This week, Mary Robinette pulls back the curtain on some of fiction’s sneakiest power tools: tone and mood. Drawing from a recent craft class she taught for her Patreon, Mary Robinette breaks down how these elements shape a reader’s emotional experience—and why they deserve as much attention as plot or structure. DongWon, Erin, and Howard jump in to poke at the definitions, debate where tone and mood collide, and explore how contrast, character reactions, and even sentence rhythm can totally change a scene. Expect examples ranging from Wizard of Oz to Mike Flanagan as we dig into practical ways to use tone and mood to supercharge your storytelling.

Homework:

Take a five-part mystery structure (crime → investigation → twist → breakthrough → conclusion) and write a story that uses that structure but is not obviously a mystery.

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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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20.49: Using Tone and Mood

Writing Excuses