The Weather, Emotions and Your Writing
Ideas on how to weave the weather into the emotional substance of your story.
View of a car park through the windscreen during a rainstorm. Photo: Tanya Clarke 2021
When Will it Stop?
I've had this picture in my album of 'prompt possibles' for a couple of weeks.
My youngest daughter and I were sat in the car drinking our coffees as we waited for the torrential rain to subside. I loved the way the water on the glass distorted the view in front of us. My vision looks like this just before I get a migraine, an aura of zig-zags and wiggly lines.
This week, I'm thinking about the weather and story-telling. Often, different types of weather are used in story-telling to help describe an event with an emotional significance.
For example. A storm brewed on the day of the funeral. Or. The sun shone brightly on her tenth birthday. Or. The rain hammered down across the car bonnet as he told her he didn't love her anymore.
I think it's best to try and avoid those pesky cliches. Better to weave the weather into your story using your senses. Maybe it was unusually hot on the day of the funeral, or the storm brewed on the morning of her tenth birthday or a gentle breeze blew leaves around the car bonnet as he told her he didn't love her anymore.
Let's Take it Further
How does that wind feel on your face? What do you see as the storm rises from the horizon? Can you feel a pressure change? How does your environment sound when it's snowed? What is it like to walk in the heat of the day in a tropical country? How does the world look in bright sunshine? How does your garden smell in the evening on a summer's day? What can you see in heavy fog from your apartment window? Or when you're driving in an unexpected blizzard?
How do people behave in different weather? In heavy rain, heavy snow. When it's icy or the ground is hot. Or when the sun comes out after days and days of rain. Does the weather affect your emotions? Write how that inhabits your body.
Pressure Drop
We used to live in a house where we had converted the attic into a bedroom and bathroom. I had a desk up there where I'd work on various photo projects I was working on at the time. There were two Velux windows in the roof and when it rained heavily, the noise on the glass was sharp, like a million thumbtacks shattering the glass.
One afternoon I was up there when the light in the room faded quickly. I hadn't noticed a thunderstorm approaching. The sky filled with dark grey clouds which dropped low across the rooftops spilling out torrential rain. The storm raged right above me. Or so it seemed. Suddenly, a thunderclap sounded and a strange dropping sensation filled the room making my stomach lurch. The house felt as if it had moved. Later, as I recounted this tale to my Dad, he said it was the change in atmospheric pressure. As I was high up in the house, I felt it, like experiencing turbulence on a plane. Except the house hadn't moved. It was the air inside it.
What’s the Weather Like Today?
So let's write about the weather and how it impacts our characters and scenes. But try and avoid those obvious cliches. Also, while I remember, there's no need for drama unless that's what you're going for. If there's no wind, the lake is still. If there's no rain, everything is dry and crisp. If there's no sun, things begin to rot. Maybe it’s in those smaller details your scene begins to take shape. A still quiet lake. A crisp, dry woodland. A damp rotting vegetable patch. Put your characters here. What’s the weather like today?
Until next time.
