In the following example, can you guess what’s the tone vs what’s the mood? (You can find the solution further down the post.)
Emergency!!!
Red alert!!
When it became clear that this was the biggest crisis the state had seen in a century, the prime minister ordered his entire cabinet to his seat within an hour. One by one they arrived, exited their limousines and with grim faces stepped up the stairs to the palace, worried about their country, their people and even about their personal well-being.
The prime minister received them in his bathtub with his rubber toys floating pathetically around him. He had painted himself a stern white beard around his mouth with foam. On his head sat a floatie in the form of a pink flamingo, which wore its head sunk, like in desperation.
“I will hold each and every one of you personally accountable for this trainwreck!” the prime minister shouted. Thick veins were protruding from his temples, as he was squeaking his rubber duck rhythmically to his furious speech. “You fix this now, or it will be our end!” And with his wild movements, the flamingo wiggled like in agreement.
If you are able to write a story or even a scene in which mood is different from tone, you have come a long way. It’s a tell-tale sign of an advanced author – that’s why it pays off to pay attention now.
We are going to take a close look at how tone vs mood differ and at how you can use both to your advantage, step by step.
In this post, we will dissect:
- The exact differences between tone and mood, explained so clearly that even the earthworms in your front yard would understand it
- A deeper look at tone and how it works in fiction
- A deeper look at mood and how it works in fiction
- Examples of famous pieces in which tone and mood differ, carefully explained
- How you can create tone
- How you can create mood
- A sneaky download that will help you create tone vs mood in your own story
As always, templates first (then ladies, and after that gentlemen).
Tone and Mood Worksheet
Download this handy template here, fill in the blanks and create your own tone and mood with little effort. Writing tone and mood that differ is a more complex thing to do. That’s why I believe that this one will help even the most advanced ones amongst you:
So what makes tone and mood different?
The Difference Between Tone and Mood
Here are the definitions of tone and of mood:
Tone is the attitude of the author towards his subject ( = towards what he is writing about).
- What makes the tone of a piece of fiction?
Tone is created mainly by choice of words, but also by sentence structure and punctuation.
The tone of the author is one of contempt and hate. Words like “shabby, thievish, plague” give it away.
Mood is the overall atmosphere conveyed to the reader.
- What makes the mood of a piece of fiction?
Mood includes tone, but also setting, characters, genre, plot, and literary devices like metaphors, images or motives.
The mood here is clearly romantic (and by the way, the tone is romantic as well).
The mood (atmosphere) the reader feels is also, amongst other influences, made by the tone of the author. That means that the mood of a story includes the tone it is written in.
But tone does not include mood, it is just a part of it. Just like your dog is included in your household, but your household is not included in your dog. Or so.
Mood is, if you will, the end product.
You can imagine this as nested circles:
Here is another, very simple way to hold apart tone vs mood:
- Tone is how the author feels.
- Mood is how the reader feels.
Both, tone and mood, don’t have to stay the same over the entire story. They can change from scene to scene, or in rare cases, even within a scene.
This also means that tone and mood could be the same in some scenes, and then differ in other scenes of the same novel.
However, here is the general rule: In many stories, tone and mood are the same in most of the scenes. For example, the tone of a horror story will usually be uneasy, creepy or terrifying. And the mood will be the same.
Then again, we all know the mandatory scene in the early parts of a horror slasher, in which a bunch of lightly dressed teenagers are enjoying their existence, frivolously oblivious of the unspeakable horrors that are about to befall them (what’s more, they are sometimes even purposefully running towards the direction of said horrors)!
We want to take them by the shoulders, shake them and scream: “Don’t you know the guy with the creepy cheap facemask is waiting for you upstairs, meat grinder already running?” [That is our mood.]
We wonder how a breathing life form can be so dumb, but they don’t listen to us. They never do.
They are just partying away with a breeze of sex and teenage debauchery in the air, and they are having the time of their lives. [That is the tone of the movie.]
As you can see, in this one scene mood (creepy, uneasy, scared) and tone (happy, exuberant) are completely different. In most other scenes of that same horror movie, they will match though.
