At my house, we’re iced in today, with schools closed for the weather.

How Does the Weather Affect Your Story?

Have you ever included a snow or ice day in your story? Does your character sweat through a scorching day while mowing the lawn?

If not, you’re missing a great chance to include sensory details and bring your story to life!

• Character. Develop your POV character better by including thoughts and references about weather. Would this character describe a sunset in flowery terms or barely notice it? This is a great place to explore voice for a character. For a week, try stopping three times a day and writing a sentence or paragraph about the weather, trying out different voices.
• Plot. You can choose to support or contrast the weather and the plot events. If there’s a blow up between characters, will you also include a thunderstorm or a blizzard? Or will it be a beautiful spring day, by way of contrast?
• Setting. Of course, part of most settings is the weather. Where are we? In the Arctic tundra, or scuba diving in the Caribbean? Choose sensory details — not just what you see, but using all the senses — that evoke the setting in a unique way.
• Mood. Try writing about a playground, using lots of sensory details. Now write about a scary playground or a happy playground. You change the mood of the story by choosing different sensory details. The setting controls much of the mood of a piece and that definitely includes weather.