Book of Knowledge

Dynamic reviewing: Lesson one

Courtsey:~A.J. Lyle~


Tone & Mood



What is tone?



"Tone is a particular way of expressing feelings or attitudes that will influence how the reader feels about the characters, events, and outcomes. Speakers show tone more easily than writers because they can use voice tone, gesture, and facial expressions. A writer must use words alone."
- Susan Geye, Mini Lessons For Revision



Tone is the attitude with which the author represents the work, the characters, and the situation.


Out in the real world, tone is easy. The tone of your voice indicates your mood, and in so doing, shows those who hear you speak what kind of mood you are in.


Do you recall your parents ever saying, "Don't you dare use that tone with me, young lady/man!"? You may have been saying the correct words or phrase, but not using the appropriate tone. I remember plenty of times when I apologized to my mom with a sarcastic tone.


Due to the ability to say something with a tone that contradicts the words, the writer must be careful to use the correct tone for the narrative, so that the reader does not become confused.



Different types of writing contain different tones, depending on
what attitude the author wishes to express. The tone in a comedy will probably be informal. Using light and humorous phrases and wording, the writer indicates to the reader that the subject is not to be taken seriously. In an emotional piece, the writer is more likely to use a soft, emotional tone.



The tone shows the reader some of the following attitudes:

Acerbic: Biting, harsh, bitter
Apathetic: Emotionless, indifferent, uncaring
Aggressive: Forceful, angry
Humorous: Funny, amusing, light
Informal: Casual, simple, playful
Formal: Proper, serious, rigid
Cheerful: Upbeat, positive
Romantic: Loving, passionate, sweet


For a more complete listing of specific words to describe tone, try this link:
Words for Tone


When deciding which tone would be effective in a certain type of writing, one element to consider is genre. For example, an historical romance is likely to have a more formal tone than a contemporary romance, while both will use an undercurrent of positive attitude such as humor. However, in a horror, we are more likely to find a more aggressive tone to play up the suspense and fear.


Other elements to consider: sentence structure and use of vocabulary. Sentence structure is a great method for setting tone. Long, flowing sentences are generally used to promote a calm tone, while short sentences create a more aggressive tone such as suspense and anticipation. Contractions are a good indicator of tone. While implementing a formal tone, the author could contradict him/herself by using contractions such as 'don't, won't, didn't' and so on. The opposite is also true. Using words such as 'cannot, will not' indicate a more formal tone and are rarely used in casual speech.


What is mood?


The mood of a story is the feeling or atmosphere achieved by the writer and felt by the reader. In other words, it is the feeling that the reader takes away with them after reading.


For example, let's say you just finished reading a suspense story about a woman and her daughter fleeing from men who wish to sell the girl on the black market. If the writer has done his/her job effectively, you would be able to say, 'Wow, that was suspenseful!' While tone should also create suspense, the mood is the overall effect of the piece.


The mood of a short story is established through detailed descriptions of the settings, people, and atmosphere of a story.1




In a horror story, the mood should be dark, lending a feeling of foreboding to the reader. This is achieved by the author through setting an intense scene with effective descriptions, dialogue and tone. Consider this: the character is sneaking along the wall, trying not to be noticed by the bad guy. Now, read the following two paragraphs and see which one is more effective in setting an appropriate mood.


Sara's fingers trailed along the rough surface of the brick wall. She pressed her body against it, willing herself to blend into the dark shadows. All she had to do was figure out where she was, and maybe she would have a chance of escape. Her heart thundered in her ears, creating a tempo by which her movement progressed. Suddenly, she was pulled back. Stifling a scream with her hands, she looked back to find her over-sized sweater had become hooked on the edge of a brick. She took a deep breath. I can do this. I just have to be really quiet so he doesn't hear me.


What mood was set with this paragraph? Did you feel suspense? Fear? Anticipation?
If the author did his/her job effectively, you should have felt some of these sensations. The one that you found most prominent is the mood. Notice how the author used internal thoughts, the description of the wall, as well as the character's reactions to create a mood. As a reviewer, you must decide if you think the mood established was effective.


Now, try out this one:


Sara's fingers trailed along the smooth surface of the painted wall. She pressed her body against it, willing herself to blend into the pink surface. All she had
to do was figure out where she was, and maybe she would have a chance of escape. Her heart thundered in her ears, creating a tempo by which her movement progressed. Suddenly, she was pulled back. Stifling a scream with her hands, she looked back to find her over-sized sweater had become hooked on the wall. She took a deep breath. I wonder if this is pale pink or pastel pink?


What mood was set with this paragraph? Did the use of description, internal dialogue, and character reaction create an effective mood, or did some of these elements contradict the mood that the author was trying to establish?


