The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 7 February 2010

Writer's Digest, April 2007, pages 87 to 89, have an article, sidebar, and exercise by Nancy Kress dealing with tone. The article is very short -- two paragraphs. The sidebar is considerably longer, looking at first sexual encounters from four different novels, and analyzing the tone being used. The exercise is actually the longest, a full-page with the exercise and sample passages. So let's take a look at what this is all about.

First, Nancy Kress tells us that tone in speaking and tone in writing are very much the same thing -- attitude. "Specifically, tone refers to the writer's attitude towards his characters and story." Second, Nancy suggests that before writing we need to ask ourselves what tone do we want the story to have. Cynical, satiric, understated, tragic? Funny, heroic, matter-of-fact, tragic? Figure out how you want the readers to view the characters' feelings and actions, and what your attitude is towards them, and how you are going to present them. That's tone.

The sidebar... well, we'll skip the quotes from the novels. The first one is emotional, describing the character's thoughts and actions directly, putting us inside the character. His experience is truth.

The second takes a very different approach. The character's attitude is anger, although the overall tone is comic. Exaggeration, juxtaposition of irrelevant details, it's all comedy.

The third one is angry. Crude, demeaning language. Hatred permeates the relationship.

And the last one -- epic? Heroic fantasy. Lofty, distanced from emotional details, making the event more than just an event between two participants.

And an exercise. Pretty simple. Take this opening:

Luke said, "Pam, why won't you go to Florida with me?"

Then write a short passage in each of the four tones identified below. A few lines of dialogue, some description, whatever you think is right.

1. Comic (think Woody Allen, Janet Evanovich). Suggestions: an absurd motive;  exaggeration; wildly dissimilar elements placed close together.

2. Romantic (think Nora Roberts, Laurel K. Hamilton). Suggestions: an emotional motive; sensory details; metaphors or other heightened language.

3. Factual (think John Grisham, Jody Picoult). Suggestions: a plausible and ordinary motive; everyday dialogue; mundane details.

4. Cynical (think Raymond Chandler, and Ed McBain). Suggestions: a sarcastic motive; gritty details; weary emotions.

I think we'll skip Nancy Kress's sample paragraphs. But why not give it a shot? Try writing a short passage in each of the four tones. Make us laugh, make us sigh, make us get out our notebooks, and make us squint?

Whatever, write!