Snow, Rain, Rainbows, and Writing Fiction

By AB Plum

Taxes. Traffic. Too many people. Californians departing the state routinely cite these facts of life as reasons for leaving. Few—in the San Francisco Bay area at least--ever mention the weather. Our sunny days and mild temperatures rival the Mediterranean. In other words, expect the same o’ same o’ temps and sunshine day after day. (OBTW, we do have four seasons in the Bay area).

This year, though, we’ve seen rain every day for the past month. Not the kind of gully washers Florida and other parts of the country experience, but slow, steady downfall that has turned our world vibrant shades of green. And given us some amazing rainbows. Every color is distinct—and dangerous because too many drivers stop and gape.

Mosey up into the foothills a few hundred feet and find enough snow for at least one good snowball or a teeny, tiny, itsy, bitsy snowperson—without the sub-zero temps.

What do any of these observations and comments have to do with writing?

They remind me of how often I read novels with little or no mention of the weather (considered borrrring, right?). Personally, I like to use the weather as a metaphor for a relationship or a specific place or a cosmic reminder of how insignificant we humans are. I like trying to capture moments of being wet or sweaty or freezing or burning up while the main character tries to overcome an obstacle unrelated to the weather. 

One of the joys of writing fiction for me lies in amplifying a snowstorm, making it the “storm of the century.” I love writing about rains that have characters checking on how to build an arc—or ready to lose their minds because of the constant hammering on the roof. One of my favorite scenes is a heat wave that drives the overheated couple into her swimming pool. The water fairly sizzles.

More rain predicted here this afternoon, and I plan to go search for a rainbow. I need to write more about rainbows.

What about you? Do you find weather scenes boring? Do you prefer minimal weather descriptions? Do you have a favorite scene featuring the weather?

****AB Plum lives in the Mediterranean climate of the San Francisco Bay—within the shadow of Google, which returned a surprising number of hits for the search “writing weather scenes in fiction.”

Barbara Plum, AB’s alter ego, used the tornado in The Wizard of Oz as inspiration for a “new twist on love and the red slippers” in her Weird Magic Trilogy.

Clicking Our Heels: Rainbows in Our Lives

Clicking Our Heels – Rainbows in Our Lives

Monthly Clicking Our Heels Giveaway:

To enter for a chance to win Linda Rodriguez' Every Last Secret and the Dark Sister comment below about the rainbows in your life.  Good luck and happy reading! -- winner will be announced next Wednesday on The Stiletto Gang Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/stilettogang 

2019 is here! We hope for everyone it will be a wonderful year, but the reality is that sometimes there will be cloudy days. Talking among ourselves, we wondered what, on a cloudy day, would bring a rainbow into each of our lives?

Linda Rodriguez – My husband’s smile. A silky fiber to spin in a beautiful colorway. My goofy dog. My great kids. Good friends out in the cyber world and here in my own town.

Bethany Maines – My dog, Kato. And chocolate. And yeah…OK, my family. They’re pretty cute too.

Shari Randall – A hug from my husband. A call from my kids. The hundreds of small pleasures that surround us every day – the smell of coffee brewing, birdsong, a message from an old friend, laughter. And Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.

TK Thorne – Smiles from my husband, a cuddle from our pug, and writing something. Today I woke up and wrote a poem about the Parker solar probe launch. It’s a good feeling to have created something that might touch others. Even if it doesn’t, it is still a wondrous act to make an ephemeral thought into something “real.”

Paula Gail Benson – Having the opportunity to read a good author, drink a fragrant cup of tea, and

indulge in a rich dark chocolate!

AB Plum – Brian Andreas, the genius behind amazing stories on greeting cards, posters, prints, etc. always brings a rainbow on those days when I need one most.

Dru Ann Love – Looking out the window and seeing a rainbow lets me know that more adventures are out there for the taking.

Judy Penz Sheluk – A good book. A walk with my dog. Writing without interruption.

JM Phillippe – Simple pleasures can always be found. I have been enjoying little things, like sitting down to a well-prepared meal, seeing a funny picture of a friend’s child or pet, or hearing something funny from people passing by my house-little moments of joy and laughter are pretty easily had. It’s sometimes hard to see them though in the midst of dark days.

Kay Kendall – Talking to friends always makes me happy. I am not picky about the way of doing it either. Face to face, on the phone, by text, email, or Facebook-any method of communication is fine with me. I will go with whichever my friend prefers since I love them all. I get rainbows in my life by reaching out to connect. I try to do that in my fiction writing as well.

Cathy P. Perkins – My husband and kids can always make me smile. Others? Walking through our

woods, listening to the river mummer and the birds sing. Watching the dogs romp. Opening the kiln on a glass experiment. Sitting with friends, sharing good food and wine. Looking for the rainbow rather than the clouds.

Juliana Aragon Flatula – Helping someone and then years later they remember how you were there when they needed help and they tell you thank you. Thirty years ago I helped my son’s friend, Donovan, fill out financial aid papers to enroll in college. I spoke with him on the phone recently and he told me how much he appreciated my help and how it made a difference in his life getting a college education. That made my day.

Julie Mulhern – I am blessed with very few inclement days. When the clouds do roll in, I need only look at my family for a rainbow.

Debra H. Goldstein – Watching a child reason; seeing a smile shared; loving and being loved.

Rain and Rainbows

Rain and Rainbows by Debra H. Goldstein

“Rain, Rain, Go Away. Come again another day.”  If this was California or during a summer draught in Alabama, this refrain would be the last thing coming out of my mouth.  Right now, the storms have been so intense we are in a state far from water rationing.  Sadly, during the past few weeks, tornados and floods have destroyed homes, possessions, and people.  Thunder, lightning, and sheering winds have sent people to their shelters, caused dogs to run amuck in fear, and knocked out power sources with regularity. The rain has pummeled everything.

There have been a few high points.  Gardens are still lush and green.  Flowers, not realizing that this is winter, are blooming early and those that have blossomed are retaining their beauty.  Kids are loving the abundance of puddles to jump in.

At times, my mood reflects the rain. Somber, dark, unrelenting but then there are days that the rain is constant, but soft, and I find myself curled in a chair reading, peaceful, sleepy and content.  My writing reflects the difference in these days.  The rain keeps me indoors so I am keeping my resolution of writing regularly, but in reading it back, I see the impact of the weather.  A gloomy short story, a tale with a ray of sunshine. 

I want the rain to be replaced by a rainbow, but it probably won’t happen.  At least, not in the real world, but isn’t it wonderful that as a writer we can make it happen in the world we are creating?

My wish for you this week – rainbows.