Did you ever notice how, in conversation, if you have nothing to talk about, you talk about the weather? In the winter, if you want to start a conversation in Arizona, just mention how lovely the weather is here compared with in other states. In the summer, mention how hot it is. As if these were topics that need to be discussed. It’s going to be gorgeous or so hot you can’t stand it no matter what. So why do we discuss it? Just to have something to say? I do it myself, so this isn’t a criticism. Is it because it’s a safe topic? Seriously, does anyone actually LIKE discussing the weather? Like, you get up in the morning and think, “Hey, today I’m going to stand in line at Starbucks and say to someone, ‘Isn’t this lovely weather we’re having?'”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen characters discussing the weather in a book (unless it’s really unusual or noteworthy). As I’ve said before, we do things in real life that no one writes about in books. That’s partly because books are an escape, and if we wanted to hear about bathroom habits, we’d just call someone over 80. Or most men. It cracks me up when people talk about “realistic” dialog. Honestly, no one wants to read realistic dialog. It would be horribly boring most of the time. Don’t believe me? Just listen in to strangers. It’s probably nothing interesting.
So the moral of the story? There is none. Other than that if you have nothing to blog about, blog about the weather.
Doree Weller 