Aug 16, 2024 08:00:00

What is the technique for adding depth to a story by making a character 'lost'?

In order to immerse readers in a story, whether it is set in a real city or a fictional world such as fantasy or science fiction, it is important to give them a sense of place, such as 'where am I walking now' and 'how far is A from B in relation to their location.' Lena Valencia, editor-in-chief and writer at

One Story , a publishing company that trains short story writers and supports them in improving their skills, explains the technique of 'getting lost' to give depth to the setting of a story.

Experiencing Place in Fiction: On Allowing Your Characters to Get Lost ‹ Literary Hub
https://lithub.com/experiencing-place-in-fiction-on-allowing-your-characters-to-get-lost/

When Valencia teaches story-writing, he has students practice drawing a map of the neighborhood they lived in as a child. In places that were once familiar to them, they should be able to remember directions and prominent landmarks. On the other hand, they may be too familiar with the place to recognize parts that have not changed dramatically. This exercise 'conveys that the place and the characters have a symbiotic relationship,' Valencia said.

In her essay collection ' A Field Guide to Getting Lost, ' author Rebecca Solnit writes about the importance of getting lost: 'Not getting lost is not living, not knowing how to get lost is ruin. And somewhere in between, in unknown land, lies a life of discovery.' According to Solnit, when you've lost yourself to a certain extent, it's important to 'make room in your life for the unknown.'

Valencia responded by proposing a training exercise: 'Imagine a familiar city, and then write a stranger wandering through the area.' This training has two aspects. One is that seeing a familiar environment through the eyes of a stranger can reveal details that the author has not noticed before. The author of the story knows the world he or she has created well, but the reader does not. When you imagine what a person who does not know the place would notice, you can imagine various people involved in the place, or notice features of the setting that you have not noticed before, creating 'uncertainty' that is beneficial for fiction and makes the story more interesting.

Another benefit is that it helps us understand that the setting or location of a fictional work is heavily influenced by the context of the characters' relationship to the place. People who are familiar with the place are more likely to mention important buildings and landmarks, while people who are unfamiliar with the place are more likely to notice its unique culture. Furthermore, if you deliberately create a situation where what the characters are looking at has no context, such as a scene where they suddenly get lost in a bleak space, the place becomes strange and alien, creating a sense of the boundary between reality and unreality being torn apart.

Valencia summarizes this technique as a creative technique: 'Putting your characters in unfamiliar or emotionally uncomfortable situations, like an awkward party or a rocky date, can add tension and weight to your story. Similarly, placing your characters in unfamiliar grounds, spaces, or locations can create tension in your story. Finding a way back to relative safety can help depict the ups and downs of your story and the inner changes of your characters.'