Tag: weather appropriate attire for characters

collage of 6 photos. A spooky looking forest, forest with dirt road leading into it, ocean waves on a sunny beach, green mountains with field in foreground, big city streets and bulidings, Thal street at night
Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Appropriate Sensory Details for Your Setting

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

I was reading another writer’s work-in-progress and got to thinking about sensory details. The characters were in a forest. Low hanging branches, pine needles and twigs, rocks, and mud puddles were mentioned. But I asked this writer, “What other sensory details can you include?” These details were mostly sight details, though some could be turned into hearing or tactile (touch) details. For example, steps are often silent on a pine needle mat, but a twig might crack or pop. I’ve stepped on mud so slick it made me slip and fall. A puddle can splash. If I caught my balance on the trunk of a cedar tree, I might scrape my hand.

This writer showed me it was cold—but not cold enough for the characters’ breath to show. Great use of temperature. But I didn’t know if it was sunny, partly cloudy, or overcast. With the former, I might squint or put sun glasses on. The latter can affect mood—when is the sun going to come out? Or maybe the sun is going down and I’m rushing to get out of the forest before it gets dark.

I wondered if birds in this forest were making noise and silencing as the characters got close. Are squirrels chattering? Or is there water running or dripping? Sometimes I’ve heard the buzzing of insects in a forest. Or a plane fly overhead. Or traffic from a nearby road.

I wondered about the time of day. Were the characters getting hungry? Maybe someone was munching on a snack. What does the main character smell? Scent of evergreens? Rotting wood? Ripe blackberries?

Now let’s switch to an ocean scene. On the Pacific coast (versus the Atlantic shore), there are lots of huge rocks that make for interesting tides. I’ve walked on coarse and fine sand and on pebble beaches. I’ve tasted the moisture on my lips. Smelled seaweed, fish, and salt air. I’ve heard the seagulls calling, the sound of a kite flapping in the wind, an engine of a boat. I’ve been wind-burned and sunburned. I’ve spotted shells and rocks and driftwood. Sometimes there are cliffs behind me. Other times hotels and restaurants or homes. I like the patterns in the sand made by the outgoing tide, or bird feet, dog paws and people feet.

I’d prefer walking either of those places than on the hard concrete of city streets. There I might smell food from restaurants, exhaust from busses and cars, garbage. I’ll hear car horns, squeal of brakes, people talking or yelling, trains or street cars, etc. I might step on a grate, trip on the edge of a curb, or get a heel caught in a crack. If it’s summer, heat could be radiating up from the asphalt. Winter, the streets might be icy, slushy, or I might have to step over big puddles. Wind could be blowing bits of paper trash. I could step in gum. I might have to stop in the bakery shop and buy a fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon roll.

When we was in Bangkok, Thailand in 1990, the traffic was mind-numbing crazy. Especially the first night when riding in a taxi that was driving on the wrong side of the road compared to the US. Later my husband and took a ride in a tuktuk (tooktook)—think three-wheeled motorcycle with a covered back seat. We took a night train to Chiangmai. If you turned into the restroom on one side, it was a traditional western style toilet. If you turned the opposite way, it was an Asian style hole in the floor. Both emptied onto the tracks. In the town of Chiangkam, we were transported by bicycle cart. In a remote village I saw teens riding a water buffalo. Sights and smells and sounds were different. If my story is set there, I want to share those with my reader.

Even buildings often have different sensory details. Think about the smells and sounds at a vets—fortunately my vet does very good at odor control, but often you’ll hear a dog barking or a cat meowing. Contrast that with the smells and sounds at a dentist’s office. I do not like the sound of the drill. Ever been in a building with a tin roof in a rainstorm? Or heard the snow sliding off the roof as it melts? I remember one apartment we lived in where the moment we heard the bathroom fan of our neighbor come on, we ran and turned our fan on. They shared the same exhaust pipe so smoke from her cigarette drifted down into our bathroom if our fan wasn’t on.

You won’t use every detail of your environment, but mention the ones that make it unique and  use a variety of the types of senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and temperature.

images of rain boots and umbrella
Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

What’s the Weather?

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Recently in my WIP I realized I hadn’t paid much attention to the weather. The novel is set in the Seattle metro area in March and weather can be very variable. We joke about it raining all the time there—and it does rain a lot—but there are often lots of gray days and wonderful bursts of sunshine with fabulous blue skies.

Why does weather matter?

It will affect my character. And not just what she is wearing. Recently, the area had unexpected snow. Schools may either be delayed or be closed—both are usually causes for celebration for kids.

Dripping rainy days can feel depressing. Maybe if your character is depressed, the weather isn’t helping. Conversely, bright sunshine can be cheering.

Thunder and lightning doesn’t happen often in western Washington, but if your story is set somewhere else, it might. And even rain can be different from place to place. In Kansas it often comes down in torrents. And the wind is definitely stronger there.

Back to attire.

Many Seattle area residents wear waterproof jackets with hoods instead of worrying about umbrellas. People may wear rubber boots—in fact, I remember seeing some pretty cute little kid ones. (And at the nudist park in Issaquah that might be all some are wearing!) I never did wear rubber boots, so the hems of my jeans often were damp. And sometimes muddy. Each of these weather-related clothing experiences offers a chance for sensory details to use for your character.

When the sun comes out Seattleites often break out shorts, sandals, and sunglasses.

How else can weather affect my story?

In midMarch we had plum and cherry trees that bloomed with white and pink blossoms. Yellow forsythia, dark pink quince, and many different colored camellias come to mind for bushes. Flowering bulbs might be crocus, daffodils, tulips, and/or hyacinths. Your character may or may not notice these but for many of us those splashes of color are a welcome sign of spring.

And don’t forget sunrise and sunset times. Right now where I live (another degree north of Seattle) we’re getting about 11 hours of daylight, but late December and early January it’s barely over 8 hours. Ughh!

What else happens in spring?

Birds return or are more active as they build nests and lay eggs. Chirp, cheep, caw are very common sounds my character might hear. And the honking of migrating Canadian geese flying north.

If your character lives in a rural area, they might hear the baaing of new lambs, the bawling of calves, or the bleating of kids. One of my favorite sounds of spring in the Seattle metro area was  the Pacific tree frogs croaking.

The slug eggs hatch and the older slugs that have been buried in leaves and detritus come out and leave sparkling slime trails. Slugs live in and near forest vegetation, so an apartment dweller in Seattle is not going to step out their door and see one, but someone who lives amongst cedars and firs will. And there’s more than one type of slug. Banana slug, anyone?

What are you smelling?

This can be weather related too.

Spring brings all kinds of scents to our noses. Scotch broom is pretty in spring but I hate the smell and it is an allergy trigger. And many trees are releasing pollen, too. Does your character have allergies?

When the ground is very dry and it rains, there’s a special earthy scent called petrichor. Sometimes people say, “it smells like rain.” Scientists say we recognize the ozone in the air and expect rain to follow. Some may recognize that snow is likely due to olfactory experiences as well.

How much of this information do I use?

Probably not all of it. It also depends on your character and their situations. But if your character goes outside, it’s important to use some details to ground your reader. And how do you know what will benefit your story if you don’t have any sense of these specifics yourself?

One word of caution–work the facts in in bits and pieces instead of writing big chunks of description.