Remember the black tulips in video one?

They likely evoke within you
an emotional experience or image.

I'm referring here to the idea of mood.

Mood refers
to both the atmosphere of the story

and the effect of the story on the reader.

Mood is communicated subtly
through tools like setting.

Now think about how you felt when you were
reading the excerpt from The Road.

Many of you probably felt
uneasy, depressed.

Perhaps you felt a sense of bleakness,

but I guarantee that some of you did not.

What's magical about mood
is that it exists in that important space

between what a writer puts on the page
and how the reader receives it.

Here's an example.

For some reason, my mother and I have seen
a lot of Chekov plays together.

Despite the fact that my mother
kind of hates Chekov,

every time we see a play,

she emerges super depressed
and feeling like life is meaningless.

I, for some reason, feel buoyed.

Maybe it's because I already 
thought life was meaningless,

so I feel validated or affirmed.
Who knows?

The point is, we have seen the same play,

listen to the same words being spoken,

yet the emotional response
evoked in each of us is unique,

and that's how it should be.

You cannot control
the reader's experience.

You can only do your best
to help them experience your vision.