It’s stopped raining and the morning sky is almost cloudless and a dusty, pale blue. In the Pacific Northwest we sort of skipped autumn and jumped into winter. Usually September and October are our finest and most golden months. Not this year, rains have battered the region, and even brought tornadoes to the coast. But in many parts it’s been welcome because some southern counties were experiencing drought and the whole region has had lower snowfalls, thus snow packs.

Put weather in your stories, my friends. Weather adds drama, reality, and mood. And while you’re at it, note the quality of light, the indelible details of dawn and dusk, the subtleties of the season, the way the wind feels and sounds. Witness the world like a poet. Always noticing. What does the sky look like right now?

And here’s a fine example:

And every year there is a brief, startling moment
When we pause in the middle of a long walk home and
Suddenly feel something invisible and weightless
Touching our shoulders, sweeping down from the air:
It is the autumn wind pressing against our bodies;
It is the changing light of fall falling on us.
– Edward Hirsch
from Fall

You might want to visit Hirsch’s site here.

Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart