Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30327
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30327
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I've been writing fan fiction for 7+ years now. Recently, I went back and compared the ratings my fan fiction has received from my readers, compared to what they contained. I discovered that those fan fictions with a distinct feel had generally better ratings, and were in fact some of the highest rated things I've written. These include:

- A zombie story with a very dark atmosphere of despair and defeat. 
- A war story with an atmosphere of useless struggle against the conflict. 

This research seems to indicate to me that I should focus more on finding and maintaining a specific feel for my stories. There is, however, I problem: **how to do so?**

I'm a very design-oriented person. I need structures and plans if I'm to make anything. This is no different. I need a step by step process, by which I can **give a story a particular feel.** Can you provide me with such a process?

Some feels will be easier than others. I originally thought giving a story a feel would be fairly simple, until I tried it. I've determined that my current fan fiction requires an atmosphere of desperation. Not despair, but desperation. I know how to create an atmosphere of despair. But how do I make the difference to _desperation_? The feeling that people have been pushed to the edge and are willing to do literally anything. The answer escapes me.

Original score: 7