Right o folks, i have a problem. I need atmosphere. I'm in the mist of a short story that will rely heavily on the atmosphere i create. So, my problem? How do i create a dark atmosphere?
Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience
Actually, when I read my "dark" pieces, I listen to the corniest music possible so that I can see if the writing can really affect me, LOL.
What makes you think of dark mood?
I'll tell you what makes me think of it:
Dull colors, not quite black, more of a dark gray. Bland colors.
Crumpled paper, rustling along an abandoned road.
Red hues tinging the sky (sunrise and sunset are usually pink, lol)
Overcast days
The color white.
Pain.
A symbol of childhood that is not nostalgic but mocking.
When I'm ignored.
Tears.
Sighing.
So! Some of these are for the atmosphere, some of these are what the characters will do. In order to create a dark atmosphere for my novel FREAK, I used several of these in the first chapter. But really... compile a list saying what you think is dark and use them for your own story.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
You can always go to your local library and check out some dark books to see how other writers do it. Or if you have a gothic friend you can always have them recite their entire vocabualry and see what comes out. *Coughs* (That was a joke...a stupid one though.)
Fool wrote:Right o folks, i have a problem. I need atmosphere. I'm in the mist of a short story that will rely heavily on the atmosphere i create. So, my problem? How do i create a dark atmosphere?
are we talking sad-dark, ominious-dark, or dangerous-dark?
The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare, Othello Boo. SPEW is watching.
The atmosphere can be perfectly fine if you want and you can have your main character find flaws in everything and look poorly upon it.
A story that I'm writing is about a man that has his beautiful newborn daughter, but he hates her because of every tiny flaw she holds; he's quite a psychotic profectionist.
That's just an idea, but there are plenty of ways to make it plain Dark, you can make the air reek of an uncertain stench of something dead, make the Sun small and almost completely unexposed, but I think the main trick is how you play it off in your character's mind.
Good luck!
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.It's already tomorrow in Australia." ~ Charles Schultz
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