setting immersion
Took a week off from writing (but more importantly from work MOST happily) to explore beautifully magical settings in Colorado. Even though it was a week off from physically sitting at my computer typing away, it was definitely not time away from Luna. If anything, exploring forests and fields of wildflowers and bubbling creeks made me feel more connected to Luna and the world she lives in.
Each walk, hike, meander or handstand in a meadow (couldn't resist!) was an opportunity to connect with the setting I've written, and learn how to enrich it. Living in Chicago, it's easy to forget what it truly feels like to be alone in a grove of rustling trees. The buzz from insects, not cars. The thick smell of earth (not garbage, ew).
So, while each day of adventuring in nature was freeing and rejuvenating, it was also filled with introspection and mental note taking for how the nature in Luna's world affects the story, the Protectresses, other characters and Star's End.
Hoping my mental notes lead to writing with better understanding of Luna's world setting! Excited to see where it takes me. But, for now, here is what I'm working with on my initial description of *dun dun dun* the Silvis. Read below for an excerpt of the first time the Silvis is described...
Star’s End was different from other quaint towns. Mysterious things happened there regularly. The weather, for instance, didn’t adhere to the weather of the region. All four seasons shifted mildly from one to the next without sweltering heat common in the South. But, the Silvis surrounding the town was the biggest mystery. It was a foreboding presence, not only for its massive size and depth. There were odd noises and rumblings and flashes of light and strange shadows that came from within it nightly. Town pets, and, horrifyingly, children, had been lost forever to the Silvis. The town kids were terrified of it. Star’s End had stringent rules regarding the Silvis: stick to the edge, only when it’s light out, never go in at night.
Luna was different. Where others told of growls and rumblings they heard coming from it, Luna heard a captivating hum. The hum began when she was eight-years-old, and her curious self followed it all the way inside the Silvis, for the first time in her life. Once she stepped inside the boundary of the Silvis from her backyard, the sound lessened. It was always there in the background while she walked, guiding her.
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