Saturday, August 14, 2010

Weather Blogfest

Oh the fun of writing about weather. Well, not so much. I rarely ever have weather mentioned in my stories, let alone done as a prominent feature as this blogfest requires. The only one I have done in the past is the one I wrote for the break the rules blogfest because I decided to start with weather, breaking the rule that way. It did turn out kinda cool but I wasn't sure how I'd get the weather factor into my new blog novel, Cinder Story. When I think of Cinderella type stories I don't really think about the weather. But I managed to scrape something together because I love blogfests and the more I take part in for this story, more of the novel will get written.


The Weather Blogfest is hosted by the bloggers at A Little Slice of Nothing.

It is pretty straight forward. Those that are taking part in this blogfest have to post a scene or story that features weather. It can't be a minor detail because that is no fun because it's supposed to showcase the topic presented in the blogfest.

The snow isn't visible in the image but the lightning is so cool in this picture. It's from crystallinks.com originally and I love the circle part.

Rough Draft Warning! lol

Cinder Story: Snow/Lightning


Staring at the overflowing bookshelf for over half an hour didn't help make the moving process any easier for Jack. He struggled in picking out just the right books to put into the small box, which currently contained four already chosen ones. Although he didn't expect a lot of down time on the job, he didn't know for sure and having some books there might be useful some day but they had to be appropriate.

"Aren't you done with that box yet?" Eathan returned, handing him a bottle of water. He settling on a chair, indicating break time. "Why not bring movies? Or do you not have room in your cell for a tv?"

"I could bring a small one but don't think I will. Can watch tv on my days off." Jack tossed a few generic fiction books into the box, attempting to line them up so none of the pages would get damaged. he'd never been that into watching anyways and with the limit on the types of movies he'd be able to bring, it was much easier to not bring one at all. "Thanks for helping me with this. I owe you one."

"You owe me ten. This had to be the one random weekend that is has to snow for the entire month."

Shrugging, Jack stood, stretching his legs as a burning sensation radiated from each knee cap. Once he was used to standing again, he moved to the window in the room to peer outside. It had started to snow a few hours ago but they had been very small flakes. Now, the flakes appeared different. He couldn't distinguish one flake from the next as they seemed more like little balls of snow.

About to turn away from the natural scene, Jack stopped as a flash caught his eye. "Woah." He peered out again, looking both directions and every which way upward that he could manage with the small window.

"What?" Eathan stared at him, not getting up to go look.

He waited another minute before responding. Once another flash was visible he confirmed his thoughts and said, "there's lightning."

"No way." It was enough to get Eathan to join Jack at the window. "Is that possible? Snow with lightning?"

"Watch and see for yourself. I know I saw lightning."

It took another couple of minutes but soon another flash of electricity moved across the dull gray sky. The snow continued to fall but in the weird little balls instead of flakes making it the strangest weather Jack had ever seen. If he'd been the type to believe in omens and signs, he would have wondered what the weird weather meant for his new career. But he wasn't the type. Instead, he spent a few minutes watching in awe and then he settled back to packing. He had a lot to choose from and a limited space to fill. It wasn't going to be an easy task.

15 comments:

February Grace said...

Ooooo. I loves me some thundersnow.

It's a kind of weather I haven't seen often in stories (I have a thundersnow scene in one of my mss and yours is the only other one I've seen. Tons of rain, a smattering of hail and snow but not thundersnow.) I love your use of it here.

Great stuff! I really am enjoying everyone's entries for this blogfest.

~bru

Franklin Beaumont said...

Hi Dawn. Snow and lightning; a potent mixture! I only recall seeing it once in my life before, and your story really took me back to that experience. Great work.

Denise Covey said...

Dawn, I've only ever seen snow a couple of times, but lightning is a common sight in an Aussie summer. I imagine the two would be awesome together..:)

Nicole Murray said...

I have seen this before and it is a treat to witness.

I think I may have to check out this cinder story so I can know what this fella is packing for! Now I am curious!

Dawn Embers said...

February - Thanks. I figured there would be rain entries plus there is a rain blogfest on the 25th. It was this or something big and this fits better in the story I'm using for all blogfests.

Franklin - Why, thank you. I've seen it a few times and it's always an interesting experience.

L'Aussie - Interesting. I've actually only seen the lightning with snow in Utah, but more than once there. Here in Wyoming I haven't seen it. Snow can be nice but it's also such a pain to drive through, getting stuck at home and all.

Dawn Embers said...

Nicole - :-D Aww, thanks. It is a fun weather situation. There are two other blogfest entries from Cinder Story so far. The rest isn't written yet.

Anonymous said...

Another good entry in the Weatherfest!

I've never seen snow and lightning at the same time, but then again, I live in the South. :]

Dawn Embers said...

Amanda - :-) It's kinda cool, snow with lightning. Not sure where all it has been seen, but hopefully it's not just a Utah thing or that would be weird.

Anonymous said...

Snowstorms are so cool! I can imagine it snowing little snowballs. Rough draft, but a good one! :)

P.S.: Pop by my blog for a little award!

http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/awards

Dawn Embers said...

JC Martin - Why thank you!

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

I love lightning in a snow storm. (I've seen it in Colorado, Minnesota, and Massachussetts, so it's not just a Utah thing.) It always takes me by surprise. You used it to good effect in this scene.

Dawn Embers said...

Alison - Thanks for the comment. Good to know. I haven't seen it in Colorado, but not surprised it would happen there either. lol

Unknown said...

Oooh, I never knew you could get lightning with snow (and we do get plenty of snow here in Austria)!

And what a nightmare, having to choose just a few books... Poor Jack!

Also, It has to be said: I can't wait for the next Cinders-scene!

Dawn Embers said...

Tessa - :-) If I hadn't seen it myself, I probably wouldn't have thought it a possible combination. Glad you like it. Next is a rain scene for the Rain Blogfest.

Justin W. Parente said...

Hello Dawn!

Thanks for commenting on my piece and sorry it's taken forever to get back to you.

Anyway, this piece is fantastic. I've never been able to witness something like thundersnow. I've been living in Orlando for two weeks now, and the storms are just fantastic to witness here. But besides the point. The description of it really paints it vividly. Makes me jealous to know it actually exists.

Thanks for sharing this with us!

Fun

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