“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.” — e.e. cummings
Winter has once again decided not to be ignored. It’s that time of year when we get blasted with cold and snow, a slight warming trend reprieve, and then another blast. This past week has been particularly nasty with back-to-back snow dumps causing hazardous road conditions and cancelled plans.
Our weather has been a true antagonist — stopping many from achieving their goals. Not so for those of us who are writers, though. Cancelled plans and limited mobility means extra writing time. While the snow piled up outside, I got cozy on my yellow couch, sipped vanilla/caramel tea, tapped my computer keys, and finished the rough draft of my novel-in-progress!
In novels, weather can be a key element of the story. What would The Wonderful Wizard of Oz be without the cyclone? The Grapes of Wrath without the draught? And The Shining and Dr. Zhivago without the snow?
In Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Where None there would be no plot without the raging storms that keep the characters stranded on islands.
Stormy weather can foreshadow an argument, a fight, or even an epic battle. “Winter is coming” is the catch phrase in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series and readers know he means more than just a temperature drop and icy conditions. In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, the heat and humidity of New Orleans adds tension to an already tense situation. And Charlotte Bronte adeptly uses weather throughout Jane Eyre to reflect Jane’s moods.
Rain plays a role in my second novel, God on Mayhem Street. Chicago reporter Leo Townsend is set to interview front-running presidential candidate Griffin Carlisle but has to run through a downpour to get there, a metaphor for the troubles to come. Later, Leo and Griffin slog through the mud to the Townsend farm. And a thunderstorm squelches villain Jacob Landry’s best-laid plans.
Keeping track of when it rained was tricky so I used my “Mission Control” — a large piece of foam board with lines dividing it into segments. I then tacked colored index cards with short descriptions of each chapter to the board. Blue cards indicated rain, green for cloudy, white for when the weather wasn’t an issue, and yellow, well maybe that’s obvious. It really helped me keep things straight. (Thank you Author and UW-Madison Writing Instructor Kathy Steffen for this terrific idea!)
Many beginning novelists avoid writing about the weather which is a shame. They’re missing an opportunity to enhance their writing and to be inspired by weather’s power. Look how winter has inspired Oyeyemi, Pasternak, and Murakami:
“This is how it was: The snow came down heavily, settled for about a minute, then the wind moved it – more rolled it, really – onto another target. One minute you were covered in snow, then it sped off sideways, as if a brisk, invisible giant had taken pity and brushed you down.”― Helen Oyeyemi, Boy, Snow, Bird
“The wind swept the snow aside, ever faster and thicker, as if it were trying to catch up with something, and Yurii Andreievich stared ahead of him out of the window, as if he were not looking at the snow but were still reading Tonia’s letter and as if what flickered past him were not small dry snow crystals but the spaces between the small black letters, white, white, endless, endless.” ― Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago
“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
Wow!
Stay safe and warm this winter and if you find yourself stranded at home, read a good novel — when you finish it, you won’t be the same person who first opened that book.
Where you can find me when the snows melt:
Let’s Just Write! An Uncommon Writers Conference, Saturday, March 10th – Sunday, March 11th, Whitehall Hotel, 105 East Delaware Place, Chicago (one block from Michigan Avenue). I’m volunteering for the Chicago Writers Association’s first writers conference.
UW-Madison Writers’ Institute Pathway to Publication, April 12-15, 2018. I’ll be busy helping writers practice their pitches to agents, running the Book Fair, and, together with Book Doctor Kevin Mullen, hosting the Live Lit Event.
Madtown Author Daze, Saturday, May 5, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Madison Museum of Modern Art. As one of twenty-six local authors on hand, I’ll discuss my books and sell signed copies. Would love to see you there!
