3 ways weather can help your story

No matter where you are in writing your story, weather can play a part in moving the action forward, defining a character, or throwing a wrench in the path of good or evil. 

Great writers from Shakespeare to Steinbeck have successfully used weather  in their stories. If it weren't for the drought, the Joads might never have set out to California.  In The Tempest, we can't forget how Prospero used weather for his own good.

Here's how you can hurl lightning bolts at your villains  or paint rainbows for your protagonists and get away with it.

PLOT. If you are stuck moving the action forward, change the weather. When your MC steps outside without an umbrella and is caught in a sudden downpour, does he slip into a cafe for a fortuitous encounter with someone? Does he hop on a bus to avoid the weather? Does that bus crash? Is it the wrong bus, and he ends up late for (work, a date, picking up a child)? Insurance companies don't take responsibility for acts of God. Neither must writers. Use  storms, landslides, earthquakes. These things happen without notice.

CHARACTER.  How do your characters respond to different weather events? Use them to reveal moods, fears, hopes, or long-lost dreams. Maybe every time it rains, your character is reminded of the day his dog died. Or whenever she sees a rainbow, she makes a wish. Don't go overboard. No one likes a cliche. Subtlety is your best move.

​SETTING. Last  but not least, we must talk about the obvious. Depending on where your story is set, some weather events just won't come up. It's unlikely an earthquake will hit in Iowa or that a monsoon will flood Arizona. If you are writing realistic fiction, study the weather in the area where your story is set. You might discover some freak storm that hit years back. You could use that for a tragic backstory, or it could be the reason for your character's behavior or motivation.

That's my story. What's yours?

Please share your ideas in the comment section below! Happy writing :)

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