How to Create Atmosphere in Fiction

Strong atmosphere creates a mood in your story. It not only allows your reader to get a sense of the world you’re creating, but sets up expectations. For instance, a spooky castle will evoke fear, mystery and maybe even romance. It can also provide information to your reader about the characters in your story. A fancy Hollywood nightclub will tell your reader exactly the type of people she will expect to find there. Atmosphere can be a setting or it can be a time of day.

Instructions

1. Choose an effective setting. Different types of settings will evoke a certain atmosphere. For instance, if you want to create an atmosphere that is grimy or lowdown, set your story in a seedy bar, the type where customers show up at ten in the morning to get drunk, or a strip club. If you want to create a sense of isolation or desolation, set your story at a lonely motel on a desolate highway strip. If you’re aiming for gothic, set your story in a rundown, English castle. If you want to create a sense of timelessness or history, try a cemetary, a museum or an ancient cathedral. Determine what type of atmosphere you want to create for your story and choose a setting that will best suggest it.

2. Describe the scenery. What does the scenery look like? You don’t have to spend pages and pages of describing your setting. In fact, an economy of description will work best. Use the five senses to bring the scenery to life, but only use what will effectively create the atmosphere you’re aiming for. The rundown, seedy bar, for instance, might smell like cheap cologne and stale peanuts. The bar top might be grimy and sticky from spilled drinks.

3. Use natural elements. The weather is a great way to create atmosphere. A storm or a relentlessly sunny day can bring different types of atmosphere to your story. Try going against the grain. For instance, a funeral can take place on a bright, sunny day. A wedding can take place during a violent thunderstorm. Nature settings can also be effective in creating atmosphere. A beach at night can create a sense of desolation or melancholy. The deep woods can create a sense of fear.

4. Use time. Time can bring different expectations to your readers in setting up atmosphere. If you’re writing a horror story, the scariest parts should take place at night (though, again, you can go against your reader’s expectations to really scare them). A sense of time can pull together different metaphorical elements in your story’s theme as well. For instance, a sunset can be used as comparison for a dying man or a drug addict. At the end of the film "Black Orpheus," three children sing a song to make the sun rise. The children and the dawning of the sun are metaphors for life. Look over your story and the different plot points that occur and determine if a specific time setting will work best for those scenes.

5. Use strong or evocative language, which can create a strong sense of place and atmosphere. Check out Ernest Hemingway’s 'Hills Like White Elephants." With an economy of language, Hemingway is able to create a desolate and dry atmosphere that enhances the plot about a couple arguing over whether to have an abortion. Use your words carefully. Make sure that they not only create a strong atmosphere for your story but also pull together the different elements of theme, description and metaphor.

Resources

• Atmosphere in Writing