Episode 271: Maintaining the Mood - How to Avoid Misusing Tone in Speculative Fiction

Ever been reading a book or watching a film, feeling really engaged, then abruptly found yourself jolted out of the story? And you can't quite put your finger on why? Chances are the writer or producer shifted the tone of the story without giving the audience necessary, subtle clues to foreshadow what was coming. So what exactly is tone in narrative terms? How do you use it in writing, both in individual scenes and in the book as a whole? And how can tone go wrong? This week the dragons look at the dos and don'ts (guidelines not prescriptive writing rules) of using tone in your writing. On the slab this week - Lucifer, A Court of Silver Flames, Buffy teh Vampire Slayer, Blackadder and many more.