How to Use Tone and Atmosphere to Craft an Unforgettable Story

By Jodi Clark

Have you ever heard a story from a friend and thought, “Wow, they have a really different point of view on this subject than I do,” or read a book and just had to share how “whimsical and enchanting” or “epic and heartfelt” it was?

If so, you, my friend, have thought about tone and have been affected by the atmosphere of a story. When you notice that people perceive the same things in different ways, you are noticing a difference in tone. And when you share the way that a book made you feel, you’re sharing the atmosphere of that story.

Writers can often face the issue of feeling like their story is incohesive as a result of weak tone or atmosphere. Readers may point out issues with confusing changes in tone or the lack of an immersive atmosphere to pull them into the story. Stories that are bland with weak tone and atmosphere are easily forgettable and will leave your readers feeling bored and uninspired.

In the end, tone and atmosphere are incredibly important in creating an unforgettable experience for your readers. I’m here today to help you understand the difference between tone and atmosphere and to learn how to apply them in your writing, so your descriptions will truly shine and your readers will never forget your stories!

The Difference Between Tone and Atmosphere

Let’s dive into the meaning of tone first, shall we? Tone refers to the way the book sees itself, or the way the author is trying to portray the characters, the themes, and the settings as positive or negative. A single passage about the same subject could be written in either a sardonic tone, a hopeful tone, or a despairing tone.

Second, let’s explore the meaning of atmosphere. Atmosphere refers to the way the book’s descriptions make you feel as the reader. It is essentially the mood of the book or the scene you are reading. Depending on the author’s word choice, their descriptions will leave you feeling a certain way, so that when you talk to other people about the book, you’ll say things like “that book was so scary!” or “that book was so sweet and uplifting.”

As a rule, tone refers to the way the author is writing the book and reflects the author’s opinions. Atmosphere refers to the way the descriptions of the book make you feel as the reader, so it will reflect your opinions. Both atmosphere and tone affect each other, as you’ve probably guessed by now, but they are each reflective of different people’s opinions.

Without further ado, let’s get into some examples and figure out how you can most effectively establish tone and atmosphere in your writing!

How to Use Tone Effectively

Essentially, tone informs the reader what you think as the author. In fiction, however, the tone must reflect what the POV character thinks. The tone will tell the reader everything they need to know about what the POV character thinks of the characters and themes—whether they are right or wrong.

Here is a brief example of how the author’s tone could affect a description of people in a school hall:

There she was, dressed in pink, her eyes gleaming maliciously as she turned to smile at me. Dread crawled across my skin at her gesture. I couldn’t run away now that she had seen me. All I could do was wait and watch as she made her way over to me through the busy hall.

Can you guess the tone of that short passage? The tone is full of dread and fear, casting the girl in pink as a bully and the first-person narrator as her victim. You can tell that the POV character was thinking negatively of the girl in pink.

Here is another brief example to show how the tone about the same people in the same setting could be completely different:

There she was, dressed in pink, her eyes gleaming happily when she turned to smile at me. I couldn’t just walk away—I hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk to her yet. Before I could figure out how to push through the busy hall to get to her, she was already making her way to me, so I just stayed where I was and hoped she really had received good news.

See how the tone of that example is completely different? Here, the tone is happy, anticipating good news. It casts the girl in pink as a friend and the first-person narrator as someone hoping to support her—viewing both characters in a hopeful and positive light.

As the author, spend some time identifying what you think of your characters and themes. Think of how your POV character thinks of things—sarcastically? Hopefully? Fearfully? Then think of ways that you can use your word choice carefully to portray how your main character thinks of things. Doing this consistently will help to develop a strong tone from scene to scene and in your overall story so that people will walk away from it with the lasting impression that the tone was cynical, hopeful, bittersweet, or whatever the tone of your story turns out to be.

How to Create an Immersive Atmosphere

Now let’s talk about atmosphere! Atmosphere relates to how the story and its descriptions leave you feeling as the reader. The tone of the story affects its atmosphere since the tone is important when it comes to revealing the POV character’s moods.

