Day Care Center - From the Ground Up

For right or wrong, I will begin many a story having a rather firm idea of the location already in my head if not on paper. The location of a story can contribute to its believability and the distinctions are not black and white. A paranormal does not require dark, thick woods with slivers of moonlight when a sun that pinches the skin and needles the eyes are just as unsettling. In fact, the more normal the setting, the more terrifying it can be because its more likely to make us feel the story.

In building the setting for the daycare center, besides keeping in mind the ideal requirements, I needed a setting that was welcoming and announced our purpose. Now laying out a mat of grass, or creating a U-shaped driveway, or positioning the sign just so, may seem rather trivial to the overall importance of the story; however, condsider the impact these elements might have. Your characters (or avatars) have a need, maybe something as simple as going to the store (of any type). The store becomes a mini-character while the main characters are there. While the impact of this mini-character may be very minimal (a few lines or so) it will add to the experience of the main characters. Are the characters frustrated by their experience there? Angry? Happy? Sad? Does the store provide a pivotal turn in the plot? If the main characters hadn't gone to the store would the story fall flat? Also, you can consider the alternative, is this mini-character necessary? Do the characters really need to tell about every trip they make to every store?

I recently read a Nocturne in which the main heroine spent quite a bit of time in a bookstore. This added to the plot as a mini-character because every time the door bell rang she worried about who that sound represented. The bookstore became a place or solace and menace at the same time.