Tone
Tone in fiction is the attitude of the narrator or viewpoint character toward story events and other characters. In a story with first-person POV, tone can also be the narrator’s attitude toward the reader.
Tone can change over the course of a story, as the viewpoint character grows or changes, but every scene should have a tone, a feel, that’s generated by the attitude of the viewpoint character, and that could hold fairly steady for much of the story. That is, until events start shaking up the character.
A story as a whole will also have a tone, a particular feel.
Use tone to differentiate scenes between viewpoint characters. So while Irving’s attitude is whiney, Pete’s can be overbearing. Use word choices and the unique events and story elements that each character focuses on to play up the different tones.
Examples of word used to describe Tone:
Bossy Calculating Callous Close-minded
Clueless Confident Cruel Curious
Desperate Discouraging Dismissive Encouraging
Foolish Helpful Hopeful Humorous
Hypocritical Indifferent Insistent Juvenile
Know-it-all Lighthearted Laid-back Loving
Maternal Open Overbearing Passionate
Paternal Persnickety Relaxed Sarcastic
Sassy Secretive Snide Snotty
Stubborn Suspicious Upbeat Violent
Mood
Mood is what the reader feels while reading a scene or story. It’s not the reader’s emotions, but the atmosphere (the vibe) of a scene or story. It’s what the reader reads or feels or notices. Not all readers would necessarily report the same mood from a scene, although the writer does hope to achieve a particular feel common to every reader.
Mood has to change for a reason and that something must happen even to provoke an intensity change. Something must be different to make sense of any mood change, whether the change is from mood to mood or level to level.
Examples of words used to describe Mood:
Alarming Brooding Buoyant Comical Dark
Fantastical Hopeful Light Melancholy Ominous
Oppressive Relaxed Spooky Suspenseful Warm
While both mood and tone can change over the course of story, tone is the more consistent element. Since it’s the attitude of the narrator, tone won’t change as often as mood does.
Tone in fiction is the attitude of the narrator or viewpoint character toward story events and other characters. In a story with first-person POV, tone can also be the narrator’s attitude toward the reader.
Tone can change over the course of a story, as the viewpoint character grows or changes, but every scene should have a tone, a feel, that’s generated by the attitude of the viewpoint character, and that could hold fairly steady for much of the story. That is, until events start shaking up the character.
A story as a whole will also have a tone, a particular feel.
Use tone to differentiate scenes between viewpoint characters. So while Irving’s attitude is whiney, Pete’s can be overbearing. Use word choices and the unique events and story elements that each character focuses on to play up the different tones.
Examples of word used to describe Tone:
Bossy Calculating Callous Close-minded
Clueless Confident Cruel Curious
Desperate Discouraging Dismissive Encouraging
Foolish Helpful Hopeful Humorous
Hypocritical Indifferent Insistent Juvenile
Know-it-all Lighthearted Laid-back Loving
Maternal Open Overbearing Passionate
Paternal Persnickety Relaxed Sarcastic
Sassy Secretive Snide Snotty
Stubborn Suspicious Upbeat Violent
Mood
Mood is what the reader feels while reading a scene or story. It’s not the reader’s emotions, but the atmosphere (the vibe) of a scene or story. It’s what the reader reads or feels or notices. Not all readers would necessarily report the same mood from a scene, although the writer does hope to achieve a particular feel common to every reader.
Mood has to change for a reason and that something must happen even to provoke an intensity change. Something must be different to make sense of any mood change, whether the change is from mood to mood or level to level.
Examples of words used to describe Mood:
Alarming Brooding Buoyant Comical Dark
Fantastical Hopeful Light Melancholy Ominous
Oppressive Relaxed Spooky Suspenseful Warm
While both mood and tone can change over the course of story, tone is the more consistent element. Since it’s the attitude of the narrator, tone won’t change as often as mood does.