Use sensory detail. This opens in a new tab. Audience: Writers. Topics: Creative writing. Workbooks and worksheets that support the National Curriculum, encourage and build confidence at school. If you write to music, make sure it fits the tone of your story. I love creating story mood boards – in Ye Olden Days of the 2000s I did this with scraps cut from magazines and newspapers and pinned onto a corkboard, but now it's 2015 and we have Pinterest(this will open in a new window). “It was a dark and stormy night.” While this line (part of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford) is an infamous example of over-the-top creative writing, it also serves a very important purpose for the novel’s opening scene: it establishes a clear mood. Toisich a sgrìobhadh: cainnt mar àm ri teachd, Top tips for creative writing with your kids. Want the reader to feel soothed and happy? Visit the Culture Edinburgh website. All five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and taste – can be effective in creating a strong atmosphere. If it's possible to choose your physical surroundings – for example, to walk on a deserted beach as you write about isolation, or wander in a museum as you write a historical story – then do take a day or even your lunch hour to do this. All of these can affect the pace and feel of your story. It can help to read books and watch movies in the same genre as you’re writing. Some of these suggestions might seem odd, but give them a try! Writing exercise: How do you define the future? Kirsty Logan is a writer of fiction and journalism. Immerse yourself. You're not doing this to directly take any plot elements, characters or details – you're trying to keep yourself in the right head-space, so that when you sit down to write, the atmosphere of your story feels strong in your imagination. This can become cloying if it's overdone, but used subtly it's an incredibly effective way to build atmosphere. Your goal is to suck the reader into the world of your story by using the tips above. Kirsty received a New Writers Award in 2010. Think about all of the techniques we discussed. Think of the golden gleam of sunlight catching in your eyelashes when you blink, or a song familiar from childhood just at the edges of your hearing. Writing exercise: What changes the future? It's all about experimenting: play around with your language to see which matches the atmosphere you want to create. Scottish charity, SC027669. Use more straightforward sentence structures, and – while never resorting to cliché – stick to more traditional word choices. Writing a Story Set in Another Country – Planning, Handwriting Practise – The Snow Drop (descriptive writing), Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (2), Multiplication & Division Quick Tests - Mixed Tables (7-11 Years), Handwriting Practise – Pit and Pendulum (description & atmosphere), Handwriting Practise – Peter Rabbit (sub-ordinate clauses). This link opens in a new tab. Kirsty Logan's top tips for creating an atmosphere. You'll only be able to create a strong atmosphere for your reader if you can feel it yourself. It's all about creating a vivid world for the reader to inhabit. Tes Global Ltd is registered in England (Company No 02017289) with its registered office at 26 Red Lion Square London WC1R 4HQ. Visit Scottish Book Trust on Twitter. This opens in your email window. Registered company SC184248. Visit Scottish Book Trust on Instagram. Not to steal plot points or characters details, but to immerse yourself in their atmosphere. comment 5 Comments on 4 Blue – Creating atmosphere in Harry Potter. There's no need to describe the image or use the word: it's about holding it in your head as you write. This opens in a new tab. You don't have to go through a laundry list of details for every description – pick a few well-chosen details, and sprinkle them through your writing. The words and phrases used when writing a story can change how the reader thinks and feels about the characters and scene. It can make your story more interesting. In class we have discussed how the writer builds a strong atmosphere, your challenge is to now create a piece of writing similar to this which builds up an atmosphere. All five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and taste – can be effective in creating a strong atmosphere. Consider the imagery certain words can create, think about the emotional responses you could generate with the right choice of words, whether they are positive reactions or negative ones. And let me know how it works for you. This link opens in a new tab. Want to give a creeping sense of unease? Kirsty Logan's top tips for creating an atmosphere, Hold an image or word in your head as you write, Inhabit your imaginary world in your daily life, Six tips for writing genderqueer and nonbinary characters, Five things: writing historical non-fiction, Five things to remember when writing for children, Three writing techniques to quash procrastination, Five things: creating believable relationships in fiction, Five things: the differences between writing for TV and comics, Hit a writing dip? Or it's a love story and you'd like to explore ideas of discovery and old-fashioned sea voyages. Choose two or three themes or ideas that seem relevant to your story – for example, perhaps it's a story of redemption and so you'd like to use ideas of religion and portals. Choose one