Watch Your Tone

 

Watch Your Tone

Tone is arguably one of the most important parts of any kind of creative writing. 

    Without a tone being felt in your writing then it's almost like is a soulless piece of work, just words on paper. I would compare a lack of tone in writing to an actor playing an emotional scene with no emotion. To the watcher of the movie they would be confused on how to feel during the scene, because so much is happening but with the lack of emotion it wouldn't hold the same impact. The tone is the emotion in a piece of writing, it gives the reader an idea of how they should feel while painting a mental image for them to follow. 

    The tone of a writing isn't set and stone to just one emotion. Again, comparing it to a movie, there can be constant changes in emotion and tone throughout the movie based on what is happening. So, in creative writing the tone can change based on what is being written and how the writer wants the reader to feel. A good example of tone change is in the poem, "Homage To My Hips'' by Lucille Clifton. The beginning of the poem tells a story of being uncomfortable with one's body, a tone of being shameful. Then as the poem progresses a tone of confidence and embracement, as the writer writes in a more positive way.

    Having a tone in your writing could be the deciding factor of whether someone will appreciate your work. People want to feel something when they read or watch any creative work. As a creative, it should be a goal to have the viewer or reader finish with a genuine human feeling of emotion, something that will bring them back to feel it again.