Atmosphere is an essential part of reading and writing. It is a catalyst for all of the feelings that a reader will experience throughout a book or story. There are not many books that are devoid of atmosphere, and if there are–they are probably experimental in nature. Atmosphere is hard to avoid in writing. It can be a subconscious effort from a writer describing their life or the fictitious lives of their characters. In this post, we are going to discuss the idea of establishing “atmosphere” in stories.

Defining Atmosphere in Stories

In defining atmosphere, Merriam-Webster states that “atmosphere” is a “surrounding influence or environment.” It is also, “the overall aesthetic effect of a work of art.” Additionally, it is stated that “atmosphere” is “an intriguing or singular tone, effect, or appeal” in a piece of writing. In combining these ideas, we can see that atmosphere is like the coat a story wears to give off some impression. Gloomy coats give off gloomy vibes, while sunny coats give off sunny vibes.

Another way to view “atmosphere” is through the mood an author establishes in a story. Mood, in this instance, refers to how the reader feels when they are reading a story. For example, when reading a horror story, you might feel scared, anxious, or apprehensive about what is to come next. The mood, however, differs from atmosphere, as mood is an overall feel of the writing in the moment, as opposed to atmosphere, which is the aesthetic, or the feel of the writing from cover to cover.

Specifically, these two words are interested in describing two bits of minutia in writing: the micro-feeling of words (angry and worried), and the macro-feeling of words (creepy or strange).

Identifying Atmosphere in Fiction

In looking for examples of atmosphere, it can either be difficult or extremely apparent. For instance, in The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, we have a “nostalgic” atmosphere that appeals to Bradbury’s youth and memories of Halloween night. The story tells the tale of a group of boys who ventures with a mysterious man named Moonshroud on Halloween night to save their friend pip. The story uses an overtly “sensory-driven” atmosphere, as Bradbury’s poetic style fixes on the reader’s senses to overdrive the narrative in imagery.

Here’s an excerpt:

Eight boys made a series of beautiful leaps over flowerpots, rails, dead ferns, bushes, landing on their own dry-starched front lawns. Galloping, rushing, they seized a final sheet, adjusted a last mask, tugged at strange mushroom caps or wigs, shouting at the way the wind took them along, helped their running; glad of the wind, or cursing boy curses as masks fell off or hung sidewise or stuffed up their noses with a muslin smell like a dogs hot breath. Or just letting the sheer exhilaration of being alive and out on this night pull their lungs and shape their throats into a yell and a yell and a … yeeeellll!

The Halloween Tree | Ray Bradbury

In examining this excerpt for atmosphere, let’s dial into the “nostalgic” part of it, as Bradbury takes us through the motions of boys hooting through the spookiest night of the year. If we use our previous simile in that atmosphere is like a coat on a story, then we are looking at a sentimental view of boyhood.

Bradbury states that there is a frantic sort of energy amongst the boys. The energy is both frantic and exciting. It is happy. Who doesn’t have this memory of Halloween? The feeling is there but at a much larger level than say, “happy” or “joyous,” which is more definitive of mood.

Additionally, the “sensory” portion of our atmospheric analysis can be pulled from the same excerpt. For example, “dead ferns” references our visual senses, because we can see that in our mind’s eye. Bradbury finishes the description with “letting the sheer exhilaration of being alive and out on this night pull their lungs and shape their throats into a yell and a yell and a … yeeeellll!”

Our auditory senses are pulled toward the enthusiastic scream of the boys. Enthusiasm, in this case, being descriptive of mood, while the sensory feeling of description is the overall atmosphere. Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree is replete with sensory descriptions, and these descriptions build the atmosphere.

Tips for Writing Atmosphere

One tip in tracking atmosphere or even implementing it in your own writing, is to treat atmosphere as a post-writing/reading consideration. What did the book feel like across the whole body of the work? What feelings did you experience the most, and what word comes to mind that describes all of those emotions?

After you have answered these questions, you can begin going back through the text and sprinkling in your atmosphere. In this way, you need to identify the atmosphere itself. If you are writing a noir mystery, you might want to add more smoky rooms and shadows. If it’s a romance story, adding more fluffy language may better mold your story to the genre.

Conclusion

There are many techniques in writing, so deciding which ones to employ is essential. Atmosphere may seem like a small detail–but it is a major element. The atmosphere of a text describes the larger picture of a work of narrative. It steers us in a larger direction rather than touching on our lesser feelings, such as horror, happiness, and anger. The atmosphere of a novel can sometimes be difficult to track, as a reader has to take the whole of the text into consideration rather than just a few examples here and there.