Setting the Mood in Your Short Story

Though novels and short stories are both categorized as prose, and both contain the essential elements of such, they are extremely different methods of writing. Novels are typically between 70,000 and 100,000 words, while short stories are rarely more than 10,000 words. Because of the vast differences in length, writers of short stories must weave their tales much more concisely than authors of novels.

One of the most difficult aspects of writing short stories is establishing the mood. Unlike in the case of novels, the writer has much less time to effectively describe the setting and characters, and must do so in order for the plot to take off. A story consisting only of places and people would be boring, because the reader has no vehicle via which to become involved in the story.

The mood of a short story is established through detailed descriptions of the settings, people, and atmosphere of a story. For example, if you are writing a scary story about a haunted house, the mood will be dark and foreboding. The setting should be dark – muted colors and shadowy corners – and the characters should be feeling a mixture of excitement and delicious fear. If, however, you are writing about Jessica’s Great Adventures, the mood should be charged with energy and bright in feel. Sunny skies, green grass, excitement in the air; you get the picture.

The entire point of the mood is to prepare your reader. Surprises are acceptable in a suspense story, but the surprise should not disconcert your audience. You have a sertain liability to your readers to not mislead them in your writing, which will happen if you fail to set the correct mood.

Take this excerpt from the beginning of Scott Russell Sanders’ short story Under The Influence.