I had an oil delivery today and with it came the Farmer’s Almanac Country Calendar. With majestic and inspiring seasonal photos and snippets of stories from farmer’s almanacs that spanned several centuries, the perusal through the pages representing each month gave me thought to the visuals of storytelling.
Seasons tell a story. They are also a part of every story you read, whether used as a descriptive show of the character’s environment or as a way to set mood.
To me, seasons are all about moving forward, hope for the future, new adventures, celebrating past accomplishments and accessing the goals that didn’t quite get completed.
There are things I love about each season. And things that I would just as soon not have to experience. Each season has its own feel, scent, look, taste, sound. Each of these are things we might not notice every time we step out the door or back into our living space, because they are part of our environment. Things we take for granted. Things that are familiar to us—or not familiar at all. And that familiarity or lack of familiarity also has an impact on us.
Seasons can affect our moods. And variants of seasons can bring a continuum from joy to despondency.
Think about a damp and stormy fall day, where the air is heavy. It can be hard to breath, weigh a person down in body and spirit. Or a fall day when the sun is shining, the sky is that deep, bold blue, and there is a hefty breeze. Leaves of yellow, red, and orange swirl around your head, to land at your feet. You breathe in the scent of a wood fire drifting from a chimney, or that of a pile of your neighbor’s burning leaves.
Trees and bushes turn to fall colors. The summer flowers are now barren brown or gray stalks tipped with pods hiding seeds to replant the earth come spring. Or the day is a balmy and sunny 60, after the remnants of the first frost have evaporated before your eyes and the last few nights have been cold—a harbinger of winter to come, but a quick reminder of the summer just ended. After pulling a sweater tight as you hugged a warm mug of coffee or tea that morning to stave off the chill, now your step is filled with vigor. The sun warms your face, as you roll up the sleeves of your light jacket and stare skyward to watch one lone, puffy white cloud get carried eastward by the breeze.
How is winter different from fall, and spring different from winter, and summer different from spring? Is your mood changed by the seasons? Do you look forward to and celebrate each season in a different way?
As a writer, season can be used as a character. Seasons are part of the setting that affect your characters. Two characters in the same story can react to the season in entirely different ways that can cause conflict between the two. Or the diversity of their reactions can act as a conduit to help them form a relationship. The use of seasonal variants can add texture to the writing, whether the seasonal element causes fear, joy, longing, energy, depression. All these elements add depth to the character, the setting, and the atmosphere or mood of the story.
I hate thunderstorms. I grew up overseas and also in Washington, D.C. where we had horrendous storms. To this day, if there is a storm, I can’t sleep and I have to occupy my mind reading or watching a good romance.
I have friends who love to fall asleep to the sound of rain or wind. Not me!
Storms bring back memories of living on a mountain in Taiwan during typhoons, with our windows boarded up, sometimes for half a week or more. We knew when we opened the doors, there would be devastation all around us. But in a recent movie I watched, the storm had the heroine inviting her neighboring couple over for board games. She lit a fire, set out candles, and opened her cupboard of “storm snacks.” The hero showed up at her back door to check on her, expecting to find a worried or scared woman. Instead, he found a romantic setting and the laughter of her friends coming from the living room.
In both scenarios the weather was similar. The reaction was different.
All these elements of seasons provide setting for our real lives and the imaginary lives we write about every day.
The Prince’s Son
On Zara West’s List of My Favorite Romances of 2020
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PZD3FNC/
Books2Read
books2read.com/u/b6xzr6
The Rancher Needs a Wife
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Rancher-Needs-Cowboys-Mineral-Springs-ebook/dp/B07YXB5C4W/
Books2Read
books2read.com/u/bxv56d
~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~
Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.
Author of the
Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the
Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for
Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is
The Love Left Behind.
Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/
Photo/Clip art Attributions:
Moving Forward: Free clipart arrow pointing right 4 » Clipart Station
Five Senses: Premium Vector | Icon set of five human senses (freepik.com)
Five Senses – Circle: Five Senses transparent background PNG cliparts free download | HiClipart
Faces – happy and sad: Free Happy Sad Face, Download Free Clip Art, Free Clip Art on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)
