Setting the Tone

OpheliaRevived

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Historical Novels have a certain "tone" to them. At least, all the ones I've enjoyed most do. :) Grammatically speaking, the things that were acceptable 100 or more years ago are no longer acceptable. This makes sense because of how much the language has changed. What do you, as a writer, do to set a good tone and feel that would set your work apart from a novel set in a more modern setting?

What elements do you, as a reader, look for that makes a book feel authentic? One more question: Do you think that a book set in Victorian England should have a different tone than one set in ancient Rome? (This might make a good checklist for those of us how are newbs, myself included.)
 

Puma

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Ophelia - This post should go in historical genre - almost at the bottom of the main AW water cooler board. This isn't work to be critiqued. Ask one of the mods to move it for you. Puma
 

angeliz2k

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Grammatically speaking, the things that were acceptable 100 or more years ago are no longer acceptable. This makes sense because of how much the language has changed. What do you, as a writer, do to set a good tone and feel that would set your work apart from a novel set in a more modern setting?

Well, I'm not sure the language has changed significantly since 1909. Since 1609, more so. Still, there are definite cadences and rhythms to languages from different times. To evoke a certain period, I think it's important to be familiar with the rhythm of the time. The best way of doing this, I think, is to read works written at that time (if you can). There are certain words, phrases, and syntax choices that distinguish one time period from another.

I have two stories in the works from very different times. Ancient Rome and ancien regime France. For the one, I try to add in some Latin words for flavor without confusing anyone who doesn't know the word. For the other, a little French exclamation once in a while is in order ("Mon dieu!"). The French story has longer and more complex sentences with more colons, semicolons, and dashes. The tone is lighter, the rhythm bouncier, the words bigger and more pompous. Scenes are short, quick, and entertaining. Almost everything is superficial, so characters rarely look inward. The Roman story is grittier and has shorter, simpler sentences. The diction is simpler and more earthy. Scenes are longer and I get deeper into character's minds. Oh, and the French story is heavy on humor.

What elements do you, as a reader, look for that makes a book feel authentic?
A certain I-don't-know-what. I want little details in the setting, an authentic-feeling rhythm and diction for the dialogue, and an author who is confident and comfortable in the world he/she is writing about.

One more question: Do you think that a book set in Victorian England should have a different tone than one set in ancient Rome? (This might make a good checklist for those of us how are newbs, myself included.)
I think tone has more to do overall with the subject. You could have a very serious or a very frivolous story set in either time. Different time periods do seem to lend themselves to certain tones, though. Dark times, dark tone. When was the last upbeat book you read about the Civil War?
 

tehuti88

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The only thing I myself can do is keep on the lookout for little things that would not fly in more antiquated speech, thought, or text. I have to think to myself, is this REALLY something that somebody in this time would say or believe? I put myself in the POV character's head and try to imagine how they would see things through that time and culture, even if I have no absolute way of knowing. The tone of the piece then takes off from there. I once gave the example around here of a pre-contact American Indian setting foot in a Victorian-style house; of course it was quite bizarre to him. Likewise the narration has to subtly change to suit the POV character, if they're from a time period different from mine--I won't use more modern thought and speech in narration involving a character from an older time, if I can help it. (The narration in the scene just mentioned had to fit the mindset and time of the character--so to him, Victorian things made no sense at all.)

I realize that's really vague, but it's honestly all I can do to try to keep things authentic. Don't know if I succeed or not though. :eek:
 

Doogs

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I would agree with angeliz2k that tone is dictated more by story than by setting. Perhaps "feel" or "atmosphere" or a "sense of time and place" would be better descriptors.

As for bringing this atmosphere to life, I think tehuti88 is exactly right, it has to be viewed through the prism of that time, that culture. Do your best to stay true to the prevailing attitudes, beliefs, social mores, etc of the time.

As for the grammatical side of things...it may be useful to seek out primary texts from the period you're writing about. We have a very good sense of how people spoke during the Victorian period, during World War II, etc. For what I would call the "accessible" periods, thought and dialogue should be tailored to at the very least reflect the style of the times.

Something like Ancient Rome is different. Latin's grammatical rules are radically different from those of English. They allowed words to be reordered for artistic effect (rhythm and pacing, to convey a visual, etc), and the educated aristocracy would have taken pleasure in producing the best turn of phrase. This is problematic for a modern writer (and moreso for a modern reader, the large majority of whom are already intimidated by Roman naming conventions), and thus the approach I've usually seen taken with regard to Ancient Greece and Rome is to adopt a more formal English for the aristocracy, and to go more casual as one works ones way down the social ladder.
 

Puma

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The grammatical constructions Doogs mentioned above are also applicable to languages other than Latin. To a certain degree, I think some carry over is not a bad thing if used more in the sense of adding color.

There have to be differences in tone depending on the period, setting, environment, and characters. If tone was always the same, books wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting. Puma
 

DMarie84

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For someone like me writing a novel taking place in a country with a completely different language and culture, it's hard. My book is set in Japan in the 1890s.

I suppose the only thing I can do is try to write in what I consider the "voice" of the Victorian time, just because that's when my book takes place. That and one of my characters was raised with the Victorian mindset. I also try to remember that Japanese is a very formal language to begin with, so my dialogue between characters often is fairly formal sounding.

I've been criticized by my critique group for being too formal and not having enough contractions...however, many people didn't speak in contractions then (at least how many Victorian era novels, written then or even written by a modern author, have had an abundance of contractions?). I have some, but not nearly as many as they have wanted me to add. But then again, my entire critique group writes fantasy and urban fantasy, so it's hard for them to put themselves in the mindset (some of them have said so).
 

BAY

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DMarie84,

Contractions were discussed on another thread, and I agreed with the general opinion to lose them--I did, and I can say the novel reads better with contractions, because the sentences are smooth and not akward. The goal is to tell the story in the smoothest fashion for the reader, right?

Or at least try it with some main characters.
 

BAY

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Oops sorry! Should say use contractions-not lose them.