It’s a
curious thing about books and stories: within the first few lines or
paragraphs, readers implicitly know the mood of the story. They know what kind
of story it’s going to be. But if asked, the reader would not be able to
identify anything concretely as an indicator of the mood. The word choices and
sentence structures indicate mood, but usually only other writers can pick up
on it.
I’ve
noticed the same thing when it comes to speaking in public or teaching. The
room has a mood. Stand-up comics know this because they must “read the room” or
remark that it’s a “tough room.”
I find this
very interesting because the mood of a story isn’t just one character, even the
main character. It’s the collective character of the book. The setting,
characters, and narrative style dictate it.
Mood tends
to be associated with the writer, as well. Stephen King is the master of
horror. And King was readily identified in his Bachman books because of the
distinctive style and mood of his books, even though King claims those were a
darker kind of book.
This makes
it difficult for writers to be able to write in more than one genre. Can the
young adult fantasy author transition to noir mystery? To erotica? Good writing
is good writing, but audiences are different across the board. Someone who was
beloved in one genre, may not be so well received in another. And while fans
can migrate, they, too, may not appreciate the mood and rules of the new genre.
It makes
for a sticky situation, and makes me wonder about my own writing because I have
story ideas across genres.