Most of my topics such as these have focused on the characters within a story, after all, as the main actors they are a large part of what makes a tale enjoyable. But this time, I’d like to take the spotlight away from the characters and focus on the world they partake in, the setting to our tale if you would. Of course, as there are many types of stories, there are just as many settings and each one can bring its own charm. Of course, that makes this much, MUCH harder to pin down, as the settings can be easily and dramatically changed. For now, I’ll simply post a few of my cardinal rules, and you can expand upon the thoughts. 1. Consistency is everything. When writing a story, there can be all sorts of interesting and unique premises and twists, however, one thing I always find to be important is for the premise to remain consistent throughout the tale. They set down the general rules of the world in question, and run with it from there, using the characters and events to push the story further. 2. Limitations. As with characters, the world itself needs boundaries as well to help keep it interesting and allow for conflict. For example, one classic story is that of two countries fighting over limited resources, the limit here is what allows the story to take place. Of course, if you then turn this around late in the tale, you’ll get an unsatisfactory conclusion to what might have been a great tale. As always, remember to share your thoughts below, I may not reply for a while as it’s time for me to return to the grind, but give it some thought, and if you have anything to restate or comment in another’s, go for it.