Once Upon a Cozy Spot
7 Exercises to Create Dynamic Settings
⋙ Master the Fundamentals, Keep the Streak Alive ⋘
Bookmark these daily “streak savers” from Writing Streak.
One of my favorite books is called The Timeless Way of Building. It’s written by an architect named Christopher Alexander, and in it he describes how buildings used to be tied to the actions that people performed inside them. But now architects design buildings that they themselves won’t ever live inside, and this can lead to an ego-driven design process that creates spaces that no longer support life.
In stories, settings influence actions and interactions, making them more than mere backdrops. Spaces are as meaningful as the people who inhabit them. What happens in a story depends as much on the settings as it does the characters.
This Week’s Streak Savers 🪦
⋙ Monday, Jan 20: The Dorm Room
Setup: Imagine an empty dorm room before anyone has moved into it.
Goal: Reveal how a character changes a space and how the space reflects their personality and habits.
Constraints:
Start with a description of the empty room before anyone moves in.
Show how the room looks after the character first moves in.
Finally, describe the room a few months later, reflecting changes in the character's life or state of mind.
Reflection: What do the changes in the dorm room reveal about the character? How did the evolution of the space suggest growth, stagnation, or other shifts?
⋙ Tuesday, Jan 21: A Functional Space
Setup: Think of a space with a specific function—mundane, fun, or sinister.
Goal: Highlight how the design and atmosphere of a space influence what happens there.
Constraints:
Choose an action performed in the space (e.g., cooking, playing, scheming).
Describe how the space supports or constrains the action, focusing on its physical and emotional details.
Write a brief scene of a character performing the chosen action in the space.
Reflection: How did the space shape the character’s actions? Did the design or mood of the setting influence the tone of the scene?
⋙ Wednesday, Jan 22: Right to Repair
Setup: A character is repairing, upgrading, or updating a space.
Goal: Use the act of repair or change as a subtle metaphor for something deeper.
Constraints:
Write a scene where the character is actively repairing or altering the space.
Include dialogue with someone who questions or criticizes the change.
Let the repair or change symbolize something about the character or their relationships without explicitly stating the connection.
Reflection: How did the act of repair reveal something about the character’s state of mind or goals? What did the interaction with the other person add to the scene?
⋙ Thursday, Jan 23: Rapid Decomposition
Setup: Think of a specific feature of a building that someone might interact with.
Goal: Deconstruct a building into its parts to reveal detail and intimacy with the space.
Constraints:
Begin with a description of the building as a whole, focusing on its overall presence or purpose.
Zoom into a specific room or space where the chosen feature is located.
Finally, focus on the feature itself, showing a character interacting with it in a meaningful way.
Reflection: How did breaking the space down into layers affect your understanding of its role in the story? What did the character’s interaction with the feature suggest about their relationship to the space?
⋙ Friday, Jan 24: An Eventful Location
Setup: Imagine a space being prepared for an event with decorations, special furniture, or other changes.
Goal: Highlight how additions to a space shape its atmosphere and purpose.
Constraints:
Describe the space as it is being set up, focusing on what has been added or altered.
Show a character adding something unexpected, surprising, or out of place—hinting at mystery or tension.
Avoid revealing the full context of the event, letting the changes to the space suggest its nature.
Reflection: How did the changes to the space affect its tone or mood? What did the unexpected addition imply about the event or the people involved?
⋙ Saturday, Jan 25: Two Views and a Vista
Setup: Think of a scenic vista or a striking location where someone might stop and look.
Goal: Show how familiarity or novelty influences a character’s perception of a space.
Constraints:
Start with the perspective of a new visitor, capturing their initial impressions.
Shift to the perspective of a character who knows the space well, revealing their deeper or contrasting understanding.
Let the space itself remain consistent while the viewpoints create different interpretations.
Reflection: How did the contrasting perspectives shape the reader’s view of the space? What did the differences in perception reveal about the characters?
⋙ Sunday, Jan 26: A Town with a Story
Setup: Reflect on your hometown and reimagine it as a fictionalized version.
Goal: Create a vivid, character-driven story about a town shaped by its places and events.
Constraints:
Begin with a broad description of the town, focusing on its atmosphere and defining features.
Introduce specific locations and events that hint at the town’s personality or history.
Shift focus to a character who is thinking or speaking about the town, revealing their connection to it.
Conclude with a significant event that forever altered the town’s identity.
Reflection: How did fictionalizing your hometown affect the way you saw it? What did the character’s perspective add to the story of the town? How did the final event reshape its meaning?