: Re: Is there such a thing as a "setting sketch" for a science fiction writing? I took a look tonight at the post titled What are the pros and cons of building the setting before the characters

@Samaraweera193

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A setting sketch is as important, if not more important than a character sketch.

We also maintain sketches on structures, roads, livestock, pets, vehicles, etc. Especially when working with long time lines.

Another term that may help you find more information than you will ever need is to use "World Building" as your key search word. World building can contain hundreds of setting and scene sketches.

I also draw maps, lots of maps, sometimes only a year apart from the previous overarching map, at other times I may skip a whole decade. Then have smaller location specific maps for the setting and the scenes end up more in storyboard fashion.

Working in this way makes problematic areas stick out like a sore thumb, before their rear their ugly head in your writing.

It also helps to know where everything is to prevent making directional mistakes in your writing. I can't count the number of times a character went west, then later on in the next scene arrived back at their starting point by continuing west. Or they entered the event with a maroon shirt, and during the event their navy blue shirt was torn. Or since this is about setting sketches. The character is said to have walked uphill from his car to the event. Then later he was still going uphill to get back to his car.
Was editing a chapter for a friend in our critique group last month, where a delivery truck had trouble climbing the steep drive to the customers house. He turned the truck around to unload the heavy equipment into their garage. (This means the front of the truck was facing downhill). Later in the story, while they were in the garage uncrating and assembling the device, the truck jumped out of gear and rolled backwards down the hill, causing a huge street sign to end up inside the back of the truck. (Impossible scenario). It was fixed simply by removing 'backwards' and having the street sign come through the windshield instead.
I've also read many Sci-Fi novels where the ship crossed the same range twice without a mention of it returning. In this case, the loop back trip was cut from the story, so it was there originally.

VTY
Dutch

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