When you are writing a story, using the elements is a brilliant way of setting the scene. There is a type of weather to suit just about every mood, storyline or character that you can imagine.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I am telling you about some brand new idea that I have just come up with; authors have been using this technique for years. Some of them may be better at it than others but just about every writer on Earth has at least had a go at using it in his/her work.

Envision your story in a cinemagraphic way; if you were making a film, rather than writing a story, then how would you want it to look? Film directors have used the weather in all kinds of wonderful ways to exaggerate the emotions of their characters. Think about films like ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Don’t Look Now’ which made such great use of rain in many scenes. Or ‘The Thing’ with its use of an icy cold wind that made the cast appear so isolated and helpless. When you are writing a story you are able to do exactly the same.

Thunderstorms are wonderfully dramatic and can be a brilliant accompaniment for fear, anger or suspense. Snow can be used to conjure up the magical, and rain is a brilliant way of expressing a character’s sorrow.

There are all sorts of symbolism which can be brought into your stories with the careful use of the right weather conditions. If there are a lot of factors in your plot that are ‘coming to a head’ then the lead-up to a storm is a fantastic way of putting this across with the heavy air and sense of something ‘on the way’. When things do kick off, you can make the storm begin in more ways than one!

One last thing, I have just became aware of the fact that I have been gapeing at my computer screen for the last hour and am really tired of my Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper, I think it is time for a change, these and more updates coming soon!