It's raining today. Not a torrential downpour--we don't get those in Raleigh, really. But the drizzle is continuous and the clouds are covering the sky. It's wonderful!How can a grey haze be fantastic? you ask. Well, think of what it means. We stay in our warm house, protected from the cold, biting raindrops. We watch the world going through a wash and know that everything will come out brighter and richer for it. We fold up on the couch or in our rooms and read and watch films and pretend Bionicles are taking over the Barbie house and Princess Tiana needs to change clothes ten times and Lego Atlantis meets Lego Pharaoh Quest. It's wonderful!
Rainy days usually mean something else in mystery novels. They are portents of doom and danger. They are cloaks for antagonists and slippery slopes for the MC.
I like the use of weather conditions as a sort of 'support character' in a novel. And inclement weather can provide extra drama to a plot. I used a severe thunderstorm to increase the drama and tension in my last novel's conclusion (Beware the Devil's Hug), and it worked well to spice things up, and providing as you (very aptly, I must say) put it: "cloaks for antagonists and slippery slopes for the MC."
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to use rain without being cliche, but weather is such a part of our lives that it's pretty nessessary to give a book color and dimension. It can work well as an antagonist, as in storms or drought.
ReplyDeleteA dark, rainy night in mystery writing sounds like heaven to me! :)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly adds mood.
ReplyDeleteSo true "It was a dark stormy night" We're having snow today here in Texas after four days of ice and we're all going stir crazy. Ice storms here don't usually last more than a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteAnn
For me I think it depends on the rain. There are so many different moods of rain - and each has different expectations :)
ReplyDelete