It seems like such a boring, neutral topic, doesn’t it? The weather is what we talk about when we have nothing else to say. Only it doesn’t have to be like that. Applied with the right touch in a story, the weather can reflect a character’s mood, play into a plot, and propel the story forward.
I remember reading about the storm Victor Frankenstein wandered about in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. William, Victor’s younger brother had just died. The weather reflected the protagonist’s torment and guilt. For within the flickering lightning, Frankenstein catches a glimpse of the creature he created and wronged.
The weather can also be an obstacle or a source of conflict in your story. Adverse temperatures have certainly been a source of real life peril in both history and current events. Too much heat, too much cold, too heavy a rain, not enough rain have a serious impact on the world and every day life.
Weather can play a key part in your world building, too. What it’s like, how it’s similar or different than the Earth goes a long way in describing what your planet or fantasy land is like.
I remember a clear late afternoon. The sun was setting. Light reflected off the water on a pond, giving me the impression that many souls were gathered there. Seeing this gave me the idea for the pond in the Shadow Forest, where the lost thoughts and memories of people gathered together in liquid color. Wanting to be found. Waiting to be experienced.
How about you, dear reader? Have certain weather conditions ever played a key part in your stories, pushing your writing in a certain direction?
Weather is always fun to play with. I try and touch on it in most of my stories and it does in deed reflect what is happening either around the characters or inside the characters.