How Abrupt Tonal Shifts Can Kill A Story

Every story has a certain tone to it. For some stories, the tone is dark. In other words, the world the characters inhabit is a grim place where bad things can and do happen to good people. Moral ambiguity and tough choices are common, and there are often no winners, so much as there are people who lose less. For other stories, the tone is light. Good things happen to good people. The heroes win, and the villains lose. Good triumphs over evil. I’m not here to argue about which tone is better. Th...