Setting and Location Sheet

Who this is for

One page per place in the story. The profile records what the location looks, sounds and feels like and what can and cannot happen there; the scene list records every scene set in it, with the time, the season and anything to keep consistent.

Novelists, short story writers and screenwriters whose stories return to the same places, and writers of fantasy and historical fiction building somewhere the reader cannot visit.

What this helps you track

• The layout and description of a place, in one reference
• The sights, sounds and smells that make it recognisable
• Who is usually there and any rules or restrictions
• Every scene set there, with chapter, time of day and season
• Continuity notes, so the place stays the same each time

How to use it

1. Fill in one sheet per location: its name, type, era or period and who is usually found there.
2. Write a few words against each line of the profile; a rough sketch of the layout can go on the back of the paper version.
3. Each time you write a scene set here, add it to the scene list with the chapter, time of day and weather or season.
4. Use the continuity column for anything a reader might notice changing, such as a broken window or a locked door.
5. Keep the sheets with your character profiles, or fill them online, where each saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Do I need a sheet for every location?

Only for places the story returns to or that matter to the plot. A single passing scene rarely needs one; a house, a town or a ship that recurs usually does.

What goes in rules or restrictions?

Anything that limits what can happen there: opening hours, who is allowed in, a locked room, the way magic works in an invented world. Writing it down stops a later scene breaking a rule set earlier.

Is it useful for real places?

Yes. Note what you checked and when in the notes and keep the source in your research log, since real places change and a reader may know them well.

How does it differ from the timeline tracker?

This sheet looks at one place and every scene set there. The story timeline and continuity tracker follows events in order across the whole book. Many writers use both.