Writing About: Summer

Summer is the season of fun, vacations, and weddings, which makes it the perfect season for romance books or stories about family. Here are 10 things that make Summer unique that you can use in your story:
1. Hot Temps
Summer is the season of sun and heat. The temps rise to especially in the Southern states in the United States, and the islands below Florida. Show the effect the hot temperatures have on your characters. Let your character sweat, stand in front of a fan, use ice cubes on their hot skin, down iced tea/water/lemonade, and wear shorts and tank tops.
2. Thunderstorms
In the summer, thunderstorms are popular and frequent. They rumble in in the afternoon and stick around for the rest of the day while dropping heavy downpours of rain and slashing the sky with angry lightning. A well placed thunderstorm could add suspense to a thriller or romance to a romance.
Image from Flickr3. Summer Fun
Let your characters have a little fun! When you complicate their lives with whatever action, suspense, and hardships you throw at them, I believe you should also let them have a few moments of normalcy and fun. You can add a light moment into any story.

Summer Fun: camping, bon fires, BBQs, beach trips, and water sports like jet skiing, fishing, boat trips.

4. Holidays
To give your character a reprieve, take advantage of the holidays. Places that experience their summers at different times will have different holidays happening. 

Below are two major American summer holidays:

4th of July – fireworks, picnics, patriotism, family time, sun and sand.

Labor Day – veterans, BBQs.

5. Food and Drinks
Add something special to your story by letting your characters enjoy the food that are in season and drinks that quench thirst.

Food – watermelon, corn on the cob, burgers, lobster, crabs, shell fish, BBQ ribs, cold salad, fruit salad, frozen yogurt, and ice cream.

Drinks - cold coke, lemonade, iced-tea, Kool-aid, and water.

Image from Wikipedia6. Wedding Season
June is the time for weddings, so writing a romance set during the summer is a smart idea because you’ll be able to write your characters’ wedding.

See: Writing About: A Wedding for more wedding tips.

In the summer, outdoor and beach weddings are big. If your character get married outdoors, give details to the wind, the sun and the heat, the smell of the ocean or flowers, the feel of grass or sand beneath their feet as they walk across the lawn or beach to the altar.
7. Summer Break
If your main character has children, they will be out of school in America. Stay-at-home moms will have to keep their kids entertained. My mom would bring us to the library and do arts-and-crafts with us. Just as with the winter break, this could put a hitch in a budding romance for single parents. And this could be fun for a story with a bit of humor. Working parents would probably utilize babysitters, though.
8. Clothing
Summer is the time for cotton, light-weight clothing, and bright colors such a yellow, orange, and hot pink. Have your characters dress accordingly with sundresses, bikinis, swim trunks/board shorts, shorts, tank tops, and flip flops.
Image from Wikimedia9. Family Vacation
A vacation is perfect for a family-orientated story. They can go anywhere. Make sure yo describe their vacation as you would any other event in your story. What do your characters do and see? Are these glitches such as lost luggage, a flat tire, track, or illnesses? Aside from the bad, detail the good (their fun and laughter) and the moments they’ll likely remember long after summer is over.

See: Writing About: Florida if your fictional family takes a trip to Florida and it’s many amusement parks.

10. Daylight-Saving Time (US)
In the summer, the days are longer and the nights are shorter. Now the sun will be setting around 7:30 Eastern Standard Time. Make sure to use this fact while writing your story. In the summer, it’s usually still bright out at 8:00pm in Florida.

QUESTIONS: What do you love about summer time? What do you hate?I love the 4th of July and hate how hot it can get here in Florida.