SETTING THESAURUS

GROTTO



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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:
High, arched ceilings of rock
Shafts of light slipping in through cracks in the stone
Rippling water that rises and falls with the tide (shoreline grottoes) or storms (inland grottoes)
Moss and lichen
Smooth rock walls worn by wind and water
Small waterfalls running down the walls, stalagmites, ledges, and outcroppings
Bat guano
Bats clinging to high rock shelves
Pockets of dark shadow
Snails clinging to wet rocks at the shoreline
Crabs hiding in crevices
Barnacles, fish, or minnows that are suited to low or no light
Silt stirring underfoot and muddying the water
Tunnel offshoots above and below the water line
Debris that has worked its way underground
An out-of-place clump of hardy greenery growing in a patch of light
Twisted roots dangling from the rock ceiling that drip water when it rains
Rocks and sand stained by salt and algae (if the grotto is a coastal one)
Fish swimming in the water

SOUNDS:
Surf crashing against the rocks
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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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