by Nick Bailey

It was a dark and stormy night… reading this opening, you might be tempted to roll your eyes. But there’s a reason the phrase has endured long enough to become a literary cliché. In just seven words, it clearly establishes atmosphere — the mood or emotional experience of a novel.

Of course, “a dark and stormy night” might be a little too on the nose for most readers. To help you balance impact with nuance, I’m here with five quick tips to enhance your story’s atmosphere. Let’s get into it!

1. Use sensory details beyond sight

When drawing readers into a scene, it’s often most intuitive to begin with what you see. Humans are visual creatures — we instantly understand the difference between a rich emerald canopy and a murky olive grove.

But there’s much more to a rich sensory experience than sight alone. We have five extraordinary senses, after all. Make use of them in your writing!

Each sense brings a different flavor of imagery to the table. For instance:

Taste works best when used sparingly. Think of the salty bite of the cool ocean spray, or the tang of smoke from a lingering cookout.Smell is equally adept at pulling readers into a scene. You might pair the bitter flavor of a freshly brewed coffee with a quip about its rich aroma, for example. This kind of contrast can make even the most mundane setting feel layered.

Going back to our dark and stormy night, consider which other sensory indicators you could use to let readers know it’s raining. Perhaps your protagonist could hear the low roll of thunder in the distance, or feel the cold sting of rain on their skin — remember, a little goes a long way!

2. Gauge the mood with character behavior

Back in the 1970s, Dr. Albert Mehrabian conducted a study on human communication. He found that a whopping 55% of human interaction stems from our body language. That isn’t to say that dialogue isn’t important, but one thing holds true: when people communicate, non-verbal indicators do a lot of heavy lifting.

By putting this principle into practice in your prose, you can signal the atmosphere to your readers without a single line of dialogue.

Let’s say your protagonist walks into an Old-West style saloon. As they enter the room, conversation grinds to a halt, and every patron turns their head to stare, unblinking, as your character walks up to the bar. The bartender’s hand shifts in the direction of the shotgun he keeps beneath the counter. In a scene like this, the regulars’ reactions speak volumes about how “welcome” strangers are ‘round these parts.

Now imagine that your protagonist enters that same saloon during a good old-fashioned hoedown. A rosy-cheeked musician cranks out a rendition of Red River Valley on a rickety old piano, as the townsfolk sashay across the creaky floorboards. In both scenarios, it’s the same location, maybe even the same people — but the atmosphere feels completely different thanks to their behavior.

3. Include cultural or historical details

Did you notice anything else about that last example? The rowdy antics of our saloon-going friends (or foes!) weren’t the only atmosphere-enhancing elements present. Red River Valley is a cowboy classic that will instantly transport any in-the-know readers right back to the American frontier. Including the occasional cultural or historical detail like this will help ground your story in its exact time and place.

The trick here is to pick details that feel natural to your characters and setting. If you wanted to create a similarly lively atmosphere in, say, 1920s New York, you could switch out the saloon for a speakeasy. Patrons wouldn’t do-si-do to folk tunes; instead, they’d shimmy to the Charleston step, a smooth arrangement of Ain’t She Sweet being played in the background.

Of course, these cultural touchstones only work if they’re accurate. Nothing will take readers out of the roaring twenties nightlife like an errant Chappell Roan tune. To avoid any anachronistic mishaps, take the time to thoroughly research your story’s setting. Food, fashion, language, technology — any and all authentic details that will strengthen your story’s atmosphere.

That being said, there’s no need to go overboard. A historical tidbit here and there will draw readers in, but a full chapter dedicated to the rise and fall of the American speakeasy will (probably) take them out.

4. Match your vocabulary to the mood

So far, we’ve discussed how things actually happening in a scene can help you build atmosphere. Now let’s talk about the powerful tool that makes it all possible: your prose.

The words you use to describe your scene carry as much atmospheric weight as the events themselves. Compare the difference between “The house was old” and “The house sagged under decades of neglect.” Both convey age, but the second description feels more human and specific. It creates an emotional connection to the house, as if years of disrepair have left it tired and lonely.

Always consider the connotations of your word choices. If a character raises their voice, they might “snarl,” “shriek”, “cheer”, or “bark” depending on the circumstances. It’s prudent here to mention Elmore Leonard’s fourth rule for writing: never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”. Nothing will kill the atmosphere you’ve worked oh-so-hard to build more than a phrase like “she said, vociferously”.

Instead, let your carefully chosen verbs do the atmospheric heavy lifting. A character who “whispers” creates intimacy, while one who “bellows” fills the room with tension, all without a single adverb cluttering your prose.

5. Control your sentence rhythm

Rhythm isn’t just reserved for music — it’s also an essential component of any atmospheric story. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what literary legend Haruki Murakami had this to say on the subject:

“Whether in music or in fiction, the most basic thing is rhythm. Your style needs to have good, natural, steady rhythm, or people won’t keep reading your work… If the way the words fit the rhythm is smooth and beautiful, you can’t ask for anything more.”

By tailoring your sentence structure to the mood of your story, you’ll create a well-aligned rhythm in which readers can lose themselves. For example, if your character is wandering through a sun-dappled meadow where wildflowers sway and butterflies drift in the afternoon breeze, then your sentences should mirror that same unhurried, flowing pace. This will allow readers to savor every lovingly crafted sensory detail alongside your character.

What about a combat scenario? In this context, sentences should stay punchy. A swift jab here. A right hook there. Another strike, and the enemy falls.

See the difference? Keeping things short creates a fast, staccato rhythm — similar to a racing heartbeat or rapid breathing. Readers will experience the urgency of the scene as they scan the page faster, and their own heart rate quickens.

Of course, you don’t always need to jump from one extreme to the other. An abrupt shift to a shorter sentence structure may signal a sudden shift in mood, which can mark a key narrative turning point. But just like a piece of longer music might ebb and flow, your sentences can do the same to create a dynamic and engaging atmosphere.

Lastly, remember that genre writers can (and should!) employ this technique in different ways. A thriller writer might use lots of short sentences to create fast-paced action, for instance, while a romance writer will use longer sentences to build anticipation.

By keeping each of these tips in mind as you write, you too can master the art of atmosphere in storytelling. Now, go forth! Brave the dark and stormy night of creative uncertainty, and craft an immersive atmosphere that will leave readers hanging on your every word.

Nick Bailey writes about anything and everything in the realm of writing and self-publishing for Reedsy, a publishing platform that connects authors with editors, designers, and marketers to help them publish a book. Aside from reading, Nick enjoys hiking, electronic music, and filling up his personal cookbook with new recipes.

Master the art of atmosphere in your storytelling with these 5 essential tips from Nick Bailey:
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