Thursday, September 7, 2017

Weather As Character

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

Picture a bright blue sky glowing with golden sunshine and dotted with friendly, fluffy clouds. Now picture dark grey looming clouds hanging so low you can almost grab a handful of them, while an icy wind scours the land with frigid teeth.

Which would you think of as setting for a lighthearted romantic comedy and which for an angst-filled mystery where terrible things lurk just under the next breeze?

Admittedly, those are two extreme examples, but weather does affect our perception of genre and tone. Now before you jump all over me crying that so-and-so did a terribly horrifying story set on a sunny beach or a rom-com in a storm-lashed castle, I will agree with you. There are always those writers who can take a trope and turn it on its head with great effectiveness. A truly skilled writer can do almost anything – as all of you skilled writers know – but the stormy rom-con and the sun-drenched murder have been done so often that they are almost tropes in themselves.

It’s a lot harder to take a pleasant, sunny location and make it a place of crime, apprehension and horror. I say let your setting work for you – sometimes. Never do anything exactly the same way every time. Keep your reader on her mental toes. And let’s face it, it’s easier to ratchet up the tension in a dark and shadowy place where who knows what is lurking in that lightless corner we must traverse, just as it’s delightful to see the hero’s eyes crinkle in appreciation on a sunny beach. Proper use of the weather can almost turn it into a character in and of itself, and give both depth and foreshadowing to your story.

People have certain expectations and reactions to the weather. I say use them, or, if you use them in reverse, do it whole-heartedly. One of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever watched was the end of the old movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, where George Peppard (a singularly interesting bit of casting) and Audrey Hepburn find the cat and declare their love in an ugly NYC alley in a pouring rain. Switch upon switch upon switch.


On the other hand, most readers have certain expectations; I’m a firm believer that as writers, especially genre writers, we don’t have to re-invent the wheel. At least, not every time.

11 comments:

  1. You're right. Weather is perfect for mood-setting. It can be used in an almost endless variety of ways. Thanks for the reminder. I'm starting a new book and will be sure to include weather as part of my tool kit.

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  2. Great post - I agree that the weather can really influence the tone or genre of a novel and that readers do have certain expectations. I write SF romance so that gives me more scope than most to experiment with different types of weather on different worlds, but it the weather conditions do still tend to reflect the tone of the scene, if not the whole novel.

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  3. My Murders by Design Series is set in southwest Florida. The weather is usually glorious (today a rare exception!), but it works beautifully as a murder setting: bodies floating in swimming pools, hurricanes, ants invading a corpse on the ground, heat driving tempers through the roof. As you know, any setting works if the writer so desires. Though there is a lot to be said for "It was a dark and stormy night . . ."

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  4. Weather definitely helps set the scene and atmosphere for a story or book.

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  5. I sometimes forget to include the weather when writing. I always need to go back and add a bit here and there. Of course, some times it becomes a character...as Irma may soon be.

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  6. Yes, great post. Thanks for the reminder. I love a good novel with a setting that a reader can feel.

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  7. The movie, Twister, with Bill Paxton comes to mind. It's not a novel (that I know of), but as a screenplay/movie, the weather had to be a character in every way, shape, and form. Good post.

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  8. So true...as weather also affects our mood, it can be a great character in our stories!

    Great post.
    Good luck and God's blessings
    PamT

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  9. Yes, one doesn't expect horrible things to happen in tranquil weather, although when that occurs it seems even more shocking in a book.

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  10. Hi Susan--
    I love books where the author uses the weather in the setting they've set.
    Victoria--

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  11. So true, Susan. Weather is a great way to put readers in the right mind for what's coming.

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