The Dimension of Setting

It was the year 4006 in the Gulag timeline. All-Father Putin graced the gathering of the most holy Reds with his venerable presence, and after a secret meeting of the Razboiniki, a new High Lunakhod was chosen.

Martin watched his handheld with horror. He had chosen the wrong timeline by a factor of ten.

Haha, I can't resist an invitation to play with dimension. I understand dimension in this context as multi-valent and layered...that one could choose a dimension out of all possible dimensions in which reality is not as we know it: ie, you and I are sophisticated dinosaurs contemplating the extinction of our species, the universe is actually inhabited by shadows and not the other way around, we are points in a two-dimensional world, etc.

So if you choose a dimensional setting that’s different than ours, you gotta make it clear for the reader. 

I could be wrong, I am often wrong.

I imagine Martin will follow up with a reply. Meanwhile, I'll take a stab at dimension. (Look out, Dimension!)

Dave Farland talked about the three levels of setting: Immediate or near, middle distance, and far. Working all three in when possible adds to the realism of your setting/story.

So not just a character walking down a well-trodden path to get to the next plot point, but alongside a babbling brook. The oaks in the distance, once tall and majestic, have been ravaged by borer beetles. Or the autumn leaves strewn on the ground that crunched underfoot fell across the countryside like leaf-shaped rain.

Quick snippets of what's out there visually...

@martin-l-shoemaker Can you tell us what you meant? ^^

Posted by: @ellis

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@martin-l-shoemaker Can you tell us what you meant? ^^

I meant in the science fiction/fantasy sense of different dimensions or worlds. If your story is secondary world fantasy, it's good to know that up front. If you have a good reason for not telling that (such as you want the reader to think it's modern day Earth until something surprises them), then mislead the reader by design, not by omission. This is tricky, but Dave used to use an example:

A bunch of guys hang out in a bar after work, griping about their boss and drinking; then suddenly a dwarf kicks in the door and rushes in, axe raised. The four elves rise and draw their bows.

Dave used this as a bad example, because the opening failed to explain the setting, and so the reader builds a picture in their head then gets thrown out when the dwarf arrives. But imagine something like this...

A family walks along a beach. Kids playing in the surf. Mom and Dad carrying a picnic basket. A happy day. Then they spread out the blanket and set out the picnic spread right where the waves wash in; and with the first big wave, Grandma swims ashore. She's a mermaid.

Here I made the setting feel exceptionally normal so that there would be contrast when Grandma arrives. Now I can introduce a world that's not ours, but like ours if people had mermaid relatives (and perhaps other kinds).

@martin-l-shoemaker yay, thanks!

@martin-l-shoemaker Love the examples.