Mood, atmosphere, and emotion (advanced)

(soft instrumental music)…- So, Jess, do you want to hear the opening of my new story?…- Oh yeah!…- Here goes.…It was a dark and stormy night.…- (laughs) I think that might have been used before.…- I know, I know.…But do you remember those old Peanuts cartoons…when Snoopy would start all his stories…with a dark and stormy night?…- I do, and I think the line originated…from a novel in the 1800s.…- Yes, apparently it's the opening sentence…of a book called Paul Clifford.…

And it has always been mocked as an example…of over the top and melodramatic writing.…- So, probably not something we want to start…our stories and books with, right?…- Probably not.…But one thing the line does well is point to how setting…can be used to evoke a certain mood and atmosphere.…- A scene that is set amid a dark and stormy night…is probably not going to be a very happy and cheery scene.…- Yes, it's much more likely to be a sinister…and foreboding scene that unfolds after…a line like that one.…- Right, and if you started a scene with a line like,…