Wistful Wednesday

Weather or Not

Greetings from my little corner of water-logged New England! As you may have already guessed from my title, I am going to talk about the weather and its connection to writing. I can't speak for other writers, of course, but I can say that I am one of those authors whose writing is - or more precisely, the pursuit of - is affected by what is happening beyond my window.

Let me explain. When the skies are gray and cry tears of rain for days on end, I have a tendency toward feeling sad, which may or may not lead to me putting my characters in depressing (for them) situations. It's difficult to write happy scenes when everything around you is just wet and gray. I know, I know, people in drought-ridden places are probably thinking, Why are you complaining? We need water! Well, on behalf of every person in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who now have water front property courtesy of Mother Nature, I say, Come and get some! We would gladly share.

Okay, side effect number two: All of this rain makes me kind of cranky. I apologize in advance and hope I don't offend anyone.

The flipside of all this rain is too much sun. And yes, New England is noted for its occasional heatwaves (okay, at least one a year). Contrary beings that we are, we New Englanders will be begging for a little rain once our temps hit the high mark for more than three days straight. So we're fickle. Some would say that's a good trait. For a New Englander - or anyone considering living in this little corner of the world - being adaptable is a necessity. With the way our weather fluctuates from one extreme to the other - sometimes within the same day - one has to be able to adjust to it. And quickly. If you don't, you could be caught unawares and nobody wants that. But how does too much of a good thing affect your writing, you might wonder. Simple: Who wants to write when they are melting from the sun?

So there are two examples of how the weather can affect what you write - or if you write. Can you think of any others? And how does the weather influence you and your pursuits? Please leave your thoughts in the comments and I promise I will take occasional breaks from building my Ark to read them.