Our Round RobinTopic this month asks have you noticed how weather is used in writing? How have you used weather in
your writing? Drama? Mood? Revelation?
I
can never think of writing weather related scenes without recalling the
oft-quoted line ‘It was a dark and stormy night’. The quote may well be
remembered, but perhaps less so is the rest of the sentence.
It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals,
when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for
it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and
fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the
darkness.
This
is the opening to Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 Gothic novel Paul Clifford and what a scene it conjures up, especially with that
wind ‘rattling along the housetops’. You can bet your last dollar nothing good
is coming out of this situation.
In 1983 the English Department of San Jose
State University decided to sponsor a competition for the worst opening
sentences. They had no idea how popular the response would be. There is now an
annual competition with several sub-categories. For the list of 2015 winners check
out www.bulwer-lytton.com/2015.html. There is even a Dark and Stormy Night cocktail made from
ginger beer and zaya rum courtesy of the Swig Bar in San Francisco. Schultz had
his cartoon character, Snoopy, sitting on top of his kennel with his typewriter
and starting his novel with that line.
Weather in novels or movies can be a huge
catalyst for disaster which in turn creates conflict. Think of the aftermath
provided by the hurricanes in the Wizard of Oz and Twister, snow and cold in
The Shining and The Day After Tomorrow. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s novel Heat and
Dust portrays those elements in India and in the thriller Smokescreen, set in
South Africa, heat creates all sorts of problems for Dick Francis’s character
Edward Lincoln.
In my own writing I’ve used a bright, sunny day
to depict my hero’s sense of well-being. This fact lulls him into a feeling of
contentment which is then shattered when he arrives home to find his wife is
missing. During the subsequent hue and cry, a heavy rainstorm brings more
drama. In viewing a misty autumn morning my heroine muses on the passage of
time. The last time she looked on this scene it had been spring time. The use
of the weather in each of these scenes enhances or heightens the conflict for
my characters and is as useful a writing tool as using the play of light and
dark to create interest.
See how these authors make use of the weather in their writing:
Skye
Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Helena Fairfax http://helenafairfax.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-EP
Kay Sisk http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Helena Fairfax http://helenafairfax.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-EP
Kay Sisk http://kaysisk.blogspot.com
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
I'm glad I'm not guilty (so far) of an opening sentence containing something like a dark and stormy night. Found your examples interesting, and agree, weather can ramp up conflict.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are more recent examples, but those I mentioned were the first that came to mind.
DeleteI was introduced to the "Dark and Stormy" ginger beer and rum drink in Adelaide AU. It's now one of my favs. That said, I didn't realize it was related to our favorite opening line.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of that drink either but might have to get my local bar to oblige!
DeleteThat Dark and Stormy drink sounds interesting! I agree that the weather can set a tone of all's right with the world, or the world is about to come apart, or it's just downright depressing. How can we NOT use weather to set our scenes?
ReplyDeleteI agree Skye. We talk about the weather more often than not, so why shouldn't it be used to good effect in our writing?
DeleteHi Victoria, I'd never heard of the worst opening line competition. That sounds really interesting - and the Dark and Stormy cocktail does, too! I loved your examples. I like Dick Francis, but have never read Smokescreen. Thanks for mentioning it!
ReplyDeleteAt one time I had all of the Dick Francis thrillers, his own and those he wrote with his son. If you enjoy thrillers with a racing background try Kit Ehrman Steve Cline mysteries.
DeleteI enjoyed your post, particularly your examples. I'll have to check them, out. Also how you use weather in your own writing. I think it's an important tool, which I haven't been using, but plan to use more to improve my books.
ReplyDeleteI think my examples may have given my age away, but who's counting?
DeleteVictoria--thank you for explaining where "it was a dark and stormy night" originated from! Everyone always starts a spooky story like that, and I never realized it came from one original source. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your voice Rachael and with your sense of humor I think this is a competition you could do well in!
DeleteThank you for an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the question is, why should "It was a dark and stormy night" be a bad opening sentence? It's because it focuses out there, at the environment, before it deals with people. It starts with an overall view instead of immediately zeroing in on who witnesses this scene.
All the same, I think the judgment is unfair. That passage was written when writing conventions were different, and not yet shaped by visually presented stories, which have trained us to demand immediacy.
Fair comment Dr. Bob and one I hadn't considered.
DeleteGood morning from a bright, sunny and unseasonably cold Edinburgh. I love weather talk and did know of the Bulwer-Lytton opening sentence. Thanks, Bob, for a bit of perspective about it. I'm hanging my head in shame - or would be if I didn't have such a stiff neck - I, too, have always used it a standard of what to avoid. Love the way you use weather, too, Victoria. anne stenhouse
ReplyDeleteMy kids love Edinburgh. For all the years I lived in England I never made it north of the border. I think I'll have to do something about that when I visit my family next year. Hope the stiff neck has gone away now.
DeleteElmore Leonard advised never to start a story with weather, but that doesn't mean we can't have weather in our writing. Novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux handles weather awfully well. James Joyce wrote, "The snow was general over Ireland." Weather in writing goes back to Homer, and the writing is better for it. Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment Judy.
ReplyDelete