Concerning Tips · 4:41am Jan 31st, 2014
I realized something when writing a detailed message to a friend of mine, Wannabe Scholar
He asked about setting the mood and tone of a scene properly.
The most powerful tool for setting mood is memories. What immediately comes to my mind is driving through Atlanta at 3:00 AM to go to a flight. The atmosphere is indescribably pallid and serene and the roads are all but abandoned. Several factors intertwine together to create this extremely unique emotion. Let me see if I can break it down for you...
1. Travel - Specifically air travel. Flight is extremely awesome to me, even the hassles at the airport are thrilling to me (Because of this I plan to go to college for Aerospace Engineering). I relish an opportunity to fly, but especially early in the morning when the only illumination is from lights.
2. Night - Darkness is extremely calming to me. This calmness mixed with the thrill of flight creates a peaceful anticipation that is beyond words for me. In the night, silence is there too, and when a radio is off and all you can hear is yourself, the car, and the wind, it's special.
3. Desolation - Most people shy away from isolation, but I'm an introvert, I love isolation. When a massive city such as Atlanta is empty, it is amazing. Again, words are failing me as I try to describe this feeling. All I know is that there is a sense of order, conservation (i think), and that everything is waiting on you and your car. You are alone, on the road, with bridges, tunnels, and interstates at your complete disposal. Even the traffic lights seem to say 'after you, sir.'
4. Movement - All of those stated factors are extremely important, but the most important fact is that transportation is underway. I love progress, no doubt in my mind, and moving cars, with their slight rumble and low hum, make a perfectly peaceful scene even more peaceful.
5. Tiredness - Since it is in the morning, I am already tired. That makes me calm as well.
What I'm trying to get across is that I like to have some emotional power behind my scenes, something where I can deeply connect to my writing. The easiest way for me is to make scenes that I have personally experienced. Examples are in my works all over the place. Everything from personal emotional stress and revelations (Story of Rasa) to the ethereal feeling of falling in a dream (Train Derailment scene in The Messenger) to the calm confidence of entering a brand new world for the very first time (The Beginning) to the paralyzing fear of being stuck head first in a pool of water wit no way of escape (The Blind can never See) to the dream of my life, to inspire someone else to be the best they can be, (When you grow up...).
Secondly - Music.
Music is so powerful I cannot even begin to describe it. I have 800 ish tracks from a group known as Two Steps From Hell and they are spectacular. If emotions are the meat of the story, then music is like the seasoning. It can completely modify a feeling or thought into the perfect atmosphere for your scene.
In summary, write to evoke emotions then read over your writing. Does it evoke a similar emotion? If so, you are on the right track, if not, tweak it a little bit. Recall an event with powerful emotional weight that you can use to model your scene. Use music to modify those emotions slightly to create the perfect mood.
{Time to coin a legendary phrase right here...}
If you write your stories with emotion...
Emotion will write your stories for you.
I like darkness and isolation as well. Darkness is safe and I like the quiet that being alone brings. As you said, it's calming.