Creating a Sunny Day

I've written about flawed characters and love at first sight, but I want to say something about the weather.  I know; if you can't think of anything to say, say something about the weather.  "Nice day."  "Looks like it might rain."  "Kind of cool today."

But what's the weather like in your books?  Is it always sunny?  Are there stars in the night sky?  A stormy night with lightening flashing.... We use our 5 senses to tell us everything.  But in a book we don't want to read, "it was a sunny day".  We want to feel it, "the sweat beaded on her brow".  We want to see it, "she squinted against the glare".  We want to hear it, "the birds that had been chirping in the tree flew away when the car pulled into the drive".  We want to taste it, "his tongue grazed her neck; mmm, he liked the salty taste of her".  We want to smell it, "the normally soft scent of the lilacs became overpowering in the afternoon sun".

Look out your window. The next time there is a green sky does the hair on the back of your neck stand up?  Take another look at the books on your bookshelf or in you e-reader. Read through the first page or two and you'll get a sense of what the weather is like.  Your favorite authors will weave it into their books so smoothly you rarely notice.  But your mind sees it in the language and technique, changing it into a scene in your mind's eye.