To every thing… (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season… (etc.)

It is the 28th of October and the leaves are turning all shades of yellow, red and brown. The park in front of our house always turns colours starting from the front row and working steadily backwards, so the trees closest to us turn yellow before the rest. When the sun hits the leaves in the morning, it is quite a sight. Then the rest of the park takes its cue and the colours roll back. In a few weeks, it will all be gone and we will be able to see through the bare branches all the way to the other side of the park. In Spring, it will be the front row once again that will begin turning light green, and by the time it has filled out its branches, the rest of the trees will have caught on.

With only a few more days before NaNoWriMo, I have only a few more questions to ask you to set up the story. And today… you guessed it: the season.

I know now that our main character will be a woman, somewhere in her (late?) forties, and that we will use 3rd person to describe her actions. (Thanks for voting in the polls!) But as I was cycling through the Vondelpark today I realised how much of an influence the weather has on a character’s choices and actions – something that I don’t often encounter in the books I read to be honest! – and I think it would be good to determine in what season our adventure will take place.

Are we talking coming home soaking wet and shivering after biking through the rain, putting your shoes to dry under the heating and making cinnamon tea?

Are we talking watching (long awaited because increasingly rare) snow fall gently from the sky and curling up under a soft blanket with a mug of steaming hot chocolate?

Are we talking stepping outside and finding the weather unexpectedly warm and walking around with your jacket tucked under an arm, contemplating drinking your coffee outside for the first time this year?

Or are we talking balmy nights that keep you awake and sweating through your clothes but finding sweet relief by dangling your feet in the water, sipping lemonade and watching boats go by?

You tell me.

Hey there! We’re doing a choose-your-own-adventure style NaNoWriMo and would like you to join. Subscribe by using the buttons on the right and help me make plot choices along the way. Thanks!

PS Here’s your earworm: Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds