Wow, the week just flew by! I didn't even get a chance to write any other posts since last Wednesday! Not only that but I almost forgot to post today's RTW! I'll have to remedy all that this week! So, this weeks RTW topic is talking about the seasons and how our writing (place, time, inspiration, etc) changes with the seasons?
As I write this I look out the window at the trees down the street which are slowly changing colour into that gorgeous shade of orange and yellow that can really only be associated with fall (or autumn as I call it back home). The sky is a misty deep grey colour and the rain is pouring down. It's what we would probably call 'miserable'. Because lets face it, it is kind of miserable to have to leave the house on a day like this. Lucky for me (or unlucky really), I'm sick today and had to stay home from work, so I sit here cuddled up under the blanket (although it's not really that cold), watching the rain come down outside.
Like so many people, my mood really does change with the seasons. In the summer I feel a kind of freedom. The weight on my shoulders from the winter has lifted and I feel much happier. The neighbourhoods come alive, people seem much friendlier and the atmosphere completely changes - especially in New York! In the winter it's cold and dreary and you have to wear a gazillion layers and that includes hats, scarves and gloves (not something we need to do back in New Zealand). People have shorter tempers, everyone is in a hurry (more so than usual) to get to where they're going because it's too cold to stay outside for long, and if you count the frowns on the faces you pass you'll be well over 200 by the time you get to your destination.
In that respect, my writing changes a lot with the seasons. In the spring and summer the settings I talk about are very magestic, they're inspired by the summer - long grass, tulips, daffodils, blue skies, scorching sun, lakes and beaches, endless and carefree days. I get inspired by the people I see flocking to the parks, by the smell of the barbeques, by the hot and sticky nights. My storyline, scenes and characters may form from the Independence day fireworks, the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island which kicks off the summer, or the mass exodus from the city as everyone heads to the Hamptons. Often when I think of the American summer, I get transported back to the 50's, 60's and 70's. Not that I was alive then, but just because I can imagine these carefree, small town American summers.... OR I will think of the New Zealand summers, the traditional 'Kiwi Bach' or the camping holidays by the beach.
In the fall and winter I'm inspired in a different way. The gloomy dark skies will give me ideas for dark stories and events, for bad characters or for horrible and painful scenes. On a day light today when I can almost see down to the park from my window, the scene is almost magical. So I may get inspiration for something beautiful, something mystical or mysterious. It may build on the material I already have or it may spark and idea that takes me in a totally different direction. The winter seasons also transports me to different times and places, specifically the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, to London, Venice or sometimes back home to New Zealand.
Even if I don't realise it, the weather, the seasons and the atmosphere the seasons bring to the city have an impact on my writing and my thought process. I have never really thought of the impact it has before, so it's interesting to really pick through how it inspires our writing.
To read more answers to this topic, be sure to head over to YA Highway
As I write this I look out the window at the trees down the street which are slowly changing colour into that gorgeous shade of orange and yellow that can really only be associated with fall (or autumn as I call it back home). The sky is a misty deep grey colour and the rain is pouring down. It's what we would probably call 'miserable'. Because lets face it, it is kind of miserable to have to leave the house on a day like this. Lucky for me (or unlucky really), I'm sick today and had to stay home from work, so I sit here cuddled up under the blanket (although it's not really that cold), watching the rain come down outside.
Like so many people, my mood really does change with the seasons. In the summer I feel a kind of freedom. The weight on my shoulders from the winter has lifted and I feel much happier. The neighbourhoods come alive, people seem much friendlier and the atmosphere completely changes - especially in New York! In the winter it's cold and dreary and you have to wear a gazillion layers and that includes hats, scarves and gloves (not something we need to do back in New Zealand). People have shorter tempers, everyone is in a hurry (more so than usual) to get to where they're going because it's too cold to stay outside for long, and if you count the frowns on the faces you pass you'll be well over 200 by the time you get to your destination.
In that respect, my writing changes a lot with the seasons. In the spring and summer the settings I talk about are very magestic, they're inspired by the summer - long grass, tulips, daffodils, blue skies, scorching sun, lakes and beaches, endless and carefree days. I get inspired by the people I see flocking to the parks, by the smell of the barbeques, by the hot and sticky nights. My storyline, scenes and characters may form from the Independence day fireworks, the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island which kicks off the summer, or the mass exodus from the city as everyone heads to the Hamptons. Often when I think of the American summer, I get transported back to the 50's, 60's and 70's. Not that I was alive then, but just because I can imagine these carefree, small town American summers.... OR I will think of the New Zealand summers, the traditional 'Kiwi Bach' or the camping holidays by the beach.
In the fall and winter I'm inspired in a different way. The gloomy dark skies will give me ideas for dark stories and events, for bad characters or for horrible and painful scenes. On a day light today when I can almost see down to the park from my window, the scene is almost magical. So I may get inspiration for something beautiful, something mystical or mysterious. It may build on the material I already have or it may spark and idea that takes me in a totally different direction. The winter seasons also transports me to different times and places, specifically the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, to London, Venice or sometimes back home to New Zealand.
Even if I don't realise it, the weather, the seasons and the atmosphere the seasons bring to the city have an impact on my writing and my thought process. I have never really thought of the impact it has before, so it's interesting to really pick through how it inspires our writing.
To read more answers to this topic, be sure to head over to YA Highway
