Lighting
is a great way to set a mood in your story. It's also something most authors forget to mention.
I was talking to someone I'm beta for the other day and it struck me.
Picture this: Your character is alone on a street. They are starving. Seriously, their stomach is about to fall out and go look for food on it's own.
In front of you there's three restaurants.
1)One of them is small, has fairy lights around the doorway and candles on every table. The main light in the room comes from a dimmed hanging shade of clouded glass that's been shaded orange.
2) The second restaurant has much more light. The six evenly spaced spotlights bulbs are built into the ceiling.
3) The last restaurant is covered in neon signs that lead the eye to the bar, which had LED light along it that change colour with the music.
Now which does your character choose? The light in the places your character go tells us about the setting you have made and it tells us about your character. Maybe they think the first place looks most pleasant maybe they would feel awkward about going in there alone. Maybe the second appeals because they are a little frightened and likes to be able see everyone around them. Maybe they think it looks cheap and want something more filling. Maybe the last restaurant looks a little seedy to them, maybe it's their local and a beer with something to eat sounds great.
I promise to stop saying maybe now.
MAYBE! (I lied.)
A room with a low hanging paper lantern will give a different feel than a room with a chandelier, even if everything else in the room is the same.
Another example! Picture time!
Same picture- I just messed with the lighting.
Light play a big part in my story, so maybe that why I thought about this.
Have you thought about this before?
Does anything I say make sense?
Is it a cheap trick? Or a helpful hint?
Do you think about the light where your character is?
I was talking to someone I'm beta for the other day and it struck me.
Picture this: Your character is alone on a street. They are starving. Seriously, their stomach is about to fall out and go look for food on it's own.
In front of you there's three restaurants.
1)One of them is small, has fairy lights around the doorway and candles on every table. The main light in the room comes from a dimmed hanging shade of clouded glass that's been shaded orange.
2) The second restaurant has much more light. The six evenly spaced spotlights bulbs are built into the ceiling.
3) The last restaurant is covered in neon signs that lead the eye to the bar, which had LED light along it that change colour with the music.
Now which does your character choose? The light in the places your character go tells us about the setting you have made and it tells us about your character. Maybe they think the first place looks most pleasant maybe they would feel awkward about going in there alone. Maybe the second appeals because they are a little frightened and likes to be able see everyone around them. Maybe they think it looks cheap and want something more filling. Maybe the last restaurant looks a little seedy to them, maybe it's their local and a beer with something to eat sounds great.
I promise to stop saying maybe now.
MAYBE! (I lied.)
A room with a low hanging paper lantern will give a different feel than a room with a chandelier, even if everything else in the room is the same.
Another example! Picture time!
Same picture- I just messed with the lighting.
Light play a big part in my story, so maybe that why I thought about this.
Have you thought about this before?
Does anything I say make sense?
Is it a cheap trick? Or a helpful hint?
Do you think about the light where your character is?
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