The Weather
The weather is a funny thing. It can affect our mood -- good, bad, and ugly. I have a favorite song about the weather that's got me thinking. Here are a few of the lyrics to wet your taste buds.
Crazy? Perhaps.
We know what our character looks like, how they were raised, and what their favorite color is. But do we know how the weather affects them?
For me, I often see rain and think of depression, but what about my MC? Does she like the rain? What memories are contrived? What about snow or extreme heat?
To really reach our readers, we need to rip at their heart strings, and weather is something everyone can relate too.
Listen to this song and see if you don't look at the weather differently.
What is your favorite weather? Season? What else do you do to bring depth to your characters?
"It's starting to rain,These words, they made me realize something. Weather should be a part of our character development.
The neighbors complain,
But to me it's champagne pouring out of the clouds."
Crazy? Perhaps.
We know what our character looks like, how they were raised, and what their favorite color is. But do we know how the weather affects them?
For me, I often see rain and think of depression, but what about my MC? Does she like the rain? What memories are contrived? What about snow or extreme heat?
To really reach our readers, we need to rip at their heart strings, and weather is something everyone can relate too.
Listen to this song and see if you don't look at the weather differently.
What is your favorite weather? Season? What else do you do to bring depth to your characters?
Comments
I love sunlight as well, but if it's too bright I get a migrane. Once in arts class I got such a bad migrane from a strong smell and the sunlight that I had run out of class.
Outside the sun was worse and I broke down crying on the school steps covering my eyes because the pain was unbearable.
Mum bought me sunglasses with my prescription after that.
Thanks, I just realized I have a character who is on the run from the antagonist. He's from way up north so when he sees snow, he'd probably cry tears of joy.
Have to keep your post in mind when writing.
I should use weather more in my work, it's such a great way of creating atmosphere, and exploring an MC's personality. Thanks for the reminder.
Hmm. Something else to think about. Thanks!
Thinking about how the weather affects your character will only deepen your understanding of them, add another layer to them and might help you figure out how they might react to certain situations.
As for my characters, I have a tendancy to use weather to describe their emotions...it doesn't always come out the way I hope though
I visited your blog today, and I really enjoyed it because my daughter right now is reading about 15-20 books as she is working on her Ph.D. She is a book lover. I recently did a post about her study and it shows many of her books. It is the post after the "Pink Post". Me and my daughters just started a new blog, and we would love it if you could visit us and follow. I would enjoy coming back to visit with you and seeing your wonderful books. Hope to hear from you, and have a sweet day. I hope your book is a successful one.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley
Thanks for sharing this. :D
My favorite season is autumn. I love the crisp fall air, the colors... AND... of course, football!
I think you're right on about weather being part of character development...it is something everyone can relate to and it keeps your character in touch with our world - experiencing all the things we do. Weather affects our everyday.