Some notes from Anne Aylor’s last seminar.
The main elements of Setting are:
Time, Place, Minor Characters, Mood and Atmosphere.
Plotting doesn’t have to be done first, unless the book is a thriller. The elements of a plot are Structure, Plausibility, Conflict, Climax, Denouement ( Mysteries revealed, most loose ends tied up), Subplot, Theme (central idea running through the book) and Symbolism (can be object, place, phrase, colour that runs through the book)
In fiction what is left out is important, like an iceberg.
Shaping is major structural revision and editing after first and subsequent drafts.
Michael Drysdale 