Labotomy of a Writer

By now, you have a lot about your world figured out! But now comes a part that I think many people overlook or don't pay much attention to - what is the weather like in your world?

On our planet, the further north or south you go, the colder it gets because those places don't get direct warm sunlight. But what about on another planet or in another world? Would that same rule apply? What about the seasons? How do they change if at all?

Before you freak out - I'm not going to give you a lesson about revolving planets and cycles of the seasons and all that. Just keep those lessons in mind as we continue!

So, yes, we have different types of weather and climate depending on where you are in the world. You need to figure out how your world works too. Is it a cold planet because their sun is far away? Or a hot planet because it's so close? Does magic or supernatural events play a role in the weather? In "The Faery's Tale" I have one country that is winter all the time because the faeries that live there need to live in cold climates. They used a spell to make it winter all the time even though they neighbor a country that is mostly warm throughout the year. You need to figure all that out for you story too.

Now, you may never actually mention that "this country is this way because of this". The reader may not need to know that specific information. I don't mention that my winter country is that way because of a spell. I didn't feel that I had to as everything else in their world is magical so why not that too? But your world might be different. You may need to say at some point exactly why the weather is the way it is. The planet is hot because it has TWO suns. You don't have to say it exactly like that either. If your world does have two suns, then just mention it in a side point like "She felt baked as both suns shone down her." You get the idea.

Once that is figured out, you can logically have other weather things happen. Like rain, thunder storms, monsoons, tornados, hurricanes, etc. Hurricanes occur over large bodies of water so a country by the ocean would be affected by them more than a country surrounded by more land. Do you HAVE to have a hurricane in your story? Of course not. But if you do - you need to know information like that.

Not every scene you have needs to make a mention of the weather. But I still feel it is something over looked. Especially when it comes to new worlds that are made up, weather should be an important factor. I mean, another world would have the same general things as ours right? So the weather and the climate are still important. It can really help you make a scene or cement the lifestyle of a race of people. Think of how all this relates together - it is a warmer planet because it has two suns. So they have two main religions, one that worship the greater orange sun and the other worships the smaller red sun. And so on...again, the worksheet at the end of this week, will help you see how it all works together to make a convincing new world.

As a side interesting note - just a little tid bit to leave you thinking as you go plan your world's weather conditions: I heard that tornados in the southern hemisphere turn in the opposite direction than tornadoes in the northern hemisphere. (Not sure on the accuracy of this, but I still find it pretty interesting. I do know that the toilets swirl in opposite directions, so it makes a bit of sense.)