Friday, August 26, 2005
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
Tone is how a story feels to the reader. It may feel cool or warm, heavy or light. Literary novels may feel cool, romance novels warm. Family sagas may feel heavy, Chick Lit novels light. The effect is completely emotional, but the materials that build tone are as tangible as ink and paper: word choice.
A single well-turned metaphor or simile can color the tone of a story for half a page. For instance, the following sentence couldn't force its way at gunpoint into a literary novel, but it'd fit right into a Chick Lit:
Another way tone appears on the printed page is through characters' dialogue. This is a tricky area for beginners overzealous to make their characters sound "sophisticated." It's important to match the tone of the dialogue with the tone of the action occurring in the scene. This is not about subtext, when a character deliberately says one thing while meaning something else. This is about disharmony between action and dialogue that fractures the tone of the story as a whole and jars the reader's enjoyment. Are the hero and heroine ducking bullets, racing for their lives from evil thugs? Then it may not be the right moment for sexy banter.
The main way tone appears on the printed page is through the characters' attitudes. No matter how grim or silly the plot, it's essential the characters keep both feet on the ground and take themselves seriously. For example, in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, some scenes are brutal, some wacky, and some sublimely romantic. This "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to tone could have jolted the audience literally beyond their suspension of disbelief. But it doesn't, because the characters' attitudes within each scene harmonize with the tone of the action. When Charles drags Helen out of their house, it's a painful exchange. The action is painful. The dialogue is painful. The characters' attitudes are all about painful emotions. If Helen suddenly displayed cocky defiance (like Medea in wackier scenes), it would ring a false tone. But she doesn't, and the tone of every scene rings with credibility, satisfying the audience.
A single well-turned metaphor or simile can color the tone of a story for half a page. For instance, the following sentence couldn't force its way at gunpoint into a literary novel, but it'd fit right into a Chick Lit:
Her mom carried an oversized pink purse that looked like it really was made out of a sow's ear--maybe the whole sow.
Another way tone appears on the printed page is through characters' dialogue. This is a tricky area for beginners overzealous to make their characters sound "sophisticated." It's important to match the tone of the dialogue with the tone of the action occurring in the scene. This is not about subtext, when a character deliberately says one thing while meaning something else. This is about disharmony between action and dialogue that fractures the tone of the story as a whole and jars the reader's enjoyment. Are the hero and heroine ducking bullets, racing for their lives from evil thugs? Then it may not be the right moment for sexy banter.
The main way tone appears on the printed page is through the characters' attitudes. No matter how grim or silly the plot, it's essential the characters keep both feet on the ground and take themselves seriously. For example, in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, some scenes are brutal, some wacky, and some sublimely romantic. This "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to tone could have jolted the audience literally beyond their suspension of disbelief. But it doesn't, because the characters' attitudes within each scene harmonize with the tone of the action. When Charles drags Helen out of their house, it's a painful exchange. The action is painful. The dialogue is painful. The characters' attitudes are all about painful emotions. If Helen suddenly displayed cocky defiance (like Medea in wackier scenes), it would ring a false tone. But she doesn't, and the tone of every scene rings with credibility, satisfying the audience.
