Weather = more than setting? Weird but true.
The weather you use for the scenes in your books is more than just a minor setting detail. Depending on how you write it, it can help build the atmosphere for the scene and that’s more than just setting and background. The atmosphere, helps to set the mood and overall feel of a scene.
So far we have weather= setting, atmosphere, and mood, and feel of the scene.
Okay, now the feel of the scene helps to set the moods for the characters in the scene, which helps to set up the conflict between the characters. Let’s face it, if one is cheery they weather won’t bother them much, right? But if one is grouchy and the weather is miserable, they’re going to complain about the weather on top of everything else, which can easily help add conflict between the characters.
Another thing weather can do is to bring to the front how a certain character feels, without saying “he/she was miserable”. You show it in how they react to the weather, or how the weather matches the character’s feelings.
For instance in chapter three of my Dangerous Temptation Preview I show my MC Kaitlin at her father’s memorial. The weather is miserable mimicking Kaitlin’s feelings and setting the atmosphere for the somber scene.
So, next time you’re writing a scene take a minute to figure out how you can use the weather to amplify a character’s feelings, or to help set the atmosphere of your overall scene.
What are some of the nifty little tricks you’ve picked up over the course of your writing? Do you use the weather, or even the background of your scene to enrich the characterizations?
I often use the weather to enhance mood. At the beginning of End of Mae it’s bone chilling cold accentuating the discomfort of the characters. In another story I wrote the day grows more dismal and gloomy along with the character’s mood. Weather is a wonderful tool… Great post!
Hello Angela. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
Sounds like you’ve crafted a powerful scene. Weather is an incredible tool.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
For me the weather, and indeed the natural world, is nearly a character. Unintentionally, most of my blog posts refer to the weather in some way. I guess I am outside a lot. Also, one of my favorite beginning lines is from May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude — “Begin here. It is raining.” It is always a good place to start.
Hello Margaret, thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Weather can easily become a character when it’s used as part of the back ground. Personally, I love rain, just not crazy over hail.