In general mood is the atmosphere of a narrative; one can think of it as the "vibes" in the air around the characters. For example, if one attends a child's birthday party, the mood is joyous, loving, and cheerful. This mood is conveyed by the tone of the voices of both the adults and the children; the excited actions of the children are also an indication of mood as are the decorations.
To convey mood in literature, an author carefully selects a setting that reflects the atmosphere that he/she wishes. Images and carefully worded phrases connote the mood,too. As an example, one master of mood is Edgar Allan Poe. In the opening paragraph of his "The Fall of the House of Usher," he uses dark imagery to suggest mood:
During thw whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was--but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.
Poe's choice of words (in bold) and imagery connotes foreboding, gloom, isolation. No reader can possibly miss this mood as painted by such an artist.
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