It was a Dark and Stormy Night…
One spring day as I stared out at the dreary rainy weather, I reminded myself of the saying “April showers bring May flowers.” And I love May flowers (tulips, especially!) so a part of me told my melancholy self to suck it up, buttercup, because good things come from gloomy days. It’s a great analogy for writing, too, right? We get through the drudgery of whatever writing task we’re doing knowing there are good things to come from our gloomy writing days.
Only, I got thinking about a friend of mine who loves rainy days. The darker, drearier, gloomier the better. She huffs at sunshine and heat, suggesting it’s because she grew up in a dry, hot, sunny environment where “nice” weather was monotonizingly constant and misty gray days were few.
Which got me rethinking my own writing metaphor. Yes, gloomy days for me represent the slog of writing, but not for my friend. Which got me thinking how writing is meant to show us different perspectives, and that got me thinking how maybe the weather, should, too. If my friend loves the rain then perhaps I can reframe my own attitude. And if I can reframe my own attitude about dreary weather, then perhaps I can reframe my own attitude about slogging through my writing. Maybe, as they say, the best thing to do when it’s raining is let it rain.