Mood and Writing

Today I wrote with enthusiasm, my imagination and characters skipping happily from page to page.

But then something happened. I disappointed a friend and colleague and was reprimanded. Now my innate nature makes me the poster child for self-castigation. My mood changed. I am angry with myself for failure to live up to expectations. I’m sad that I may have caused another pain or difficulty.

And the tone of my writing, my voice changed. Drastically. My heroine is so positive, she makes Pollyanna look bad. I was not able to write the story - instead my brain sent my fingers flying across the page in self-recrimination. I needed the return of euphoria and optimism to continue my WIP.

A revelation occurred. When I wrote the short story, A Kiss from a Rose, my feelings were of loneliness and unease. The tone of the story was dark, scary and hopeful. I can use my moods to help write certain aspects of my stories. Think of Edgar Allan Poe, what was his state of mind and emotions?

Perhaps others with even temperament won’t find this helpful. But now that I am cognizant of the impact my emotions have on my voice, I plan to use this to advantage. In One Demon at a Time, it was difficult for me to kill one of my characters. I knew he had to die but I anguished over the scene, rewriting and rewriting. If I had a healthy does of rage, I probably could have offed him with dispatch.

I plan to use my emotions to advantage in my stories. I’m moving on to a scene in ODAAT 2 where my heroine is floundering in self- recrimination, a result of a deadly mistake.

Using the emotion in writing is excellent therapy, too.

Does your storytelling voice change with your mood?