{"id":517658,"date":"2022-07-13T12:30:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-13T11:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=517658"},"modified":"2022-09-15T16:47:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T15:47:54","slug":"mood-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/mood-in-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Mood In Writing: What It Is And How To Create It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Readers often choose a book they want to read based on what ‘mood’ they are in – and, in turn, how that book will make them feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many different ways a book can make you feel – you may want to read something that puts you in an eerie mood, a cheerful mood, whimsical mood, or a romantic mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will be looking at mood examples and how the right mood words can create emotional responses in your readers. I will explain the difference between mood and tone, and how to utilise both<\/em> effectively to engage the reader and leave them feeling the exact emotion you intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover how to become a better writer<\/a> and get people’s emotions evoked through your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Mood?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mood refers to how a reader feels as a result of an author’s tone used to evoke more than one mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mood and tone are sometimes confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tone in writing <\/a>often refers to the author\/protagonist’s feelings and how they’re expressed on the page, whereas mood is how the reader feels as the result of the tone used by the author to affect mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the tone<\/em> an author has used may be described as \u2018immersive\u2019, \u2018dark\u2019, \u2018compelling\u2019. The tone of how the author portrays a character on the page helps you identify the mood of a book. But don\u2019t get tone, or mood, confused with \u2018author voice\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are writing a thriller, for instance, you want the reader to feel unnerved. Maybe you want them to feel mistrusting of your main character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, if you were to start the book with ‘it was a dark and stormy night’ and use short sentences, the mood (feeling for the reader) is immediately one of unease and apprehension<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When writing <\/a>your first draft make a note of how you want your reader to feel<\/em>, then look at the different ways you can achieve that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is Creating Mood Important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if you’re writing a hilarious rom com, or a spooky gothic thriller, your end goal is the same – you are creating mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why is that important?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because if you can evoke emotion, your reader is more likely to remember your story long after they turn the final page. The reader experiences different moods in different genres, which is a huge part of their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mood-writing\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Examples Of Mood In A Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mood of a story is determined by using different words, imagery, and tone. Let’s study different moods in writing <\/a>with the following examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example One:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors because she truly makes me feel<\/em> something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The others went upstairs, a slow unwilling procession. If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily panelled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling. But this house was the essence of modernity. There were no dark corners \u2013 no possible sliding panels \u2013 it was flooded with electric light \u2013 everything was new and bright and shining. There was nothing hidden in this house, nothing concealed. It had no atmosphere about it. Somehow, that was the most frightening thing of all. They exchanged good-nights on the upper landing. Each of them went into his or her own room, and each of them automatically, almost without conscious thought, locked the door\u2026<\/p> And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What Christie has done here is incredibly clever. Her setting and atmosphere deliberately do not<\/em> match the mood she is creating. The modern, open and safe atmosphere of the house should be a non-threatening location; but readers are left feeling uneasy. Christie is deliberately creating a mood of unease by way of subverting expectations (but more on this later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reader is left with a sense of foreboding and fear, despite the setting being typically welcoming. The clever placement of the characters automatically \u2018locking the door\u2019 makes the reader feel fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example Two:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Alice in Wonderland<\/em> is glorious in so many ways, but in this case, Carroll is also an expert when it comes to creating mood on the page. It\u2019s done in such a subtle manner that as children, we can’t immediately see why it makes us feel<\/em> a certain way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was much pleasanter at home,” thought poor Alice, “when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole\u2014and yet\u2014and yet\u2014it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!” <\/p>Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Carroll uses whimsical settings and descriptions to create an extravagant world. We already know this world is fantastical, but what is it about the writing that evokes a feeling of childhood innocence and wonder in the reader?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at this second example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large caterpillar, that was sitting on the top with its arms folded, quietly smoking a long hookah, and taking not the smallest notice of her or of anything else.<\/p>Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We know, from the description, that Alice could and should evoke a sense of danger; a new world she doesn\u2019t recognise and a life she doesn\u2019t know or understand. Instead, we are left feeling excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example Three: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trying to create a mood of sorrow, despair and grief on the page can be incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here\u2019s how it went in God\u2019s Heart: The six or seven or ten of us walked\/wheeled in, grazed at a decrepit selection of cookies and lemonade, sat down in the Circle of Trust, and listened to Patrick recount for the thousandth time his depressingly miserable life story\u2026<\/p>The Fault in Our Stars by John Green<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This excerpt is the perfect example of how a few words can help create a deliberate mood on the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The placement of \u2018walked\/wheeled\u2019 evokes sadness within the reader. The use of the word \u2018decrepit\u2019, not describing the lives that inhabit the room, but the cookies, is so powerful. Even more so because these are descriptions through the eyes of a teenager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"creating-mood-in-writing\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How To Establish Your Story\u2019s Mood<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many ways to establish and create mood in fiction. For me, I follow the rule of four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n