technique from this list for the next story you write. If you can reveal a character’s state of mind while also conveying atmosphere, it will add richness to your writing. Visit the Create Scotland's website. All you have to do is make sure you're using the most effective sense for the feel you want to create. Find out more. Every piece of literature has a mood, because a strong mood is vital for a story’s emotional resonance and lasting power. Try to ensure that your visual details and word choices are in some way connected to these central ideas. Her debut novel, The Gracekeepers, is a magical story of a floating circus and two young women in search of a home. The Scottish Book Trust site uses cookies to improve your on site experience. Or maybe a sweet, magical feel? Perhaps pin some relevant pictures to your desk, or change your desktop background to an image that creates the right feel. Visit the Edinburgh Council's website. With a partner, write the first paragraph of a short story using one of the following photos as your setting. Copyright 2020 Scottish Book Trust. Helping to set children up for life-long learning with the right skills and knowledge. Providing support for learning at home. Consider carefully every word you write to create the atmosphere of your story. Visit Scottish Book Trust on Facebook. Toisich a sgrìobhadh: Aig Ceithir Fichead, Writing exercise: Carrying ourselves into the future, Five ways to ignite writing inspiration during lockdown, Toisich a sgrìobhadh: stuth san àm ri teachd. Toisich a sgrìobhadh: dè cho fad às ’s a tha an t-àm ri teachd? TMKed Maths and English. Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (3) £ 1.29 The words and phrases used when writing a story can change how the reader thinks and feels about the characters and scene. Workbooks and worksheets that support the National Curriculum, encourage and build confidence at school. Five things: creating an atmosphere in your writing. How about a melancholic ghostliness? Providing support for learning at home. Piling on visual metaphors randomly will give a muddled, inconsistent feel when you really want a strong, coherent atmosphere. This link opens in a new tab. Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (1) Home Worksheets for Kids English KS2, 9-11 Years Writing Fiction Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (1) Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (1) That doesn’t make you a failure, Five tips for writing a rounded disabled character. Play with syntax, vary sentence length, use more unusual word choices, pepper in some sentence fragments. Her debut collection, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, was published in March 2014. This link opens in a new tab. Last updated: 16 January 2020. The words and phrases used when writing a poem or story can change how the reader thinks and feels. Trying to create a sense of unease or confusion? If you don't think in visuals, choose another sense: a song, word, phrase, scent or memory that evokes the atmosphere you want to create. (By the way, you might not be able to choose your themes before you start writing, as your story will develop as you write – don't worry, as your word choices can be changed and your imagery streamlined when you edit). Creative Writing Activity 1: Creating Atmosphere Below are different pictures of forests. TMKed Maths and English. Kirsty's short fiction and poetry has been published in print and online, recorded for radio and podcasts, and exhibited in galleries. Visit Scottish Book Trust on YouTube. When I sit down every morning to work on a story, I have a quick scroll through my mood board to get myself in the right frame of mind (here's(this will open in a new window) my mood board for The Gracekeepers). Think of a quick channel of freezing water as you lie back in a hot bath. As much as you can, choose the media you consume as you're writing. Writing a Story Set in Another Country – Planning, Creating Mood and Atmosphere in Writing (2), Multiplication & Division Quick Tests - Mixed Tables (7-11 Years), Handwriting Practise – The Snow Drop (descriptive writing). It isn't always possible to have control of our listening or viewing material when we have to consider the choices of our family, friends or workmates, but even small things can help. This website and its content is subject to our Terms and Conditions. Atmosphere isn't only about description. One minute you're comparing something in your dystopian world to a rotten apple; the next minute there's an industrial pipe; then a labyrinth, and an insect, and a sunbeam, and a temple, and reality TV, and a stovepipe hat, and – you get the point. Think of the taste of rot as you bite into a strawberry or the sudden, cloying scent of blood when you're daydreaming on a packed bus. Whatever you create, they all form part of the overall atmosphere and has to create a strong response with the reader. Visit the Good fundraising Organisations website. Helping to set children up for life-long learning with the right skills and knowledge. This opens in a new tab. Pay attention to the lengths of your words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters. To do is make sure you 're using the most effective sense for reader. The future channel of freezing water as you write right skills and knowledge more unusual choices... 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