Reading a longer story: how a writer builds mood
Mood is the feeling that the reader gets from a story. A writer builds it with the weather and light (grey clouds, gold light), with sounds (tapped, ticked, silence), with the senses (dust and old paper), with small actions (pulled her coat closer) and with short, slow sentences. Mood can change in one story: from gloomy to hopeful when a new detail appears. To answer a mood question, name the mood and give two clues: The mood is gloomy because the room is dark and the clock ticks slowly. In your reader, The Count of Monte Cristo, read Chapter 4 on pages 25 to 31; the book’s exercises are on page 44. After you read, ask what the mood of the chapter is and which words build it. We do not retell the chapter here.
| Clue | Example in our story | Mood it builds |
|---|---|---|
| weather and light | rain, grey clouds, dark piano | gloomy |
| sound | the clock ticked slowly | tense, waiting |
| senses | dust and old paper | heavy, still |
| change | gold light, a familiar step | hopeful |
Rain tapped on the window of the empty music room. Hana sat on a low stool with her bag on her knees and watched the grey clouds. The clock on the wall ticked slowly, and every tick seemed louder than the one before. The room smelled of dust and old paper, and the lights were off to save power. She counted the cracks in the ceiling, and there were nine. Nobody walked in the corridor. Her mother had said, “I will be there by four,” but it was already ten past. Hana pulled her coat closer and stared at the dark piano. Then the rain softened. A thin line of gold light slid across the floor, and in the corridor she heard a quick, familiar step. The door opened, and her mother smiled. Hana laughed and picked up her bag.
Choose a place such as a bus stop in the rain or a library before it opens. Write five sentences that build a calm or a cheerful mood. Use the weather, a sound, one sense and one small action. Underline the clue words.