Why Context Is Important When Writing

Have you ever had a conversation with someone, known what decisions had been made, and then found out the other person had a vastly different takeaway? Whether you’re writing or speaking, the problem is usually a difference in context.

What is context?

Context is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, “the situation within which something exists or happens, and that can help explain it.” We all bring our own backgrounds, our own expectations, and our own moods into every discussion we read or hear.

When a task needs doing, a lone wolf is going to do it, themselves, while a hero who works with others will plan the work and gather the team.

When reading a book featuring a child-parent relationship, someone who had an unhealthy relationship with their parents often will read different things into the characters’ interactions — or at least have different expectations — than someone who had a healthy relationship with their parents.

When tired and hungry, most of us have a lot less cope, letting things we’d normally shrug off really frustrate us. Context matters.

Why is Context Important in Writing?

You have to know who your audience is and who your characters are. Now, this isn’t a single-faceted thing.

Age range

Are you writing picture books for parents to read to their kids, early readers for kids to sound out on their own, chapter books, young adult books, or adult novels?

You’re going to use different vocabularies, different pacing, and different characters in each of these.

Genre

Are you writing dark, gritty crime novels, or cozy cat mysteries? Are you writing a quiet story in a small town, or an epic fantasy that defies the gods and breaks nations?

Different genres have different pacing expectations, plus different tropes they use — and subvert.

Writing style

Do you have vibrant, lyrical descriptions of places, people, and actions? Or are you terse and only use words you absolutely need? Do you have a literary style that carefully sets the scene, with close attention to the details that matter? Or is your story full of quippy jokes and action-packed adventures?

All of these styles have their own audiences, and they’re all equally valid.

Characters

We can’t forget about the characters themselves. A hunter who dropped out of school at twelve to live in the woods is going to have different priorities and a different way of speaking than the coddled prince. A first child, expected to keep the shop after her parents pass, is going to have a different experience than her next-born sibling, even in the same household, with the same parents.

All of these factors go into who a character is, how they speak, and what they expect to get out of life.

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Being aware of your own context: both your background and your current state, can go a long way toward helping you become the person you want to be. Being aware of the four layers of context in a story can help you create stronger characters and find the right audience for your work.

What does your context say about you?

What books have you seen use character contexts to create 3-dimensional characters that are believable and distinct from other characters in the book?