Rain, rain,go away

I'm writing this with torrential rail hammering at the windows.  It's still dark, and all I can hear is the clatter of rain outside.

In the UK we talk about the weather a lot.  One of the reasons is that we have the most complex weather in the world and it changes a great deal.  And rain is often a part of it.  Over this winter we've had unprecedented amounts of it and a lot of England and Wales have seen flooding.

Rain is powerful weather, and using it as a motif in our writing can give our stories extra depth. The girl trapped by the monsoon who knows a man she hates is being considered as her husband might be extra desperate to run away from home.  Will she risk being drowned In a flood to claim her freedom?  What about the man who left his steady job a year ago and bought a shop by the river?  How will he cope with his premises being flooded and his stock ruined?

Rain can be so many things.  The life-destroying flood or life-giving rain, an external manifestation for our tears.  In England we're programmed to see rain as cold, but in the rainforests it's a welcome relief from the heat and humidity.  I had to get my temperate climate mind around that when I was writing Panthera : Death Song. 

Rain can reflect our characters' tears and sadness, or it could be a welcome relief from drought for a gardener struggling to keep her nursery business alive. It can reinforce a character's mood, or it can totally contrast with it.  So next time you're caught out in a rain shower think about how your characters would react to it.