These moods can influence the way the character sees things in the story. A character who has just lost the love of their life won’t see a sunset the same way that a character who has just gone on a fantastic first date would see it. The despairing tone of that first character would change the way the reader experienced the sunset, just like the lovestruck tone of the second character would.

When you are writing with a particular mood in mind, the words you choose will create an emotional setting, or an atmosphere, that the reader will experience.

Take a look at this example from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, and see if you can identify what kind of atmosphere this scene evokes in you (I’m putting the words that change the atmosphere in bold font):

“There were rockets like a flight of scintillating birds singing with sweet voices. There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers down upon the astonished hobbits, disappearing with a sweet scent just before they touched their upturned faces” (Tolkien 27).

Here, Tolkien is describing this scene in a way that makes it seem lovely, sweet, and exciting. The atmosphere/emotional setting that he creates is positive and happy, and it leaves me feeling joyful, like I’m one of the hobbits at Bilbo’s party.

Source: Giphy

Contrast how you feel after reading the description of the fireworks at Bilbo’s party with how you feel about the description of the battle at Helm’s Deep from The Two Towers:

“It was now past midnight. The sky was utterly dark, and the stillness of the heavy air foreboded storm. Suddenly the clouds were seared by a blinding flash. Branched lightning smote down upon the eastward hills. For a staring moment the watchers on the walls saw all the space between them and the Dike lit with white light: it was boiling and crawling with black shapes, some squat and broad, some tall and grim, with high helms and sable shields” (Tolkien 520).

Each of these descriptions has a unique, distinctive feeling about them. Where Bilbo’s party had a fun and exciting atmosphere, using words like “sweet,” “spring,” and “shining,” the battle at Helm’s Deep has a dark and foreboding atmosphere, using words like “heavy,” “boiling,” and “grim.”

How did Tolkien accomplish the creation of these two vastly different atmospheres? By using words with connotative meanings. To connote means “to signify or suggest (certain meanings, ideas, etc.) in addition to the explicit or primary meaning.” Using words with connotative meanings helps us to not only describe a setting, but also imply feelings that are commonly attached to those words. This can help us to create a rich emotional setting while simultaneously describing physical aspects of the scenery.

Since we have such different lives, words may carry different feelings for all of us. However, words with strong connotative meanings are generally felt in a specific way, or are used to symbolize certain feelings or ideas. For example, the word “strut” when used to describe someone walking would imply that the person is arrogant, as opposed to using the word “stroll,” which would imply that the person is being leisurely.

When you are working to create your setting’s atmosphere, be very specific about your word choice. Think of the emotional meaning behind the words you are choosing and look up the definitions of the words you want to use in the dictionary. Read your favorite books again with an eye for the connotative meanings of the words the author uses in their descriptions. Soon, you’ll be well on your way to creating highly immersive and memorable atmospheres in your own stories!

In Conclusion

I hope these explanations have been helpful to you on your way to understanding how to effectively use tone and atmosphere in your stories. Remember, tone reflects how the author and/or POV character feels about a subject. This feeling can influence the way settings, characters, and themes are described in the story. The word choice used in those descriptions then creates the atmosphere or emotional setting of the scenes in your novel.

You can always work to improve and clarify your story’s tone and atmosphere after you have finished the first draft of your novel. Reading through your story after you’ve finished writing it can actually help you identify the best tone and atmosphere to work on creating or honing in your book.

Crafting a consistent tone and atmosphere that progress alongside your main characters and their development will create an unforgettable experience for your readers, who will walk away from your book with a strong impression of what they read. These kinds of readers are more likely to recommend your book to their friends, which will be fantastic for your book sales!

Do you have anything to add to this conversation about tone and atmosphere? What are some of the greatest books and movies that you’ve read or seen that demonstrated effective use of tone and atmosphere? 

Let me know in the comments! I’m super excited to hear your thoughts.