Weather/Earthly Phenomena Thesaurus Entry: Sky

WEATHER is an important element in any setting, providing sensory texture and contributing to the mood the writer wishes to create in a scene. With a deft touch, weather can enhance the character’s emotional response to a specific location, it can add conflict, and it can also (lightly) foreshadow coming events.

However, caution must accompany this entry: the weather should not be used as a window into a character’s soul. The weather can add invisible pressure for the character, it can layer the SCENE with symbolism, it can carefully hint at the internal landscape, but it must never OVERTLY TELL emotion. Such a heavy-handed approach results in weather cliches and melodrama (a storm raging above a bloody battle, a broken-hearted girl crying in the rain).

SENSORY DESCRIPTORS:

Sight: Sunrise and Sunset: When the sun rises, the horizon gets brighter, gradually turning pinkish, red, or orange until the sun is fully up and the sky’s color becomes more uniform…

Daytime: The sky can be cloudless, looking uniform from every direction as far as can be seen. It is generally a pale blue, though it also can appear gray due to heavy cloud cover, or even white when the sun is at its hottest. Clouds may occupy the sky in many forms: wispy layers, poofy formations, in feathery strokes that look painted on. Clouds themselves are usually white; storm clouds are gray. If clouds are in the sky…

The Stormy Sky: Storm clouds can pile up slowly throughout the day or in a very short period of time. They may seemingly appear all at once or move toward you in a visible line, with clouds piled up behind. Storm clouds are generally gray, though they vary in shade depending on the severity of the storm. Serious storm clouds…

EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS:

Mood: Because the sky is always above us wherever we are, it has a strong impact on our mood. An overcast sky can bring on gloominess or a feeling of oppression. A sunny sky might make a person more light-hearted…

Symbolism: A stormy sky often symbolizes approaching doom or danger. A clear, starry sky is often used to represent the universe and the endless potential it holds. The dismal, overcast sky…

Possible Cliches: red-sky-in-morning-sailor-take-warning-etc., the sky’s the limit…

Don’t be afraid to use the weather to add contrast. Unusual pairings, especially when drawing attention to the Character’s emotions, is a powerful trigger for tension. Consider how the bleak mood of a character is even more noticeable as morning sunlight dances across the crystals of fresh snow on the walk to work. Or how the feeling of betrayal is so much more poignant on a hot summer day. Likewise, success or joy can be hampered by a cutting wind or drizzling sleet, foreshadowing conflict to come. 

Weather is a powerful tool, helping to foreshadow events and steer the emotional mood of any scene.

Need more detail regarding this weather element? Good news! This thesaurus has been integrated into our new online library at One Stop For Writers. There, not only has the information in each entry been enhanced and expanded, we’ve also added scenarios for adding conflict and tension. The entire thesaurus is also cross-referenced with our many other descriptive collections for easy searchability. Registration is free, so if you’re interested in seeing a sampling of the fully updated Weather and Earthly Phenomenon Thesaurus, head on over to One Stop.