Moods, I've found, quickly emerge from the story you are writing.  That helps put a collection together.  I've found in From Light to Dark and Back Again the mood varied so that's why I titled the book the way I did!  Sometimes the mood can already there be for you to use, sometimes you have to look back at the finished piece and recognise the mood for what it is.

Themes, of course, can reflect mood.  I've often written to a particular theme (but not necessarily to a mood.  I've written to see where the story takes me.  I think it's more flexible that way).  So to happy writing then, whether you are are specificially writing to a mood or not.  But be ready to spot the theme leaping out at you when you read back your work.

I thought I ought to write this post as a follow-up to my Reasons to Write earlier in the week.  I also hope to get back to more frequent blog posts on both my websites soon.  The gaps have been due to dealing with a family bereavement and as things begin to settle, I will be particularly glad to get back to my usual writing routine.  There are times writing can be amazingly therapeutic and part of that can be because you have to think of something else in order to do it!  Anyway, reasons for reading (not that you should really need any, should you?!) include:-

1. For entertainment.  I've never understood those who look down on genre fiction or books that are "just" to amuse/entertain.  This is a phenomenally valuable thing for a book to do/give its reader so why despise it?  
   
2. For education.  There is the obvious learning from non-fiction books, manuals etc, but sometimes you can learn from fiction too.  You can learn from the characters' mistakes and be glad you're not making them!
   
3. For learning the craft of writing.  You do learn from absorbing what you read.  You take in sentence structure, grammar, layout and so on.  And sometimes if you dislike what you've read or it really is an awful book (it happens!), you can learn what not to do too!
   
4. For learning the rules of your chosen genre.  There is nothing to beat reading well in your chosen field as you do need to know where your book will fit in.  You have to know what is already out there to be able to do this well.
   
5. For discovering what you like/dislike.  This will have a major impact on what you write, of course, but until you read other works, how will you know?
   

There are various reasons to write, of course, and I think most writers don't have one single reason for picking up the old pen/PC.  For me, it was a a combination of turning 30 and giving birth - two major life events - that made me realise if I was going to write, it would be a good idea if I got on and did so!  So what reasons are there then?

1. For own pleasure. No thought of publication at all.
2. For publication.
   
3. To see if you could do it (and then discover, yes, you can but you are now addicted and can't stop!).
   
4. For therapy (an excellent reason to write).
   
5. Having an inner urge to be creative (and working with words is the way in for you here).
   
6. To share your love of stories with others via the tales you have written.
   
7. You have this idea for a story, you just have to write it down and then see what happens
   
8. Life events make you realise, if you are going to write, it is best to just do it!
   

There will be other reasons for writing of course but these were the few that instantly occured to me. 

How anyone handles grief depends on their character, whether they naturally show emotion or are of the keep it all under control persuasion, and society pressures.  How do your characters handle grief and have you shown, earlier in the story, indications of how they handle emotion generally so when the grief happens we are not surprised at the way they react to it.

Grief can often be accompanied by guilt, usually at things left unsaid or undone.  How do your grieving characters cope with that?  Do they emerge from the grief better, stronger characters, perhaps better at showing their emotions openly than they had been before? Are they determined to show how much they love the family/friends they have left?

How does  your created world handle grief?  Does it encourage open emotions or are people expected to keep it to themselves?  Are there people the rest of society are expected to mourn at the appropriate time, whether the majority want to do so or not?  What is the punishment for those who won't conform to society's ideas here?

I've discussed a little about this on my Facebook page tonight but thought I'd expand the post here.  So what are the advantages of writing flash fiction then?  I would see them as:-

1. Improves your editing skills.   Writing to such a tight word count (my speciality is 100 words) means you must improve your editing.  I've found my "useless" words, the ones I write into a story almost subsconciously.  These are "very", "that" and "actually".  Actually, just what do these add to a tale?  Nothing!  They convey no information, or indicate change of mood or setting, and all they do to your pacing is slow it down!  The great thing is now being aware (nearly  put in a "very" there!) of my "weak" words I can and do look out for these in all my writing and stamp them out ruthlessly!
   
2. More Competitions online and in print.  Entering and winning/being shortlisted for competitions is widely recommended as a way of getting your name/work out there.  And there are more flash fiction competitions available now.  You could send out several flash pieces to several competitions!  And while flash has its own skills to learn, you will get more work out there than if, say, you just stick to writing novels and entering contests for them.  (Also the fee for a flash fiction competition will be so much cheaper!).
   
3. Great Way of using material too short for standard length competitions.  Says it all!
   
4. Use as practice for writng book blurbs.  Book blurbs are notoriously difficult to write but by summarisng your book (and doing so as a flash piece), you are effectively practising writing the blurb!  The word count is going to be about right.
   

These are just some of the advantages.  Why not give flash a go?

What really matters to your characters?  What beliefs/values do they cherish the most and why?  Does this put them at odds with the society you've placed them in?

For most of us, friends and families are what really matters.  Do your characters think the same?  Are they closer to their friends than their families?  What is the role of the family in the society you've created?

What is the role of faith in your created world?  (I would hope, being a Christian, that portrayals of religious people would, yes, show up the hypocrite etc but also show those who really do try to follow the faith with love and kindness etc etc). 

What really matters to you as the writer with regard to the story?  What are you hoping to convey by it?  Why does it matter and can you use that to help you write it with more passion than you might otherwise have done?

What is the right title for your story?  One that fits the mood of the tale?  I use a variety of methods for titles.

1. Theme.  Where I know the theme I'm writing to there is often a proverb or well known phrase that I can adapt which fits and would be a great title.  For example, in From Light to Dark and Back Again, there is one story called Tripping the Light Fantastic.  Dance does come into the story, hence the "tripping" and why I thought the phrase would be a good one to use here.
   
2. Twist.  My Pressing the Flesh story in my collection is a good example of how I took a phrase and twisted the meaning but you will need to read the tale to find out more!
   
3. Mood.  Yes, I can match the mood of the tale to the story.  Some of my character studies, such as They Don't Understand, come into this category.
   
4. Stating the Facts.  Simple titles always work best and I often use one that will give the reader a good idea of what the story is going to be like.  George Changes His Mind is exactly all about that but the reader knows to read the story to find out who George is and what he changed his mind about.
   
5. Puns.  Sometimes these have been appropriate for my lighter tales.  The Mint with the Hole was a well known advertising slogan for a kind of mint in the UK but I've taken this story and made a pun on the word "mint".
   

Vary up the way you come up with titles.  It's fun, using different methods will help you generate different kinds of title and then you can decide which is most appropriate.