Writing the Seasons - Spring
No matter the setting, there is always at least one season in a story, often more. Granted in some locales it’s hard to notice a difference. Take Singapore, for instance. The weather is pretty much the same day in and day out. If you set a story in Singapore you don’t have to worry too much about keeping your characters in tune with the changing seasons. However, set a story in New England and there is a plethora seasonal shifts to navigate.
Having lived my entire life in New England, I am quite familiar with how each season presents its distinctive characteristics.
Writers are often told to utilize all the senses in their writing. Bringing a change of season into a story offers a treasure trove of sensory delights.
This and my next three blog posts will focus on the unique qualities of each season. One caveat – I’ll be using New England as my model as it’s the region I know best. When incorporating details about seasons in your writing, be sure you know the characteristics of seasons in your setting. And don’t forget that the months of the seasons are opposites in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Let’s start with spring. Spring in New England tends to be slow in coming. At least that’s how it feels to folks who’ve endured a long, cold, snow-buried winter. The calendar may claim March 21st as the Vernal Equinox, but no one ever bothered to tell that to New England’s weather. We are rarely done with snow storms by mid-March. The best thing about them, though, is that no matter how many inches (or feet) we get, it doesn’t last long. The quick melting that creates rivulets of water streaming down the streets, ankle-deep pockets of slush, and the dripping of ice cycles on unwary heads are all welcome signs of spring.
It’s difficult to say in which month spring will actually arrive in New England. No two years are enough alike for that sort of accuracy. I remember a year when we had several days in a row of ninety degree weather in March followed by freezing or near freezing temperatures. It never really warmed up again until sometime in late May. However, that is a bit extreme even here.
Usually, by sometime in April crocuses, tulips, and hyacinth appear and forsythia begins to bloom. Those are the first sure signs of spring. That and the robins. I’ve been hearing for years that robins don’t fly south for the winter anymore (why that would be, I don’t know), but I sure don’t see them during the winter. My first robin sighting is always a moment of sheer joy.
By May the lilacs are in bloom. While we can still have chilly days and cold nights, usually May ushers in warmer weather. It seems each spring month in New England marks another step in the slow, arduous climb out of winter. The farther north, the longer it takes.
Let’s take a look at some ways the five senses can come into play.
SIGHT:
• Bursts of color – yellow forsythia, pink, yellow and purple tulips, and the purples hues of hyacinth and lilac
• Tufts of grass peeking through melted patches of snow
• The sky takes on a bluer shade as the “snow clouds” depart and the sun shines more brightly.
• While there are many birds that stay throughout the winter, the return of robins and other spring arrivals is a welcome sight. The return of geese is a true harbinger of spring.
• Insects have slept all winter, but now the air is alive with both beautiful and annoying bugs. Lines of ants try to march indoors. Bees get busy pollinating the blooming flowers. Colorful butterflies grace the air by the latter end of the season.
HEARING:
• As mentioned above, birds and insects increase in springtime. This means the trills and tweets emanating from our avian friends and the drone of pollinators fill the air.
• On relatively warm days following a cold snap or snow storm you can literally hear the snow melting. Often it sounds like a light, steady rain. Melting snow running into drains in the streets makes a gushing, gurgling sound.
• As the weather improves, windows open so that houses shut up all winter can air out. Street sounds that had been muffled are loud and clear with the windows open. In areas where homes are close together, neighbors’ voices are audible.
• April showers truly do bring May flowers. Rain is commonplace in the spring. The tattoo of raindrops on the roof and windowpanes can be either exhilarating or mesmerizing.
• The lawnmower’s motor, dormant for months, revs to life once again.
SMELL:
• Again we must return to the blooming flowers. The scent may be gentle or heady depending on the bloom. My personal favorite is the clean, fresh scent of lilacs.
• Clean. Is that a scent? For purposes of this post, it is. A house closed up all winter takes on a musty odor no matter how well kept it is. Once the windows are consistently thrown open and the breezes sweep through, the musty smell dissipates to be replaced by fresh air and floral scents.
• The ground itself emanates a rich, earthy smell as it prepares itself to accept the seeds gardeners will soon sow.
• Rain, too, has a scent. The smell just before the rain begins is actually ozone blown down from the atmosphere. When rain hits the ground a scent known as petrichor is released. It’s a bit oily smelling and comes from the rain hitting wet rocks.
• Fresh cut grass gives off a smell released by compounds in the grass. Many people love this smell. Personally, not my favorite as I’m allergic to it.
TOUCH/FEEL:
• Ever hold melting snow in your hand? Icy at first, it warms with your body heat, forms a small puddle in your palm and oozes drips between your fingers.
• Running your hands over the soft tips of new grass is sure to bring a smile.
• Ouch!! The sting of a wasp or bite of a Mayfly or mosquito are among the unpleasant feelings of spring as are the burning and/or itching left in their wake.
