In so many novels, landscape is a driving force. Characters behave the way they do because of the world they inhabit. The landscapes they long for impact the way they behave. The ones they live in shape their destiny. Being lifted from the landscape they belong in can unleash elemental forces in a character. It can lead them to murder, suicide or revenge. A character transplanted often fails to thrive; the result can be not only conflict but tragedy, too.

Wuthering Heights is a great example. Not only was Emily Bronte shaped by the raw and beautiful moorland scenery she lived in, but her character, Catherine Earnshaw, is too – only she fails to recognise it, and on choosing to leave its wildness for the cultivated respectability of Thrushcross Grange, she seals her own doom. Catherine is a product of the gorgeous brutality of the moors, and she cannot thrive anywhere else.

Landscape & Character: A Creative Writing Prompt

Part 1
Make a list of man-made and natural landscapes or locations  with which you are familiar (examples: Mojave desert, Algonquin Park, Manhattan,  remote coastal town in Newfoundland, Caribbean island. Choose the item from your list than feels the most evocative to you. Write for10 minutes about that location. Begin by describing it, using all the senses, and as time goes on, try to evoke mood. What is the overriding atmosphere of this location? Is the landscape remote, or bustling with life? Does your landscape evoke despair, or joy?

Part 2
Now it’s time to build a character who has some connection to the landscape. Use these questions to begin creating your character: What age? Gender? Married or solo? Rich or poor? Do they live alone?
What is the character’s connection to the landscape? Were they born there? Are they connected to this landscape because of someone else? Is the landscape a place they dream of, rather than somewhere they actually live? Is it somewhere they go on holiday? Is it a place in their memory that they would like to return to? In short, what does the landscape or location mean to them?
This prompt should also take you about 10 minutes.

Part 3
Look for a story in the connection your character has to your chosen landscape, and tell that story. Write for 30 minutes.
Some thoughts: is your character dependant on this landscape? Are they shaped somehow by it? Does it act as some kind of an emotional crutch? Do they stand outside of the landscape, longing for it? Do they deny themselves access to this landscape? Does it represent their successes or failures? Are they returning to a landscape they once knew well, only to find the place (or themselves) irrevocably altered? How does the relationship between the character and this environment lead to conflict? How does it shape the conclusion of your story?

Happy Writing!

 

Julie