When Hurricane Milton swept through Florida in October 2024, the sense of impending doom was palpable. It felt as if everyone was glued to their TVs, watching the news coverage as the storm clouds closed in.
It was a sense of dread, of impending doom. And that morning, I was texting my client Holly Spofford, who owns a home in Florida and whose family members were directly in the path of the storm.
Thankfully, Holly and her family made it through the storm with minimal damage to their houses… But all this talk about the weather and the impending sense of doom got us thinking.
Weather often is a wonderful tertiary character, Holly texted me. And she’s right: Weather is a great way to impact the overall mood, setting, and conflict of a book. Although perfecting your story’s atmospheric descriptions isn’t essential to the plot itself, doing so pulls readers in and adds a layer of realism that elevates your book.
How Setting Influences Story Elements
Setting plays a huge role in shaping a book’s tone and mood because it establishes the backdrop against which the story unfolds, creating the atmosphere that impacts both characters and readers. Here’s how setting influences these elements:
- Atmosphere: Physical details—like time, weather, and place—set a story’s vibe. A foggy mountain town feels eerie; a lively beach town feels carefree. Consider this example from Holly’s Snap Decision:
For a fourth morning in a row, ominous, dense fog crept over the New York Harbor. It overspread the docks in a treacherous, slippery sheet. Water swirled around the algae-covered pilings. An inky black sky revealed no cracks of sunlight.
The dense fog and inky sky immediately evoke unease, immersing the reader in a foreboding atmosphere.
- Character Influence: The setting can mold characters’ emotions and behaviors. A war-torn country creates fear and resilience; a peaceful countryside evokes nostalgia. Another example from Holly’s second book Hot Ice, Cold Blood shows how the cold, desolate park reflects a character’s perspective:
The flimsy plastic zip-up siding attached to the cart tried to protect him from the cold, but it failed miserably. Henderson drove the cart into the dark, desolate park. He dodged the small piles of gray, filthy snow dotting the path. Not a soul was around, as he expected.
Henderson’s irritation is heightened by the unwelcoming landscape, reinforcing the bleak tone of the scene.
- Symbolism: Places can echo themes or emotions. A decaying city mirrors despair; a dense forest suggests mystery.
- Pacing and Tension: Settings change the story’s pace. Tight spaces intensify thrillers; open landscapes add freedom or loneliness.
The sun was high but the heat of the day before abated, and the park was busy on this sunny Sunday morning. People of all ages flocked to the clean, peaceful space. Wide sidewalks and off-trail paths were idyllic for walkers and runners. Strategically located wrought-iron benches allowed people to sit and enjoy Mother Nature.
This peaceful, sunny park contrasts beautifully with the colder, emptier version above, showing how even the same location can shift tone with changes in weather and description.
How to Use Setting to Craft Mood:
- Sensory Details: Engage senses to deepen the mood. Use sound, smell, and touch to enhance the tone, like creaky floors in a spooky scene.
- Weather & Lighting: Stormy nights evoke fear; sunny mornings offer hope. Time of day and the quality of light shift tone subtly.
- Character’s View: Show the setting through the character’s eyes to build mood. Lonely streets feel different for someone heartbroken than someone at peace.
- Symbolic Locations: Choose settings with natural symbolism, like a forest for mystery or a crumbling mansion for decay.
By carefully crafting these elements, you can make your setting a central driver of tone and mood, shaping readers’ emotional responses as they experience the story.
Book editor Kristen Hamilton is the owner and sole employee of Kristen Corrects, Inc., where she provides manuscript editing services for traditionally and self-publishing authors. Several authors whose books she has edited have won awards and have topped Amazon’s best sellers lists.
Reading is Kristen’s passion, so when the workday is over, she can usually be found curled up with a good book alongside her cats. She loves watching cat videos and scary movies, eating pizza, teaching herself French, and traveling, and she is likely planning her next vacation. She lives outside of Boise, Idaho.