Setting the Mood for Your Writing

If you’re like me, you’re a writer who enjoys a little bit of ritual with their work time. Perhaps you have a favorite chair, a special cozy sweater, a certain candle, a preferred flavor of coffee or tea. Maybe even all of the above. Our creature comforts can be a feast for all the senses, but do you find yourself clinging to just one or two descriptive categories in your work?

Let’s jump in and see what you can do in your writing ritual to connect with each of the five senses. Time to set the mood!

Sight

As writers, we want our readers to see exactly what we envision, whether it’s a mansion with a fancy party, the expensive dress your heroine wears, or the special gadget the scientist has crafted for the heroine to wear for her secret undercover mission at the ball. If you’re not sure where to begin with your descriptions or you’re the kind of writer who needs to figure out the color/shape/fabric of that ball gown before you can move forward… Pinterest will become your best friend.

Pinterest is essentially an online scrapbook – but no glue, scissors, or paper required! On Pinterest, you can create a board to suit the needs for your story and assign it sub-categories for each scene, character, or location if you prefer. Search for keywords like ballgown, fancy party, spy gadgets, and enjoy pinning them to your boards so you can see them whenever you need to describe something in detail!

Sound

Time to figure out what this fancy shindig sounds like, or maybe what music underscores this next intense chase scene your heroine finds herself in. I often turn to YouTube for ambience and Spotify for underscoring.

On YouTube, you can search for keywords like “string quartet fancy party music” or “garden party ambience” and videos will come up for you to set your scene against. I particularly like ambience videos pulled from video games. Many folks have discovered the relaxing quality of putting on an ambience video to ignite the imagination and put yourself in your characters’ shoes.

If you’re looking for an orchestral underscoring to swell at a scene’s pivotal moments, turn to Spotify. You can search for music of all kinds and discover new artists and albums as you go. Create a playlist for your story, your main character, or even scene by scene, and add tracks to help your mind’s eye plant firmly in the moment. I know I’m not the only one who pictures their writing like a movie or tv show – so why not lean into that? Look up the original scores from movies or shows you think are similar to what you’re working on and find out what meshes with your vision!

Taste

Many writers enjoy multiple cups of coffee during their writing time. Some writers enjoy alcoholic beverages. I’m mainly a tea drinker, myself, and I try to find new flavors and kinds of tea I haven’t tried before to fuel what I’m working on. In fact, some stores like Adagio Tea allow you to craft your own blends using different types of tea and flavoring. You could design a tea for your own story!

Anybody who has read Brian Jacques’ Redwall books knows that the feasts are described in painstakingly delicious detail. Most people who have read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis crave Turkish Delight for years afterwards. What does your heroine pick from the hors d’oeuvres at the party, and which cocktail does she order at the bar? She may be an international spy… but what candy is her secret weakness? Find ways to bring those flavors to the forefront now and then for your readers to imagine as well!

Touch

Possibly the trickiest of the senses to engage with while writing, touch can be a hard one to access. Remember how fidget spinners became a big thing a few years ago? Or even long before that yo-yos? There’s something awesome about the tactile. Personally, I have a number of stones, rocks, and crystals that I like to hold while working. Different colors and textures inspire different imagery for me, and having something to hold or fidget with when both hands are not engaged in typing can help me remember to stay on track instead of reaching for my phone and getting distracted.

If your spy is mostly sneaking in to speakeasies and mafia clubs, figure out what fabrics she wears, what the curtains are made of, what the booths and stools at the bar are made of. Is the furniture made of finely polished wood or cheap knockoff materials? When your spy sneaks into the mansion’s art gallery to hide from the villain, are the floors and columns marble or granite? Do her leather gloves squeak as she pulls them on, or are they butter-soft and well-worn with repeated use? In context of your story, explore what textures your characters come in contact with.

Smell

I know this may sound a little weird, but… I love candles. It’s not the fire aspect that I love, though – it’s the scents! I love things that smell good, whether it’s candles, air fresheners, lotion, my husband’s beard oil, you name it. The human olfactory system is amazing and links to memory, which in turn can help focus mindset towards a certain goal or task. I love to burn specific candles for certain projects or scenes, and these days there are so many small shop options (try searching for scents on Etsy!) outside of the usual Yankee Candle you can buy from.

So consider what smells surround your character’s journey. Does the garden outside the fancy mansion party smell like roses or night-blooming jasmine? Is this climactic scene in early spring or high summer? Figure it out and breathe it in!

So tell me: which of the five senses do you feel like you use best in your writing? Which are you most interested in exploring more of?