In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, C.S. Lakin says writers shouldn’t ignore the potential of weather to set the mood in your novel. “Writers are sometimes told not to write about weather,” she says. “But weather affects us every moment of every day and night. We make decisions for how we will spend our day, even our life, based on weather. And weather greatly affects our mood, whether we notice or not.”
Your characters will also understandably react to the weather. Most of the time they won’t notice it, but when they do, it can be purposeful and powerful, Lakin says. She offers advice for using weather effectively in your fiction.
Weather can be used to convey mood, because it affects our moods. Rain puts many of us in a gloomy mood, while sunny days give us some pep. The same can be true of our characters, or you can surprise your readers by giving your characters an opposing reaction. You might have a character who loves cold rainy days, or another who dislikes too much sun, due to allergies or eye problems.
Weather also serves as metaphor and motif. What’s happening outside can reflect a character’s inner turmoil. A repeated weather event – wind, rain – can help you add meaning to scenes, highlight your theme, or contrast events. “Using strong verbs and adjectives will help you craft setting descriptions that are masterful,” Lakin says. “Every word counts. To borrow unfaithfully from Animal Farm: All words are created equal, but some words are more equal than others. Some words are plain boring, and others take our breath away.”
When you describe weather, don’t forget its scents and sounds. The air before a summer storm has a different smell than a brisk autumn morning. The crackling of fall leaves is distinct from drizzling rain, which itself is distinguishable from a hard storm. “This is all about caring,” Lakin says. “Caring that every sentence uses the best words in a concise and specific way. You don’t need a lot of words to describe setting in a powerful way.”
