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Principles, Elements, Techniques, and Devices of Creative Nonfiction

This document discusses principles of setting and atmosphere in creative nonfiction. It defines setting as where and when a story takes place, including social environment, time and place. It identifies four types of setting: 1) Setting as mirror, where the setting reinforces emotions, 2) Setting as mold, where the setting shapes character, 3) Setting as escape, where imaginary settings are used, and 4) The alien setting, where the setting is unfamiliar or inhospitable. Atmosphere is defined as the overall mood of the story. The document provides examples and analysis of how setting and atmosphere are used in creative nonfiction.

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Micaela Castillo
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112 views11 pages

Principles, Elements, Techniques, and Devices of Creative Nonfiction

This document discusses principles of setting and atmosphere in creative nonfiction. It defines setting as where and when a story takes place, including social environment, time and place. It identifies four types of setting: 1) Setting as mirror, where the setting reinforces emotions, 2) Setting as mold, where the setting shapes character, 3) Setting as escape, where imaginary settings are used, and 4) The alien setting, where the setting is unfamiliar or inhospitable. Atmosphere is defined as the overall mood of the story. The document provides examples and analysis of how setting and atmosphere are used in creative nonfiction.

Uploaded by

Micaela Castillo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS,

TECHNIQUES, AND DEVICES OF


CREATIVE NONFICTION

Setting and Atmosphere


Setting – where and when the story happens.

*Social environment, time, and place.

- Showing > Telling


1. “I went to the lake. It was cool.”

2. My breath escaped in ragged bursts, my


quadriceps burning as I crested the summit. The lake
stretched before me, aquamarine, glistening in
the hot August afternoon sun. Ponderosa pines lined
its shores, dropping their spicy-scented needles into
the clear water. Despite the heat, the Montana
mountain air tasted crisp.
Types of Setting

1. Setting as Mirror

2. Setting as Mold

3. Setting as Escape

4. The Alien Setting


Types of Setting

1. Setting as Mirror

The setting may mirror a prevailing mood. It may


signal or reinforce prevailing emotions. An arid
landscape, for instance, may mirror despair or
spiritual desolation. 
Types of Setting

2. Setting as Mold

The setting of a story often shapes character. It helps make people what
they are. Someone growing up on a farm, with its chores, dependence on
rain and sun, and closeness to living things, is likely to have a different
outlook, a different definition of life, than someone growing up in a
neighbourhood where the only open spaces are parking lots.
Types of Setting

3. Setting as Escape

Escape literature takes us to imaginary settings where we


act out daydreams. The story may take us to a mansion in
the pre-Civil War South to make us witness scenes of
flaming passion. It may take us to ancient Rome to appall
us with scenes of treachery and depravity.
Types of Setting

4. The Alien Setting

Much modern literature circles back to the loss of roots, the loss
of home. You may find yourself in a setting that is inhospitable,
like an alien planet. You may identify with the exile, the
undesirable, the refugee. In much early-twentieth-century
fiction, you encounter the eternal tourist, the expatriate – the
person in exile from his or her own country. 
Atmosphere – overall mood of story.
In your mind, imagine a place that you don’t like. List down the things that you do not
like about the place. What it looks like, smell of the place, what do you hear, etc? Write
a short paragraph about this place using your notes. Apply what you’ve learned about
atmosphere and setting.
 
Rubric:
Knowledge and Skills 30%
Organization & Coherence 30%
Spelling & Grammar 20%
Content 20%
 
Total 100%

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