Now let’s break this concept down from the beginning, so you can get an even more thorough understanding of the mechanisms of tone vs mood.
Tone vs Mood, Starting with the Basics: Tone
Tone is the feeling of the author towards what she is describing.
In all of the examples of this section, the tone will be the same as the mood. That’s to keep it simple for now and to better demonstrate what tone does.
Let’s take a simple example, and let’s describe a pile of growing wood, which is also sometimes called a forest.
Here is an inventory of the snippet:
Tone: Spooky, gloomy, subliminally threatening
Mood: Spooky, gloomy, subliminally threatening
Context that makes mood different from tone: None
What makes the tone sound gloomy?
More than anything, it’s the choice of words. “Harboring all kinds of shadows; dark; pale; corpse; cold breeze;” are all uncomfortable words, making the reader feel uneasy.
Additionally, the physical point of view of the snippet is from below, making the character (and the readers) feel small and helpless. Expressions like “towering high above her” or “shining down” create this feeling.
Sneaky dinosaur creeping off in dark forest
Now, what if the very same scene with the same content came along in a completely different tone of voice?
Tone: Calm, soothing, nurturing
Mood: Calm, soothing, nurturing
Context that makes mood different from tone: None
This one makes us feel safe and at ease. The tone alone changes the entire way the reader feels about the very same scene.
Our exercise makes me want to throw in an “Alice in Wonderland” version as well, just for shits and giggles…
Tone: Surrealistic, delirious, absurd
Mood: Surrealistic, delirious, absurd
Context that makes mood different from tone: None
Can you guess which words are creating the Alice in Wonderland effect?
The forest can’t see you for the trees…
Here are a couple more thoughts that will help you understand tone:
- Tone is usually heavily influenced by genre. For example:
- Fantasy: Epic, fairy-tale-like
- Romance: Romantic, soft, sexual
- Science Fiction: Slick, smooth, visionary
- Horror: Somber, gloomy, ominous
The tone helps to get readers into the mood of the genre and to draw them into the story’s world.
- You will automatically create tone when you write, you couldn’t avoid it if you tried. Everything written or said conveys a tone, even “Keep off the grass” conveys a clear tone – and it’s not a nice one!
You can’t shoot a movie without a lens, and you can’t write fiction without displaying a tone.
- To be absolutely precise with our definition, I will add this: Tone is not only what the narrator feels, but also what the narrator pretends to feel.
A narrator could write in a sad and apologetic way, while in reality feeling no remorse at all and being deceiving on purpose. The tone will still be sad and apologetic, at least as far as he can keep up the charade.
- If your story is narrated in 1st person, then tone gives you a very elegant way to characterize your narrator indirectly. For example, if you want to convey that she is very calculating, you could do that by her frequently judging others by their social value.
Take advantage of the opportunity you have with tone and use it to add to the overall atmosphere of your story!
Now we will add the other layer this post is about.
Mood vs Tone, Stepping It Up: Mood
Usually, the mood will be the same as the tone of a scene. However, when mood goes into a different direction than tone, things get interesting. You are adding an additional layer for your reader.
The narrator tells us something through his tone, but the reader gets the feeling that there is more to it and feels differently. Intriguing!
Let’s go back to the mini-scene with the prime minister, from the beginning of this post. By now, I’m sure you can tell its tone and mood.
Tone: Grave, serious, alert
Mood: Absurd, grotesque, funny
Context that makes mood different from tone: The prime minister’s ridiculous demeanor in the bathtub, plus his props
Some of you might have read the piece slightly differently. Some of you might not have found it funny at all. Remember that the mood also depends a bit on the reader.
Because all of us have different tastes and emotional landscapes, it can result in different feelings about the same text. Think of the last time somebody laughed about something that you thought was anything but funny.
At the end of the day, if mood is different from tone, it always comes down to one reason: Context.
Mood will be different from tone because of the context of the scene. The formula is:
TONE + CONTEXT = MOOD
Here you have a nice little summary. You are welcome.
