Environmental details are not shown merely for local color or effect. It has other relevant purposes such as a) establishing the relevance of the time period; b) giving a concrete setting where characters can perform their existential roles; c) allowing the writer to create a world that characters can explore and challenge their limitations. In reality, these factors gauge people’s characteristics.

For environmental details to create a strong impact, it must unfold before the eyes of readers. It must put them in a position of answering the basic “Wh” (what, when, where, who, why, and how) questions. Aside from showing, the environment must provide a context that justifies your character’s objective. Can you picture “Heart of Darkness” in a different environment instead of the Congo River? Could “Watership Down” be as dramatic and suspenseful without the details of Hampshire’s countryside? “The Grapes of Wrath” wouldn’t be that depressing if it didn’t take place against the backdrop of the Great Depression.

Environmental details become even more important if the locale plays an important role in the character’s objective.

Example: A world-renowned paleontologist embarks on field research to find the missing link between dinosaurs and birds. While his research is backed by large funding, the board members of the university where he teaches threatens to cut his funding if his research fails to yield results. He is pressed for time and his reputation is at stake.

In the desert basins of the Gobi Desert: From his tent, he looked down into a vast, pink basin studded with enormous buttes like sleeping giants. He looked up in the heavens to see the bright red evening lights that lined the skies. Not far from the basin, the deep caverns along the ravines made his heart pound, feeling that he could find the missing link there.

At the Santa Marta Formation in Antarctica: Against the behest of his crew, he refused to stay in the station. He promised to rush back if the forming blizzard got worse. He checked the rope line between the camp and the excavation site and he held onto it. The low temperature made breathing difficult, but he couldn’t stop now. I’m getting close, he thought.

In a hidden valley in Patagonia: He pressed his hand on his head as the wind threatened to blow away his hat. He looked back at the beaten track to check on his crew hiking in a single formation. Light snow had fallen last night and it made the tracks and valleys white with a light dusting. As they came to a clearing, a towering rock formation with a cavern on its foot greeted them. He stopped and ordered his crew to pitch camp.

Environmental details are not forced into the narrative and they create natural imagery. The details are presented to make the characters blend with it. The paleontologist’s action is consistent with the demands of every environment that he is into. The psychological cues that we get from his thoughts and actions reveal motivation and goals.