you cannot isolate one from the other.

To what extent do the settings of novels you read have an impact on why you read them, and why?

If I’m familiar with a setting I might occasionally choose to read something on that basis alone. It is definitely a lure, but it has to be coupled with other enticements too. Even the most wonderfully described location won’t rescue a story that has underdeveloped characters, an uninteresting plot, or problematic writing. In the best storytelling, all these aspects work together to deliver a collective punch. And yet, setting should never be overlooked or undervalued as it can absolutely enrich your work.

Author website: http://www.sarafoster.com.au/

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