Tone vs Mood Summary Box
Tone:
- Tone is the attitude of the narrator towards what they describe
- Tone is the feeling of the narrator (+ the feelings the narrator pretends to have)
- Tone does not include mood
- Tone is created by choice of words, sentence structure and punctuation
- The tone of a scene does not depend on the reader at all
Mood:
- Mood is the feeling the reader gets while reading the scene
- Mood is the feeling of the reader
- Mood includes tone
- Mood also includes setting, characters, genre, plot, and literary devices like metaphors, images, motives
- The mood of a scene is also a bit subjective, as one reader could feel a bit different than another reader
Moving on to the examples.
Tone and Mood Examples
Listen up, because now it gets really interesting! I love the examples I’m about to present to you.
The first one comes from the geniuses that were (and in some case, are, but barely alive) Monty Python.
This is a sketch about two mafiosi trying extortion on, out of all places, an army base. You can watch the entire scene here.
Here is a snippet of it:
Sergeant: Mr. Dino Vercotti and Mr. Luigi Vercotti.
[The Vercotti brothers enter. They wear Mafia suits and dark glasses.]
Dino: Good morning, Colonel.
Colonel: Good morning gentlemen. Now what can I do for you?
Luigi: [looking round office casually] You’ve… you’ve got a nice army base here, Colonel.
Colonel: Yes.
Luigi: We wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.
Colonel: What?
Dino: No, what my brother means is it would be a shame if… [he knocks some ceramic off the mantel]
Colonel: Oh.
Dino: Oh sorry, Colonel.
We can conclude:
Tone: Subliminally threatening
Mood: grotesque, absurdly funny
Context that makes mood different from tone: The mafiosi are trying extortion on the most heavily armed institution in the country
This is stereotypical mafia talk and the tone of a stereotypical mafia scene. Again, the only thing that breaks the tone and makes this scene hilarious is Context. Monty Python used this technique a lot.
And now for something completely different…
It’s George Orwell’s classic from 1945, Animal Farm.
The book is about a farm of animals (wouldn’t have expected that, hm?), who get rid of the farmer to create their own self-governed paradise. Under the rule of the pigs and their leader Napoleon, their Utopia slowly drifts off into a totalitarian regime.
In the following excerpt, the farm’s faithful working horse, Boxer, was just secretly sold by Napoleon for Whiskey and hauled away in a knacker’s van to meet his fate.
The mouthpiece of the pigs, Squealer, has to calm down the other animals:
Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital at Willingdon, in spite of receiving every attention a horse could have. Squealer came to announce the news to the others. He had, he said, been present during Boxer’s last hours.
“It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen!” said Squealer, lifting his trotter and wiping away a tear. “I was at his bedside at the very last. And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. ‘Forward, comrades!’ he whispered. ‘Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades.”
[…]
It had come to his knowledge, he said, that a foolish and wicked rumour had been circulated at the time of Boxer’s removal. Some of the animals had noticed that the van which took Boxer away was marked “Horse Slaughterer,” and had actually jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was being sent to the knacker’s. It was almost unbelievable, said Squealer, that any animal could be so stupid.
Surely, he cried indignantly, whisking his tail and skipping from side to side, surely they knew their beloved Leader, Comrade Napoleon, better than that? But the explanation was really very simple. The van had previously been the property of the knacker, and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old name out. That was how the mistake had arisen.
The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. And when Squealer went on to give further graphic details of Boxer’s death-bed, the admirable care he had received, and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had paid without a thought as to the cost, their last doubts disappeared and the sorrow that they felt for their comrade’s death was tempered by the thought that at least he had died happy.
Let’s see… Inventory:
Tone: Relieving, Consoling, Soothing
Mood: Repulsive, cynical, somber (like when a Nazi tells you with a wide grin that the Jews are fine, they have just gone on a little holiday, you know, by train)
Context that makes mood different from tone: Squealer’s tearfully consoling words are not real, but only a self-serving farce to manipulate the animals
In this example you can see how powerful it is when mood diverges from tone. The reader is lied to as much as the animals are, but contrary to them, the reader knows it, and the unscrupulousness of the pigs sends chills down his spine!
The main reason Animal Farm is such a haunting tale is its point of view! Imagine if Orwell had simply written: “The pigs were terrible manipulators! What they did to poor Boxer was disgusting, and their lies and manipulations – baaawww, atrocious!”
