I love the thunder, lightning and drama of a summer rain storm. We call them monsoons in Arizona and today is the first day of the Arizona Monsoon. We should start seeing thunderclouds building up in the late afternoon, with lots of lightning and probably lots of wind. Unfortunately here in the desert we don’t always get rain with the monsoons, but we do get wind and dust, creating what they call in Arabic a ‘haboo.’ Visibility goes to zero pretty quickly, and when the dust storm passes, there is a fine coating of sand everywhere! Weather like this is perfect for creating the backdrop for a variety of fiction stories. In fact, using the weather as a catalyst for unusual events is a pretty effective method of establishing interest and keeping the reader reading. We can all relate to different weather conditions, whether we actually experience them or are glad we are not experiencing them. When you are building a back story, think about how weather figures into the action. Watch the weather channel for research – you can find lots of story ideas there. Think about some of the books you have read that feature weather as a main character – the Storm of the Century by Stephen King comes to mind. The next time someone asks you about the weather, just think of the possibilities!
Happy Writing!
Center for Writing Excellence 