Five Problems Caused by Tone Mishaps and How to Fix Them
Stories come in a wide spectrum of tones, from light whimsy to gritty nihilism. When tone problems occur, it’s rarely because the tone itself is invalid. Instead, tone issues are usually caused by story elements that clash with each other. Let’s look at why these clashes happen and how we can prevent them. But first, what is tone? If we take a strict definition, tone is simply the mood of a scene or of the story more generally. However, a story’s atmosphere, including the level of reali...
