By: Kariss Lynch
Anne Shirley’s words are a good reminder for all of us this time of year: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
A change of season is powerful, and the way we write and incorporate seasons in our books can be powerful, too.
Lorelei Gilmore can smell snow, stirring our nostalgia.
Anne Shirley walks down a fall path or drives through a pasture full of flowering trees, and we sense newness and wonder.
Hedwig, Harry Potter’s snowy owl, flies across the screen, a new season in his wake, and we feel the magic and the impending climax of conflict and victory.
The way we write and portray seasons is powerful. Seasons evoke powerful emotions. They can signify death or new life, coziness or isolation. You can write them multiple ways:
- As a transition
- As an unnamed character
- As a grounding element
Regardless of our method, how we write them matters. Fall may mean football season in Texas, but it also entails with running the AC as we fight of 90 degree temps.
Jack Frost may visit the north, but his effects on the south are but a whisper. And heated floors may be a thing for some, they are foreign to those who barely don a sweater during the winter months.
Write your season well-grounded and well versed in your location. Draw the reader in. Get creative in how you craft the details. Maybe winter is magical instead of merely cold and barren. Maybe summer is stifling and overbearing instead of a time of play and rest. Seasons set the tone for wonderful stories and plots. Choose well!
Oh the possibilities of Octobers, according to Anne with an ‘E’. Oh the possibilities of writing your stories. Oh the possibilities of changing seasons. Happy writing, friend!
A change of season is powerful, and the way we write and incorporate seasons in our books can be powerful, too. @Kariss_Lynch #ACFWBlogs #writetip #ACFWCommunity #fiction Share on XKariss Lynch 
is the author of Heart’s Cry and the Heart of a Warrior series and loves writing romance about characters with big dreams, adventurous hearts, and enduring hope. In her free time, Kariss goes on adventures with her own personal handsome hero, explores the great outdoors, and tries not to plot five stories at once. Connect with her at karisslynch.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.