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Whatever the weather
There’s been so much snow recently and more is forecast for parts of the UK today, but the nice thing for writers is that you can continue regardless of such extremes.
We’ve been lucky and haven’t had any power cuts, so my work carries on largely as usual. (The only slight flaw was when the children didn’t make it into school – it can be tricky to think about the history of Islam with Spongebob Squarepants in the background!)
As a nation we spend an incredible amount of time talking about the weather, complaining about the weather, changing our plans for the weather. It’s easy to forget this when you are writing, but if you’re writing about people in this world (obviously sci-fi can be different!) they will be subject to the same weather as the rest of us.
I’m not suggesting you write in long realistic passages of dialogue that mirror our everyday exchanges, as that’s not entertaining to read about! However, bear in mind which season your action is happening in, and allow for the weather to creep in and colour the plot.
I recently read a novel set in the ‘Great Freeze’ of 1963, and the details about the characters’ relentless attempts to keep warm definitely influenced the plot.
So what’s the weather like where your characters are? Are they only happy when it rains or are they sun-worshippers?
(Editorial Consultant)
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3 Comments on Whatever the weather
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Ashleigh on
Feb 11, 2010 at 16:56pm
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lil.miss.hc on
Feb 26, 2010 at 13:59pm
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Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant) on
Mar 2, 2010 at 13:28pm
thank you for such a useful post. It is hard to forget how much the weather affects peoples moods and actions. I should know as the way I face the day is often determined by what faces me outside the window! Rain mac or shine though, this is definitely something I am going to focus on in my writing, thank you! 
That’s a great point. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if a villain’s evil plot was foiled because his evil powers wouldn’t work below a certain temperature?
And on such a sunny day – I’ve found my mood has really lifted. How are your characters all doing?
lil.miss.hc – fab idea!
Cressida
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