How to set the scene.

[ennyedits]

Mm, I can't say it's come up often from my critters - the one comment I most often receive in that regard is to 'tone down the horror' since I do have a fondness for the macabre. But I can't recall being asked to punch it up at all. Perhaps because I rarely hand it over to them before the second draft and my own edits. That said, I get past not being able to write comedy by... not writing comedy. I find other ways to break the tension; my current book has a romantic subplot, and I find the softer moments of the protagonists falling in love work as sufficient downtime from the political intrigue.

(And all of my published work is non-fiction. I wouldn't say atmosphere is an unimportant element of non-fiction, but it's often less important.)

I like that approach! The softer romantic moments sound like a natural way to balance the political intrigue without forcing comedy into the story. Do your beta readers usually comment on how well those quieter moments balance the darker parts?