Setting and MoodMr. Hendy Industries

Learning GoalTo use interesting language and your

senses to create effective settings and build mood

Success CriteriaI will be successful when…

I understand how settings can help create mood

I can choose interesting words and phrases to create the mood I want to portray

I can develop well-defined settings in my writing

What is Setting?

Setting is the time and place where events happen in a story

1. Be Detailed (Use Interesting and Vivid Language)Why write, “The milk spilled on the table.”

When you could write, “The glimmering cow juice washed across the table in the dim light of the kitchen.”

Too much? Yes.

“The man walked across the driveway.”

Or

“The man sauntered across the rocky and uneven driveway.”

Bad Example:Greg stood in the hallway. The door to the room was closed, but he knew he had to enter. Everything inside of him urged him to not move. With all his strength, he slowly raised his arm and grasped the doorknob with his shaking fingers.

Good Example:Rain pelted the old cracked windows as Greg stood in the hallway. The darkness of the hallway ate everything in sight. Even his feet disappeared in the blackness that surrounded him. The door he knew he had to open was here, he could see its outline from the bright white crack of lightening every few minutes. With every bolt of lightening he could also see the glimmering pool of dark liquid seeping from beneath the door. Everything inside of him urged him to not move. With all his strength, he slowly raised his arm and grasped the doorknob with his shaking fingers.

2. Use your Senses

Sight

Sound

Smell

Taste

Touch

Bad Example:As Nick made his way through the back alley in search of the thief the sky was dark. The alley also really stunk. There were sounds of rats scurrying around in the trash. Nick saw a large stack of cardboard boxes. The cool night air tasted sour from all of the garbage. The street was rough. Nick kept running. The thought of catching the thief was all he needed to keep going.

Good Example:The sky was cloudless and dark as Nick made his way through the back alley in search of the thief. The piles of rotting trash clogged the alley, and the bitter stench of it clogged his nostrils. Nick kept running. The thought of catching the thief was all he needed to keep going.

3. Don’t Describe Unimportant things

Does it really matter what colour of chewing gum the waitress is chomping on?

NO

Unless it hilariously falls in someone's food, THEN detail the gum.

WHY? Because it is important now!

Bad Example:

Maggie sat at the booth where they had first met. Down the street, Joe was still hard at work on his 72’ Charger. It was that bone-white colour only rich businessmen and movie stars bought. At least, that’s what he always told himself. In reality, the rust had changed it to a more dried-blood on a kids face kind of colour. The leaves, too, were changing. She was still waiting at that booth. How long had she been tapping her fingers now?

Good Example:

Maggie sat at the booth where they had first met. The menus were still the same; still forty different burger combinations, and still no one had cleaned the greasy fingerprints or dried-on ketchup stains from the glossy covers. She put her hands to her sides and felt the rubbery leather seat cover with her finger tips. The rip between two leather patches was still there. And, it was still big enough to fit an 80’s cell phone into. Had it really been that long since Maggie had seen him?

Pathetic Fallacy & Mood

Pathetic FallacyHave you ever read a story where a character breaks up with another character, or where a character loses something very important to them, or where a character dies?

Do you remember the setting or weather?

If any of those above events happened, there is a good chance that it was dark or stormy. Fact.

Pathetic FallacyPathetic Fallacy is when the setting or weather

mirrors something happening in the story.

When something bad is about to happen, the setting is usually dark, rainy, or something

similar.

When something good is about to happen, the setting is usually bright and cheerful.

Mood is simply how a story feels

How bout’ some examples…

DARK CASTLE AT NIGHT MOOD: TENSE, FRIGHTFUL, SCARY

More examples…

BRIGHT, COLOURFUL FIELD MOOD: SAFE, RELAXED, HAPPY