• Another less than pleasurable spring sensation is being splashed by cold water as a car passes by sending a spray of melted, road-dirtied slush your way.
• Allergies can be a problem in the spring. That constant tickling in the nose and throat may not be welcomed, but they are part of the feeling of spring.
TASTE:
• The earliest of the garden vegetables arrive in spring. First up – asparagus, peas, spinach, and some salad greens. Most have a snap and crunch and maybe hint of a splash when bitten.
• Pucker inducing rhubarb can be planted but often grows wild.
• The same can be said for strawberries, though they are sweet – no pucker with these gems.
• With the gentler weather, come lighter drinks be they alcoholic or not. Put away the warmth-inducing cocoa, eggnog, and hot buttered rum and break out the ice tea, grapefruit fizz, and good old clean, clear water – all refreshing!
• Maple syrup is a super sweet treat. Sap tapped from maple trees is boiled down in a process called sugaring off. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of delicious maple syrup. Oh sure, you can get maple syrup in the store any time of year, but I promise you, it’s got nothing on fresh maple syrup straight from the sugar shack! And if you have a serious sweet tooth, there’s nothing sweeter than maple sugar candy. The crystallize maple sugar crunches in your mouth and sets off the salivary glands like Niagara Falls. Sometimes thought of as “sicky-sweet” too much can make you a bit nauseated.
These are just a few ideas you can work with as you creatively weave the sensory particulars of spring into your writing.
Be sure to keep your time period in mind. If your story is set before electrification the lengthening of daylight hours is important and will have an impact on your characters’ actions. Agriculture with its sensory overload is also crucial to a story set in a time or place dependent on farming.
An urban or contemporary setting may see your characters less connected to the rhythms of nature, but they should not be ignored. The change in season (assuming your story is set in a place where the seasons actually change) plays a part in moods, outdoor vs indoor activities, clothing, and eating habits no matter the time period.
Don’t forget the holidays. For historical fiction you will want to be sure that a particular holiday was actually celebrated in the time and place your story is set. If it is, you’ll need to know how it was celebrated as it may be quite different from the contemporary celebration.
Including all the senses makes your writing sparkle. When readers can share the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations with your characters they will be totally drawn into the story. They’ll feel as though they are right there with the characters. Our senses are extremely important in processing all sorts of information in the world around us so for heaven’s sake don’t leave them out of your stories!
Just remember a little goes a long way. Just as you don’t want your readers to experience sensory deprivation you don’t want them on a sensory overload, either. Moderation is always the best strategy.
https://eileenofinlan.com
Having lived my entire life in New England, I am quite familiar with how each season presents its distinctive characteristics.
Writers are often told to utilize all the senses in their writing. Bringing a change of season into a story offers a treasure trove of sensory delights.
This and my next three blog posts will focus on the unique qualities of each season. One caveat – I’ll be using New England as my model as it’s the region I know best. When incorporating details about seasons in your writing, be sure you know the characteristics of seasons in your setting. And don’t forget that the months of the seasons are opposites in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Let’s start with spring. Spring in New England tends to be slow in coming. At least that’s how it feels to folks who’ve endured a long, cold, snow-buried winter. The calendar may claim March 21st as the Vernal Equinox, but no one ever bothered to tell that to New England’s weather. We are rarely done with snow storms by mid-March. The best thing about them, though, is that no matter how many inches (or feet) we get, it doesn’t last long. The quick melting that creates rivulets of water streaming down the streets, ankle-deep pockets of slush, and the dripping of ice cycles on unwary heads are all welcome signs of spring.
It’s difficult to say in which month spring will actually arrive in New England. No two years are enough alike for that sort of accuracy. I remember a year when we had several days in a row of ninety degree weather in March followed by freezing or near freezing temperatures. It never really warmed up again until sometime in late May. However, that is a bit extreme even here.
Usually, by sometime in April crocuses, tulips, and hyacinth appear and forsythia begins to bloom. Those are the first sure signs of spring. That and the robins. I’ve been hearing for years that robins don’t fly south for the winter anymore (why that would be, I don’t know), but I sure don’t see them during the winter. My first robin sighting is always a moment of sheer joy.
By May the lilacs are in bloom. While we can still have chilly days and cold nights, usually May ushers in warmer weather. It seems each spring month in New England marks another step in the slow, arduous climb out of winter. The farther north, the longer it takes.
Let’s take a look at some ways the five senses can come into play.
SIGHT:
• Bursts of color – yellow forsythia, pink, yellow and purple tulips, and the purples hues of hyacinth and lilac
• Tufts of grass peeking through melted patches of snow
• The sky takes on a bluer shade as the “snow clouds” depart and the sun shines more brightly.
• While there are many birds that stay throughout the winter, the return of robins and other spring arrivals is a welcome sight. The return of geese is a true harbinger of spring.
