In Sense & Sensibility, Mrs. Dashwood chastises her youngest daughter for speaking improperly about her older sister’s feelings for Mr. Ferrars, stating the above if she has nothing proper to say.
In writing, beginning with a mention of the weather will kill your chances with an agent. ”It was a dark and stormy night” = trash can (or the delete button). I repeat, unless you enjoy rejection, Never Ever begin with the weather. Or a dream sequence. Ann Collette, a literary agent with The Rees Agency, has begun posting on Twitter her reactions to the first 12 submissions of the day. Two or three PER DAY are rejected because of weather or dreaming on the first page.
Get past the first several pages or chapters, however, and it’s a whole other ball game. Weather can add drama, frustration, separation. Imagine a parent trapped in a plane on the runway as the snow piles up, the claustrophobia building, the crazy loon in the next seat beginning to fish around in his soiled backpack.
What if it’s a person’s first experience with snow?
My desert-born boy, working that shovel last year.
Confused desert kitty. "Mommy, where's my scorpion friend?"
What if the temperature soars into the 100s and the light-headed feeling he/she has builds into heat stroke, causing them to pass out just inside the door at the grocery store?
Saguaro shade can be tricky.
Use weather wisely and it will texture the story with added drama. It will also keep you out of hot water with your mother, and hopefully with your agent.
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Linking up with Heidi at “Me as a Mom” for Black & White Wednesday.
You made me smile on this crisp, sunny, San Francisco morning. I shudder to think of all those manuscripts written by aspiring authors in the wee hours of the dark and stormy nights, shivering with glee and dreaming of rainbows. Sniff-Sniff. On a serious note, I did stop and think about the first page of my own WIP – phew, no mention of dreaming or weather. My teeth have stopped stuttering. (I apologize, but your words put a chill in me).
Brenda — You’re so right. Funny how obvious it seems and then we rush in a panic to check that we didn’t do it too!! Pretty easy slip to make, it seems. Ahhh, San Francisco. I’m craving fresh crab already!
Yes, weather and dreams are two big no-no tactics for first pages. So many agents have blogged about this. Save those things for later in the manuscript.
Kelly — I’ve heard it a bunch too, but it’s unreal how many just that one agent gets per day. Imagine what it must be if all agent submissions were checked. Yikes!
I never knew this. Not that I know the first thing about writing anyway. But I know Brits start every conversation with weather… Great photo of the kitty. And men shoveling snow make women’s hearts skip a beat, right?
NWmommy – Thank you! I love that picture of BJ, my big kitty, looking so bewildered. And you know it – JP headed out with a shovel and I went running for my camera. Classic happy moments for a girls!
Lori, that black and white shot of the kitty cat is just magical! I love it! “It was a dark and stormy night” reminds me of what Snoopy writes when he pulls out his typewriter! hee hee! You’ve made me sit up and think–have I ever started a post with the weather? OMG, I think I may have! Good to know I would’ve been rejected by potential agents! Fortunately, I’m certain I’ve never started one with my dreams. They’re so boring, I can’t remember them!
Don’t forget, weather is All Good, just not on page 1. Speaking of Snoopy, I think I posted that cartoon like on my fourth or fifth blog post ever a year ago. I dearly love that line. And when he’d wear his Red Baron scarf?! Hhaaa!! Classic.
Love love love desert kitty in the snow. There are so many things to look at in that shot. Glad you linked up, Lori!
Thank you very much, Heidi! I love visiting your blog and always look forward to Wednesdays. But I’m running out of material. Must take my camera on a field trip soon!