The weather this month has been memorable, to say the least!
I have been wondering whether weather details are important in my novel writing. Does it matter to the reader if the day is sunny, windy or if there is rain pouring down upon the characters in the story?
A certain amount of ‘settings’ information is surely necessary, but we all know very long epics where each and every item in the surrounding fifty miles is listed ad nauseam (yes, I am talking about you, my required reading authors from high school!).
I find weather sets the mood or the atmosphere. In Sea Changes there is a section in which the cruiseship is experiencing a storm in the Mediterranean. The rolling of the ship sends the susceptible passengers to their cabins for the day and allows others to roam around on their nefarious, or other, business, unobserved. That weather condition sets the scene.
Whereas happy, sunny days are pleasant, it’s the dark, dreary ones that mirror a character’s feelings.
In the same book, Andreas, a mysterious stowaway, is compelled to throw himself over the side into the ocean when the night of wind and rain fight against him long enough for young Samuel to pull him back from the brink and save his life.
Would that dramatic scene be half as powerful on a calm bright day?
So, perhaps weather really matters. How much it matters, and how much of it the reader needs to know is the question.