Tone: the mood of a story. The tone can often be pre-set by the genre of the story. A gothic tale will often start with a dark and stormy night, but other stories might start off with just a normal day before everything changes.

But just because a story begins with one tone, doesn’t mean the mood doesn’t change. It can change several times within the space of the story. What does tone do?

Like many others I’m moody. I try to be happy but sometimes that takes more effort than I feel like putting into it. Stories can be the same way. Sometimes the plot of the story is heavy and dark, and trying to lighten the tone is more work than is worth it. The story might be better served by a dark tone like Interview with a Vampire.

Are you affected by the mood of a story you are reading, writing or watching? Is it just me? When the characters suffer, do you feel their pain? When they are happy does it make you smile? Do you feel embarrassed when they do something ludicrous?

I do not know if it is because I am a writer or because my personality is overly sensitive, but when I read something that is depressing or stressful, I feel depressed or stressed. I tend to prefer happy stories. I don’t mind a good cry as long as there’s a happy ending. A story that doesn’t have a happy or even a contented ending can leave me in a blue funk. It’s silly I know to be so invested in a fictional character, but I find myself empathizing and feeling what the character feels, or at the very least, understanding their feelings. But then again, isn’t that what good fiction is supposed to do?

I am a moody reader and when life is giving me crap, I want to be entertained. I want something happy, funny, not a story that is going to drag me down deeper into my emotional abyss. During the Covid shutdown, I watched a lot of comedians and read a lot of romantic comedies. I watched Rom-Com movies and devoured anything with a happy ending. I needed that happy ending. As a romance writer, I have heard people make comments about what I write not being that important, not being real literature, blah blah blah, but during Covid romance, and especially romantic comedies were the most downloaded in eBooks and movies. So, while I might not save the world with my books, if I can save the sanity of some overworked nurse or stressed-out mom, then I will feel as if I have done my job.

Genre fiction is about entertainment. It gives the reader an outlet to escape life for a little while. Whether it is romance, mystery, fantasy, horror, or science fiction, we need stories. We need stories not only for entertainment but to better understand ourselves and our world. I have heard people say that romance gives women an unrealistic view of men and relationships. That might be true but no more so than science fiction gives us the unreal belief that man might fly to the moon or be attacked by aliens. Fiction has opened doors for a greater understanding of relationships, expectations, science, possibilities, and so much more.

Fiction will use our own emotions against us or to benefit us. If the tone of the story is sweet and happy, focusing on small town life and a happy family, some people might not believe it, but others will see it as a goal, a dream or simply a possibility that they could have this life too. If the story is an intense medical thriller, it might scare the bejesus out of you, but it also might lessen your fear of your own medical procedure, or it could terrify you from ever going to the doctor again, depending on the story. We often learn about ourselves by how we react to the characters. We gain understanding of people who are different from us. We learn to sympathize and empathize by feeling the emotions our characters feel.

Tone is important. Setting the tone of sci-fi story as one of doom and gloom, can make the reader feel as if the future is hopeless, but allowing the tone to move from doom to one of hope at the end, can give the reader hope for the future. Even a horror story can affect the reader’s mood. The thrill of “what if” can take a turn to being fearful, dreading the future, but it can also empower the reader to feel as if they can handle whatever horrible thing that might happen.

How do stories affect you? Does the emotional tone of the story affect your own emotions? Do you end up in a blue funk when the hero dies in the end, or do you sigh a happy sigh when the guy gets the girl even when you know that is what always happens at the end of a Hallmark movie? I would love to hear your thoughts about tone, mood and genre. What do you think?