Before you read this review, you should know I’m biased. Not because I’m related to Mary, but because I’m a fan. As a teacher, she’s one of the absolute best. She does what many have not grasped: if the student doesn’t “get it,” explain it in a different way. And Mary has a huge arsenal of methods for communicating her points.
In ACTIVE SETTING, she uses plenty of examples to push her message. Better still, the examples are short, so no need to read half a novel before you get to the salient part. She also offers up exercises that truly work and you can immediately apply to your WIP (= work in progress).
But what is ACTIVE SETTING about? It’s not just about finding a solution to drab, boring description. In fact, the common misconception among writers about treating your setting as a line or two of imagery (“A baby-blue chair and a dark-wood table lined the wall.”) is exactly why this series was written, I believe.
If, like me, you fall into that particular category of writer, you’re not utilizing the concept to its best advantage. So, what you should not do is approach a scene wondering what type of description to add and where it would be best placed. Instead, ask what the scene lacks in terms of substance (not cosmetics), and then flip to Mary’s relevant chapter to learn how to use setting to fix the problem. You can add pace, deepen POV (= Point of View), and put right a whole host of other wrongs.
Once you’ve eliminated all content-related wrinkles, your scene will sparkle with description, but not in a haphazard, some-here-some-there way, but in an organic fashion that brings your story to life.
The ACTIVE SETTING boxset containing all three volumes is out now.
Rating: 5/5
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