When it comes to writing settings or creating a scene in a story, the essential thing you want to do is create a visual representation of what the environment is like with words. You want to tap into the 5 senses of touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell of the reader. If you want to tap into the 6th sense, you want to create powerful imagery to the point that the reader goes into a different place within themselves. A place where there is an ambiance to the point where the person actually feels like they are in a different world internally and feeling different emotions. That is probably the work of hypnotism, but in a way, storytelling is much like that. You are drawing your reader into a different place using words.
For the first setting exercise, describe the world as you wish to see it. Describe your ideal environment. Be as detailed as possible and include elements of the five senses. How do things smell, taste, feel, sound, and look? If you want to go the extra mile, how does your environment feel emotionally and make you or others feel? This should be roughly 6-8 sentences. Note: This is to be written in the form of a story format.
Instead of this: The world as I wish to see it is one where everything is calm and peaceful. It is one where everyone is getting along and I live on a peaceful ocean with waves and coconuts everywhere I go.
Example: As I lay in the powdery mound of sand, the cool, salt-water wind brushes past my face-- whistling my worries away with a melody as pleasant as that of a Beethoven piano concerto. Ahead of me, the waves coil and fold like a silky blanket of liquid that melts, drips and puddles-- inching its way to my feet to soak in the tensions of my being and pulling it away-- dissolving as the water withers and foams its way back into the essence of the ocean. It is here in the vastness of the ocean with the swaying brushes of palm trees and the tender pulp and nectar of the coconuts that fall in the puff of sands with all the rumbling of the waves and occasional caws of the seagulls that I find myself in a place I can easily call home.
Keep it to about the length of this example. If you would like to collaborate with a peer, you may do so and add to each other's scenery and settings.
Student Anon: As I wake up looking up at the ceiling hearing the dolphins singing as they're swimming by. I get up and go to the deck to see water clear as day that I see the little fishes swim by. As I'm standing, I can feel the breeze moving my hair in the wind. I go and walk around touring the cruise because it was my first night. As I'm trying to find the food bar or the buffet, I run into someone and get hot coffee all over my arm. I can feel my arm starting to tingle and turned a little red. Later that day the cruise went to an area where you can see a lot of the dolphins and whales jump in and out of the water and as you look onto the distance you can see the beautiful sunset. As it was getting darker I went and ate dinner and dessert, but for my dessert I ate strawberry and chocolate and it tasted like heaven...
As I lay in the grass in the woods behind my house I feel strangely calm. It feels as if nothing can bother me in that moment and I am completely relaxed.I sit up and look around for a minute as if any movement could disrupt the calm atmosphere. I reach over and pick up my book from beside me and flip to my favorite chapter. Some how every time I open this book I am hit with a wave of every moment and memory I can remember about the emotions it makes me feel. I only truly feel happy and at peace when I am alone with my nose buried in a book. That is all I could come up with as I am not a positive thinker.
As snowflakes hit my rose colored cheeks, I walk down a path toward the book store. The fresh fallen snow crunches underneath my black PF flyers. The cold air fills my nose in a refreshing way. I feel as if I can breathe more clearer than I have in a long time. I reach my destination. Through the glass doors, I can see the amazing amount of books inside. My breath fogs up the glass, and I head inside. My nose is now filled with a brand new scent. Its the nostalgic smell of books and warm drinks. My eyes light up as I shake off the snow from my body, and quickly make my way to the books. I grab one that looks relatively interesting. I turn it around in my hands. The feeling of the cold cover against my skin, makes me elated.
that's all I can come up with >:(
I sit in my soft comfortable chair reading an amazing new story filled with adventure and magic, as a cool calm breeze flows through my open window, and just imagining what it would be like to be part of such a story and just experience all that there is in such an amazing story, without any interruptions or outside disturbances. Just me and my book.
bjhfu uhgkj gjknmn
I’m in the hills; the sun beaming down on the forest floor. My feet touch the dry crumbled leaves, and the moist dirt beneath calms my toes as they dig into the ground, leaving prints in the dirt. There was a soft breeze hitting my skin. As I tilted my head back, I felt free being alone and not having rules to follow. I walked towards the creek bending down and scooping the cool water into my hands. I lifted the water to my mouth as the water hit my throat-- flowing down, cooling my body off from the heat. I walk towards a berry bush seeing the black and red berries hanging from the vine. The thorns were as sharp as a freshly cut samurai blade where it could pierce your skin without feeling anything until seconds later. I carefully picked a couple berries and slowly ate them. The sweetness and bitterness exploded in my mouth with it’s essence. I stood straight taking a huge breath of cool air as it hit my lungs-- feeling relaxed. I could hear birds chirping along with the chipmunks making their mocking laughs as they leap through the trees. The sound of the water making a calming essence and the liquid blue hitting the sides of the rocks make a foamy, white surface. As I walked by the water, I could see small fish swimming upstream along with salamanders hiding under rocks.  Â
As I lie there on my bed, earphones in, tuning out everyone in the world with just the sound of heavy metal, I can really take that time to sit there and enjoy myself for a while. Calm music is nice, but not when you can still hear your brother screaming at people online. At least heavy metal is always loud. When sitting on my bed gets boring, I go out for a walk. The sensation of covering lots of distance and being active while is great, having an excuse to not say a single word to anyone is just bonus points. The smell of Oroville isn't very pleasant, but I just ignore it. That feeling is the best feeling I feel like I'll ever get for quite some time, so I make it count. Oroville isn't very great to look at either, you could only imagine that it tastes and smells like Chernobyl radiation. You know what? Oroville looks like a literal bowl.