The reason that mood is important in fiction is so that the author doesn't end up pulling the reader out of the story by contradicting the mood. In the second example, the use of a smooth, pink wall contradicts the effectiveness of her sweater becoming hooked. After all, how could a smooth wall hook a piece of fabric? Hoping that the reader thinks of a misplaced nail is unrealistic. Also, consider the use of her internal thoughts. Do they add to the mood, or take away from it?


Are tone and mood the same thing?


While tone and mood work hand-in-hand to create an effective response in the reader and both inspire emotion, they are not the same thing. Keep in mind that tone is the attitude with which the author presents the story, and mood is the feeling of the story as a whole.



Tense & Point of View



What is tense?


Tense is what establishes the time in which an event takes place. There are three main verb tenses, they are:

Past: Something that already happened. Implements words with an -ed ending such as placed, walked, happened, stumbled, talked, etc. (was, were)

Present: Something that is happening. This includes words such as runs, swims, smiles, walks, talks. (is, am, are)

Future: Something that will happen. This tense is implemented by using will/shall with the simple form of the word. For example, will walk, will see, shall run, etc. (will, shall)

Now, all told, there are twelve different main verb tenses used in English writing. However, for the purpose of this course, it is not necessary to know and understand each one. I will provide extra reading material at the end of this section so that you can learn the details of each one if you wish to, but it will not be necessary to know them all for this course. In a review, the most important thing to comment on is if you notice the writer mixing verb tenses within the work. For a quick example:

Sara walks over to the sink, placed her cup on the counter and sighs.

In instances such as this, the reader will become confused as to what is happening because the tenses are mixed up. First, she 'walks' which is present tense, then she 'placed' her cup, indicating past tense, and then she 'sighs' which is present tense again. To remain consistent, a writer should have all verbs in the same main tense.

There are also other forms that can be included with each of the above tenses to be more specific including simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive. If you wish to explore these other forms, here is a link which makes the concepts easier to understand by using tables.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/tenses.html


What is Point of View?


The perspective from which a speaker or writer recounts a narrative or presents information.2


Basically, point of view is the viewpoint from which the reader experiences the story. Whether the point of view comes from a narrator or a character depends upon which point of view is chosen.


First-Person: The story is narrated by one character from their point of view using 'I'. This point of view is limited to what the character him/herself can hear, see, smell, know, and discover.

Most suspense, mystery, or crime stories use first-person point of view quite effectively because the reader is placed in the position of the character telling the story. It is an up-close and personal look at the characters life, emotions, actions, and reactions. By placing the reader within the mind of the character, emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anticipation are heightened.

However, when reading first-person point of view, the reader is limited to what that character knows and sees. That means that expressions by other characters may be missed, clues about the plot line may be missed, and other characters thoughts are not available to the reader at any time.



Second-Person: The story is directed at the reader by using the word 'you' rather than he, she, or I.

This is most effective in how-to and teaching articles. Used in stories, it tends to 'tell' the reader what is happening, and in a way, forces that reader to think the way the narrator chooses.



Third-Person: The story is told from the perspective of an outsider looking in, and uses he, she, their forms to indicate the characters. There are a few types of third-person including limited, subjective multiple, and omniscient.

Third-Person Limited: This form is from the main character's point of view, and is restricted to past tense. Forms such as 'he said', 'she thought', are used to express the main character's thoughts, as well as what is said and done by that character and the characters around him/her. The reader will never be subjected to other character's thoughts, and will be limited to what the main character sees and hears.

Third-person limited is one of the easiest forms to read in fiction, and is most accepted by readers.



Third-Person Subjective Multiple Viewpoint: The viewpoint comes from more than one character, but is limited to being in one at a time. Scene or chapter breaks are needed in order to switch from one to the other. Many novels use this to show different points of view from the main character set. The past tense is most often used in this point of view. It is the same as third-person limited, with the only exception being that several characters are used rather than one.

This viewpoint is effective when using an involved plot line that not all characters may be privy to, but the reader is.


Third-Person Omniscient: This point of view allows for a bird's eye view of the story and the characters. The narrator is an all-seeing, all-knowing, but invisible force that relates the story and setting in an overall way, allowing the reader to know and see all. This is very effective when developing an in-depth plot line, but is very hard to write effectively without giving the reader too much information and taking away from the emotional connection to the characters.


Whew! I know that may seem like a lot to take in, but take your time. Make use of the extra links, or google the subjects for yourself if you like. I am always available for questions, and I will do my best to help you in anyway I can. Again, I don't expect for you to know all of this, or even include it all in each review. However, giving you a basic understanding of some of these things will aid you when you notice there is something 'off' in a piece of writing.

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