• Insects have slept all winter, but now the air is alive with both beautiful and annoying bugs. Lines of ants try to march indoors. Bees get busy pollinating the blooming flowers. Colorful butterflies grace the air by the latter end of the season.
HEARING:
• As mentioned above, birds and insects increase in springtime. This means the trills and tweets emanating from our avian friends and the drone of pollinators fill the air.
• On relatively warm days following a cold snap or snow storm you can literally hear the snow melting. Often it sounds like a light, steady rain. Melting snow running into drains in the streets makes a gushing, gurgling sound.
• As the weather improves, windows open so that houses shut up all winter can air out. Street sounds that had been muffled are loud and clear with the windows open. In areas where homes are close together, neighbors’ voices are audible.
• April showers truly do bring May flowers. Rain is commonplace in the spring. The tattoo of raindrops on the roof and windowpanes can be either exhilarating or mesmerizing.
• The lawnmower’s motor, dormant for months, revs to life once again.
SMELL:
• Again we must return to the blooming flowers. The scent may be gentle or heady depending on the bloom. My personal favorite is the clean, fresh scent of lilacs.
• Clean. Is that a scent? For purposes of this post, it is. A house closed up all winter takes on a musty odor no matter how well kept it is. Once the windows are consistently thrown open and the breezes sweep through, the musty smell dissipates to be replaced by fresh air and floral scents.
• The ground itself emanates a rich, earthy smell as it prepares itself to accept the seeds gardeners will soon sow.
• Rain, too, has a scent. The smell just before the rain begins is actually ozone blown down from the atmosphere. When rain hits the ground a scent known as petrichor is released. It’s a bit oily smelling and comes from the rain hitting wet rocks.
• Fresh cut grass gives off a smell released by compounds in the grass. Many people love this smell. Personally, not my favorite as I’m allergic to it.
TOUCH/FEEL:
• Ever hold melting snow in your hand? Icy at first, it warms with your body heat, forms a small puddle in your palm and oozes drips between your fingers.
• Running your hands over the soft tips of new grass is sure to bring a smile.
• Ouch!! The sting of a wasp or bite of a Mayfly or mosquito are among the unpleasant feelings of spring as are the burning and/or itching left in their wake.
• Another less than pleasurable spring sensation is being splashed by cold water as a car passes by sending a spray of melted, road-dirtied slush your way.
• Allergies can be a problem in the spring. That constant tickling in the nose and throat may not be welcomed, but they are part of the feeling of spring.
TASTE:
• The earliest of the garden vegetables arrive in spring. First up – asparagus, peas, spinach, and some salad greens. Most have a snap and crunch and maybe hint of a splash when bitten.
• Pucker inducing rhubarb can be planted but often grows wild.
• The same can be said for strawberries, though they are sweet – no pucker with these gems.
• With the gentler weather, come lighter drinks be they alcoholic or not. Put away the warmth-inducing cocoa, eggnog, and hot buttered rum and break out the ice tea, grapefruit fizz, and good old clean, clear water – all refreshing!
• Maple syrup is a super sweet treat. Sap tapped from maple trees is boiled down in a process called sugaring off. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of delicious maple syrup. Oh sure, you can get maple syrup in the store any time of year, but I promise you, it’s got nothing on fresh maple syrup straight from the sugar shack! And if you have a serious sweet tooth, there’s nothing sweeter than maple sugar candy. The crystallize maple sugar crunches in your mouth and sets off the salivary glands like Niagara Falls. Sometimes thought of as “sicky-sweet” too much can make you a bit nauseated.
These are just a few ideas you can work with as you creatively weave the sensory particulars of spring into your writing.
Be sure to keep your time period in mind. If your story is set before electrification the lengthening of daylight hours is important and will have an impact on your characters’ actions. Agriculture with its sensory overload is also crucial to a story set in a time or place dependent on farming.
An urban or contemporary setting may see your characters less connected to the rhythms of nature, but they should not be ignored. The change in season (assuming your story is set in a place where the seasons actually change) plays a part in moods, outdoor vs indoor activities, clothing, and eating habits no matter the time period.
Don’t forget the holidays. For historical fiction you will want to be sure that a particular holiday was actually celebrated in the time and place your story is set. If it is, you’ll need to know how it was celebrated as it may be quite different from the contemporary celebration.
Including all the senses makes your writing sparkle. When readers can share the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations with your characters they will be totally drawn into the story. They’ll feel as though they are right there with the characters. Our senses are extremely important in processing all sorts of information in the world around us so for heaven’s sake don’t leave them out of your stories!
Just remember a little goes a long way. Just as you don’t want your readers to experience sensory deprivation you don’t want them on a sensory overload, either. Moderation is always the best strategy.
https://eileenofinlan.com
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