Weather

I spent some time in the cold during last week’s break, and I find myself, now, in a cold classroom. Of course, the room’s heater will warm it up soon enough, but it gets me to thinking about how a writer will depict the weather, or the temperatures in the course of his/her story.

In KILLER OF KILLERS, weather was not really a factor in the story. It takes place during the summer, and on both of the American coastlines, the weather is not so extreme. At least, not so much as to influence the storyline. The days are sunny, it’s not raining, and the night stays warm.

But in THE VASE, weather plays a huge role in the storyline. As a matter of fact, it’s because of the weather that the events unfold the way they do. My book begins with extreme heat in the area of Nazareth, Israel, which is not normal, because all my research has indicated that this area has a mild climate in the Spring. But I make it clear from the get go that the temperatures are NOT normal. The sun is acting up, and it’s because of the solar maximum phase that is taking place when my story starts. You see, the sun, (in real life, and in my story,) undergoes an eleven year cycle of what scientists call a solar maximum phase. And guess what, we are currently undergoing a solar maximum phase right now, this very year of 2011. The last one was in 2000 and 1989 before that, and so on.

But what happens during this solar maximum phase, and what does it have to do with my novel?

Well, during solar maximum phase, sun spots are increased. They can range in the dozens to the hundreds during solar maximum. Solar activity is increased along with the sun spots. Solar flares are more numerous and much larger, too. And with these solar flares, a lot of solar material is projected into space. This material includes dangerous radiation that travels across space via solar winds, and they do impact the atmosphere of earth. Fortunately for us, earth has its own magnetic field that deflects most of the dangerous material, but the magnetic field is affected by the radiation, resulting in what scientists call geomagnetic storms.

And during these storms, electromagnetism is affected. And what are among the things controlled by electromagnetism? The sounds and images that are recorded onto vinyl and DVDs, that’s what. (And in my book’s case, hardened clay.) So without this solar maximum effect, and the solar flares, and the resulting geomagnetic storms, the events in my story wouldn’t take place.

That’s why the weather plays a huge role in THE VASE. And I begin my story laying that foundation. It’s a very hot day in Nazareth, and Muhsin Muhabi is well aware of it as he sits on his outside pottery wheel getting ready to throw a vase.

For those of you who are not familiar with the ceramic term, “throwing a vase,” it doesn’t mean he is literally throwing his vases into the air or against a wall. The term “throwing” means when you put a clump of wet clay onto a circular surface, and that surface spins around or rotates, powered manually, or these days powered by a small electric motor.

Since it’s the 21st Century, Muhsin has the electrical kind. Now I have heard some writing advice that says don’t start your story by describing the weather. But weather is the whole premise of my story. So I do start that way. I mean, only the first two or three sentences, I make it clear that the weather is unusually hot, and then I introduce Muhsin, who he is, and what he’s doing. Tomorrow I'll give you an idea how I introduce the weather along with my main character. You’ll see how it turns into an extremely intriguing story.