I'm planning a story that can be simplified into the 2 parts. One is a small town being invaded by monsters and the other about a group of humans having to do an act in order to get one of said monsters to help them stop the others. The first is definitely slated towards a horror/sci-fi vibe while the other is starting to have a more light-hearted and slightly romantic mood due to the act the characters have to perform. I'm starting to worry that these 2 tones will clash or make the reader not enjoy one of the plotlines. Any advice?
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"Horror and romance" is a very common mixed genre, for example "Underworld: Evolution". They kept the tension even after introducing the romance. "Light-hearted and horror", you could take "The lord of the rings as an example". First, introduce the kindness in town, then the horror and hope. So when you re-introduce the kindness again, the reader could expect it and be ready to go with you that way.– BassemJan 12, 2023 at 7:50
2 Answers
Humor is a coping mechanism for finding the absurd in a situation. Consider the Classic Scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Butch and Sundance are being chased by a posse who want to arrest them for their crimes. Butch realizes that the only way they can go without doubling back and put some distance on them is to jump off a cliff into a raging river and has the following exchange:
Butch: Alright. I'll jump first. Sundance: No. Butch: Then YOU jump first. Sundance: No, I said! Butch: What's the matter with you? Sundance: I can't swim! Butch: (after laughing) ...you crazy? The fall'll probably kill you!
The scene's humor is that Butch has recognized that the situation is so desperate, the only way to continue is a high risk of jumping, where as Sundance is looking for another way... not because he's aware of the risk of jumping from that height, but he's concerned about a risk he might not live to worry about.
Humor is quite common in dark situations because it helps people cope. Ask any cop to tell you funny stories from the job, and be ready to learn that they have a sick sense of humor (because someone will surely tell you that they've had a call to a suicide victim who put a gun to his head... but before he did so, he put the dishes in the dishwasher... which is still running when they arrive on scene. The cop will find the fact that he did clean up to be hilarious, considering the mess he made after is rightfully horrifying.). Doctors in ER have their own dark stories. One time I was with my boyfriend, who was in considerable pain in the ER and the attending doctor was asking him a series of questions from a sheet so he could make sure nothing he prescribed would cause issues with other medical conditions. The last question he asked my BOYFRIEND was "Are you pregnant?" To which I responded "He had better not be!" with a tone that sounded more like I was upset over the fact that he had been cheating on me and not immediately pointing out the problem with the doctor's own attempt at humor (or the doctor reading the list out of a combination of habit and lack of sleep, given it was probably 1 am). Either way, the room started laughing.
You can start it as Horror/Sci-Fi and then lift up the tone.
How? Consider Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion and Weaksauce Weakness tropes (Warning: TV Tropes).
You story can start as grim and dark, but then you give humanity not just hope, but clear way to defeat the invaders.