SETTING THESAURUS

ALLEY



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HELPFUL TIP:

Settings should always be chosen with care. Consider the emotion you want your viewpoint character to feel and how setting choices, weather elements, and symbolism might build a specific mood in the scene, create tension and conflict, or even raise the stakes.
SIGHTS:
Stacks of water-stained crates
Litter (crushed takeout cups, crumpled wrappers, cigarette butts, empty liquor bottles and broken glass, used needles and drug paraphernalia)
A rust-pitted garbage bin leaking an unidentifiable fluid
Dumpsters
Piles of garbage-filled bags
Puddles of dried vomit
Greasy-looking puddles
Dirt
Grime
Ratty blankets or fabric scraps
Vagrants covered in newspapers and sleeping on pieces of cardboard
Rats and mice
Cockroaches
Spiders
Ants
Urban birds with a taste for human food (pigeons, crows, etc.)
Street cats or dogs
Metal fire escapes attached to the buildings
Employees ducking out of a back door for a smoke break
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SOUNDS:
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SMELLS:
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TASTES:
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TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS:
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POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT:
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PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND IN THIS SETTING:
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SETTING NOTES AND TIPS:
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SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE:
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TECHNIQUES AND DEVICES USED:
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DESCRIPTIVE EFFECTS:
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