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Mood Words for Writers

The document discusses how to describe mood in stories and provides lists of positive and negative mood words that can be used. It explains that mood is created by the author's use of language to describe events, settings, characters' reactions, and resolutions. Writers use imagery and figurative language to help readers visualize the setting and understand the intended mood. When analyzing mood, adjectives or nouns can be used to name the mood, such as saying "The story has an anxious mood" or "The story has a mood of anxiety." The provided word lists group related ideas and include both adjective and noun forms to allow for flexible description of different works' moods.

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Zeynep
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104 views1 page

Mood Words for Writers

The document discusses how to describe mood in stories and provides lists of positive and negative mood words that can be used. It explains that mood is created by the author's use of language to describe events, settings, characters' reactions, and resolutions. Writers use imagery and figurative language to help readers visualize the setting and understand the intended mood. When analyzing mood, adjectives or nouns can be used to name the mood, such as saying "The story has an anxious mood" or "The story has a mood of anxiety." The provided word lists group related ideas and include both adjective and noun forms to allow for flexible description of different works' moods.

Uploaded by

Zeynep
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Words to Describe Mood 

Mood is the emotional atmosphere within the story produced by the author's use of language.  Pay 
attention to the way the author describes the events, the setting, the way a character reacts to what is 
happening, and the final outcome of the conflict or resolution of the problem.   Writers use imagery  
(sensory details) to vividly describe the setting so that readers can picture in their minds how the 
setting looks, smells, and sounds.  They also use figurative language (similes, metaphors, hyperbole, 
and personification) to help the reader understand the mood of the story. 
Language to Use when Discussing Mood 
When talking about mood, say, "The mood is ‐‐‐‐‐" or "The (story, poem, paragraph, etc.) has a ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 
mood." (In both examples, an adjective is used to describe the mood.)  You may also say, "The (story, 
poem, paragraph, etc.) has a mood of ‐‐‐‐‐."  (In this example,  you are using a noun to name the mood.)  
Some word forms below are adjectives.  You may want to use noun form.  Some are nouns.  You may 
want to use the adjective form.  Discuss with your partner how to change the form of the word. 
Words that express a related idea are grouped together.  These words are not identical in their 
meaning.  Choose the one that best expresses the mood of the story you are discussing. 

Positive Mood Words  Negative Mood Words 
festivity/celebration (n.)  cold/uncaring  (adj.)  suspense/mystery  (n.) 
optimistic/hopeful (adj.)  panic/terror  (n.)  envy/jealousy  (n.) 

  happy/upbeat/    anxious/nervous/ (adj.   confused/puzzled/ 


(adj.) 
  joyful/cheerful  (adj.)  worried    perplexed/baffled  

loving/warm/tender (adj.)  pessimistic/hopeless (adj.) desperate/anxious  (adj.)


  relieved/comforted/     perseverance/  depression/sadness/ 
(adj.)    (n.) 
   thankful  determination    melancholy/gloom  (n.) 
peace/serenity  (n.)  urgency/necessity  (n.)  lonely/isolated  (adj.) 
sentimental/nostalgic (adj.)  uneasy/restless  (n.)  danger/threat/peril  (n.) 
  lighthearted/    somber/serious/       violent/cruel/         
(adj.)  (adj.)  (adj.) 
  playful      gloomy    brutal/ hostile 
harmony  (n.)  scary/frightening (adj.)  caution/uncertainty  (n.)
foreboding/sinister   foreboding/ominous/ 
anticipation/expectation (n.) 
(adj.)  threatening/sinister  (adj.) 
 

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