Good Read and a Question

Trying to find your place in high school can be a challenging time in a young girl’s life, even more if you have a brain disorder. Being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, Chloe deals with the difficulties of trying to fit in with the right friends. Wanting to please them she gets into some situations leading to many disappointments. Chloe doesn’t see the destructive path she has made for herself or care about the consequences. With the end of the school year coming to a close can Chloe change things in time to graduate high school with her classmates or has she destroyed any chance of getting her diploma on time?

Question:  My critique partner says, "Your mood is all wrong." I rewrite and she still goes on and on about "Mood."  What is mood, anyway? How can I fix it?

Answer:  In writing Mood is the atmosphere we give a piece often by the details we choose to describe. All words have meaning, as denoted in the dictionary. But they also have a connotation, or feeling that people understand, without our having to explain and explain.

If we say we have the "blues," readers understand that we are sad.


All words have “feelings” as well and dictionary meanings. To establish "mood" in a fictional piece you should choose words that will subtlely make the reader understand the feelings of the characters.

Say your scene is a funeral. A sad occasion. Despite the "blue"analogy above, to emphasize the sadness, you should have cloudy skies and rain, mists gathering in the shrubbery, rain, or tears, running down the faces of the attendees, who all should be dressed in somber colors.