Adding Coziness to Your Story

I meant to post here last week, but it just didn’t work out. Things have been busy, and daylight saving time added to that. I’m back this week with another post! The weather here has been cold lately, and it made me think about how even action packed novels can still have cozy elements to them. There are many ways to do this.

Having a Cozy Environment Helps

I find that my writing goes better in general if I have my desk tidy and warmly decorated. Doing this also helps me to feel in the mood to write that way. How we set up our work spaces really matters. I’ve had times where my desk was piled with papers. Once in college I had stacks of papers around my desk chair as well… I can say that doesn’t feel good for working. At least for me it made me feel uninspired. If my space is cleaned up it helps increase my level of focus, and I feel more creative. When I’m writing a cozy scene I’ll also put on some music that makes me feel that way, (I’m doing that as I’m writing this.) There are many artists on YouTube that post cozy music.

Making the Scenery of Your Story Warmer

In my opinion a good example of this is the Shire from The Hobbit. Tolkien did an excellent job with making the Shire a cozy place through how he described it. In his description he mentions things that are home comforts, along with how the homes were designed. Having paneled walls, tiled and carpeted floors, and a place for the coats and hats of visitors goes a long way in giving us something warm to imagine.

Landscapes can also be cozy in their own way. Lucy Maud Montgomery does this a lot in her novels. This excerpt from Anne of Green Gables is an example of this that has always stood out to me: “She opened her eyes and looked about her. They were on the crest of a hill. The sun had set some time since, but the landscape was still clear in the mellow afterlight. To the west a dark church spire rose up against a marigold sky. Below was a little valley and beyond a long, gently rising slope with snug farmsteads scattered along it.”

Both authors were excellent at their craft, and have taught me so much about writing stories. What fascinates me is that there are so many different ways to go about setting the scene and tone in a story! Tolkien has a different writing style than Montgomery, and goes about describing things in a different way, but still gives you the same impression about things.

How Lighting Can Impact the Mood of a Scene in Your Story

Using lighting to my advantage is one of my favorite ways to set the tone. In the beginning of Dream Sparks I use the lack of it to add suspense. Later in the story I often use the sky to set the mood outside. I have a fireplace on one of my ships, and use other forms of lighting to add coziness. Floating or hovering lanterns is something I like to add in. I feel like they are the perfect thing for a science fiction fantasy story. This tone can even be brought to space scenes. Having a character reflect on their surroundings on the ship, along with describing the stars in a way that adds warmth can go a long ways. I like to have stars of different colors. Sometimes I’ll add reds, oranges, and yellows, along with mentioning the stars gently glowing.

Go With What Feels Cozy to You

We all have a sense of what is warm and inviting to us, it just takes some pondering sometimes. Even one word, or a sentence can make a huge difference in setting the tone for your story. Sometimes it’s best to take things slowly for scenes like this, where you can ponder and think about how you want it to feel. This is how I go about making things cozy in my stories, and I’m sure I will learn more as I go.