Tone Up

Are you ready to get toned?!

…I don’t know what that means exactly in this context but I do know that today we will be discussing the tone of our stories!

The tone of a story is used to describe the ~vibes or the feelings that the writer evokes in the reader. This can range from funny to spooky to sad to intensely action-packed and exciting. Now, while the tone can (and probably should) shift throughout a story (a funny story can have a heartstring-tugging moment for example) there is usually an overarching tone for the story as a whole. It’s what makes funny stories a comedy and scary stories a horror.

This wouldn’t be all that interesting to discuss apart from the fact that it can be used for some clever audience manipulation (in the best way possible, of course!) If your story is usually upbeat and funny and whimsical, if you suddenly switch to a very dark chapter, this can be very shocking for the reader and make the horrors you conjure feel all the more deliciously terrifying. 

That’s why, in my opinion, it’s a good idea to define your intended tone in your planning stages – that way you always know what you’re aiming for and can wield it with precision. 

To make sure you’re getting it right, I recommend reading your writing out loud! It’s gonna feel odd at first but it’ll make hearing the tone and voice of your novel so much clearer. You’ll be able to hear how you naturally tell the story, how the words ebb and flow, what emotion you instinctively put into the words. And when you can hear all of that, you can better understand how to purposefully craft your sentences to dictate the precise feelings you're going for.

As just a quick example, you can read aloud this post! The tone here should sound conversational and light-hearted – and that comes across when you read it out loud (like I’m doing right now!)

Well, it should feel conversational and light-hearted. If it doesn’t, I have majorly boo-boo’d…

In conclusion, tone is an underrated tool in story crafting and writing! It can help guide and inform your writing if you plan it out beforehand. Wield it and you’ll be breaking hearts in no time.

And that’s every writer’s dream, right?