Tone would have been the same as mood. And Animal Farm would only have carried 10% of the impact it actually carries.
Instead, Orwell takes on the role of the neutral observer. He observes only what the animals observe. He draws the same conclusions the animals are drawing.
But the reader is drawing different conclusions – and they are shocking!
By staying in a neutral narrator tone, by splitting up tone vs mood, the entire tale is lifted to another level.
I will give you another snippet out of Animal Farm to examine that very same effect again.
A few days later, when the terror caused by the executions had died down, some of the animals remembered – or thought they remembered – that the Sixth Commandment decreed “No animal shall kill any other animal.” And though no one cared to mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken place did not square with this. Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment, and when Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she fetched Muriel.
Muriel read the Commandment for her. It ran: “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” Somehow or other, the last two words had slipped out of the animals’ memory. But they saw now that the Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball.
Inventory:
Tone: objective, neutral, reporter-like, matter-of-factly (with the point of view of the animals)
Mood: bewilderment, dismay, consternation
Context that makes mood different from tone: The animals don’t realize they were played sneakily to accept the executions
The reader knows exactly what has happened… She wants to grab these tormented and naive animals by their furry shoulders and shake them out of their compliance! But she can’t. She can just sit, watch and hope.
These are the powerful effects of tone vs mood.
We will now take a short look at how you can create tone and mood.
Tone vs Mood: How Do You Create Tone?
- You can model your tone mainly by the choice of your words, and I’m sure you are doing that already. Be descriptive, mention details and use strong, colorful words. “A gaping hole in the skull” is better than “a bad wound.”
- You can also form your tone with sentence structure and punctuation. Think of the difference between a very slow, meandering sentence and a staccato of short phrases or expressions with commas in between. The latter gives you a sense of much more tension.
Now mood.
Tone vs Mood: How Do You Create Mood?
Mood includes:
- Tone
- Setting
- Characters
- Genre
- Plot
- Literary devices like metaphors, images and motives
Think about all of these elements and how you can move them across your writer’s chess board to make the reader feel the mood you want them to feel!
Try these effects yourself with the…
Tone vs Mood Writing Prompt
I highly recommend you try today’s writing prompt! It will add a lot of depth to your future scenes, and you will train yourself to subconsciously go for that second layer, next time you get a chance.
Gabby is an office worker. She thinks she is insanely stressed out and constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown because she is so overworked. In reality, her working day consists of almost nothing. If she was fired, nobody would even notice.
Write Gabby’s diary entry in 1st person, from her point of view. She is lamenting and moaning her fate and the horrible meat grinder she is in.
Tone: Stressed, depressed, annoyed
Mood: Ridiculous, funny, pathetic
Context that makes mood different from tone: Gabby is actually working less than a sloth on vacation
Go for it silently at home – or much better, post your attempt in the comments in order to get more motivated. If you try your hand at this challenging prompt, I will applaud you.
Now go!
Tone and Mood Worksheet
This worksheet will sort your tone and mood out for you. Download it, fill it in and have fun with it! It helps you to order your thoughts and to get a grip on that tone vs mood thing (it also includes a checklist with the most important points of this post)!
Tone vs Mood Outro
In short, tone is what the author is feeling for their subject. Mood is what the reader is feeling. In most scenes or stories, tone and mood are the same. However, when they are not, the reason is always the context of the scene.
Going for a mood different than the tone can make for a powerful effect. Just go ahead and try this technique, if you haven’t yet! Not only will it make you a better writer, but it will open new possibilities in your subconscious writer’s mind…
The opportunities are endless, and some of the most legendary novels of all time were written that way! With tone vs mood, you can create incredible effects that are otherwise hard to achieve – be they somber, shocking or highly amusing.
After all, as you saw in some of the examples, splitting up tone vs mood can be great fun for the reader, and even better, for yourself… now Ride the Pen!
Image Credits: Title Image: studiostoks/123rf; Dinosaur in Forest: kongvector/123rf; Eyes Forest: rudall30/123rf; Corporate Swine: batareykin/123rf; Farm Animals: grgroup/123rf;
