Here Comes the Snow...in Summer

I’m getting to the end of another round of edits to my current manuscript. Part of this book takes place during a blizzard that lands on top of my two heroes as they travel across the US to celebrate Christmas with their families. Well, here in Ohio it’s the middle of July and 80° F outside. Not much going on in the way of snow or Christmas.

It can be a challenge to add in the layers of sensory descriptions that give the story a sense of time and place when you’re ready to hit the pool while your characters are slogging through the snowdrifts.

But that dichotomy can make writing about a particular setting an engaging challenge. By writing about a time and/or place I’m not currently (or have never been) familiar with, I get a chance to do a little research, get inspired, and think outside the box in order to find a unique, vivid detail that will help ground the reader in the scene.

I’ve talked before (and maybe even on this blog) about how I like to use photos for inspiration, especially for settings. Here’s what helped me get in the spirit of winter and all things Christmas:

- I searched for winter and Christmas images at stock photography sites, Google Images, and other photo sites like flickr.com to help spark my creativity.

- While browsing the pics I kept a list of details that came to mind (including scents and sounds) and then related the most relevant ones to my character (his past, present, and future) and how he might emotionally react to each detail.

- I had the fan blowing on my face while I viewed the photos. Gave me that nice cool feeling that helped me forget it was hot outside. It was almost like being in the middle of a blizzard. Almost.

- Oh and I sang along with Christmas carols on my iPod. Because that’s just fun.

Had it been winter here in Ohio, I might not have gone to such lengths to get inspired, and I may have missed opportunities to push my descriptions past what I usually think of in terms of Christmas and the winter weather.

Of course, I hope I always push to write interesting setting descriptions, but this time around I’m glad I had a chance to write about winter in summer.

I'd love to hear other ideas...how would you get into the holiday spirit mid-summer?

Happy Holidays (a little early)!

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com