setting narrative the setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction a literary element the setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story setting has been referred to as story world role setting is an important element in a narrative and in some works the setting becomes a character itself the term setting is often used to refer to the social milieu in which the events of a novel occur the elements of the story setting include the passage of time which may be static in some stories or dynamic in others with for example changing seasons types setting may take various forms alternate history campaign setting constructed world dystopia fantasy world fictional city fictional country fictional crossover fictional location fictional universe future history imaginary world mythical place parallel universe planets in science fiction simulated reality virtual reality utopia british regional literature index of fictional places landscape list of fictional universes setting notes levin donna 1992 get that novel started cincinnati oh writers digest books isbn0898795176 lodge david 1992 the art of fiction london martin secker warburg ltd isbn0140174923 obstfeld raymond 2002 fiction first aid instant remedies for novels stories and scripts cincinnati oh writers digest books isbn158297117x rozelle ron 2005 write great fiction description setting cincinnati oh writers digest books isbn158297327x truby john 2007 anatomy of a story 22 steps to becoming a master storyteller new york ny faber and faber inc isbn9780865479517 vtenarrativecharacter antagonist antihero archenemy character arc characterization deuteragonist false protagonist focal character foil narrator protagonist stock character supporting character tragic hero tritagonist plot action backstory chekhovs gun clich cliffhanger climax conflict deus ex machina dialogue dramatic structure eucatastrophe exposition foreshadowing flashback flashforward frame story in medias res kishtenketsu macguffin occams razor pace plot device plot twist poetic justice red herring reveal selffulfilling prophecy subplot suspense trope setting alternate history backstory dystopia fictional location city country universe utopia theme irony leitmotif metaphor moral motif style allegory bathos diction figure of speech imagery narrative techniques mode mood narration stylistic device suspension of disbelief symbolism tone structure linear narrative nonlinear narrative films television series types of fiction with multiple endings form comics epic fable fabliau fairy tale flash fiction folktale legend novel novella parable play poem screenplay short story genre action fiction adventure comic crime docufiction epistolary erotic fantasy fiction gothic historical horror list of writing genres magic realism mystery nautical paranoid philosophical picaresque political psychological romance saga satire science speculative superhero thriller urban western narration firstperson multiple narrators stream of consciousness stream of unconsciousness unreliable tense past present future related audience author creative nonfiction fiction writing literary science literary theory monomyth narratology rhetoric screenwriting storytelling tellability literature portal 