WEATHER AND EARTHLY PHENOMENON THESAURUS

DROUGHT



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Weather And Earthly Phenomenon Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

Don’t be afraid to pair weather conditions with your setting choice to contrast or reinforce a character’s emotions. Hopelessness might be mirrored in the relentless drizzle of rain and the resulting heavy drag of one’s clothes; alternatively, this feeling can stand out in stark contrast to sunlight dancing over fresh snow. Can weather also provide symbolism, thereby enriching the reader’s experience? Think about your goal for the scene and the mood you are trying to create, and then layer your description with meaningful choices.
SIGHTS:
Pale dirt
Drooping or limp plants
Yellow or brown grass
Blowing dust
Dry streams and rivers with cracked ground and exposed river rock
Animal corpses
Stunted crops
Bony livestock
Topsoil being blown away by the wind
Trees that lose their leaves out of season
Increased dust and dirt (piling up in corners, filling crevices, coating windowsills, etc.)
Heat waves that rise off of the concrete
Lakes that are dried up or have unnaturally wide shorelines

SMELLS:
Dirt and dust

TASTES:
A dry mouth
Dust that coats the teeth

TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS:
A dirty film that coats all surfaces
Gusting winds throwing dirt in one's face
Sweat and dirt coating the skin when water is too precious to waste on bathing
...

SOUNDS:
...

REINFORCING A MOOD:
...

SYMBOLISM:
...

COMMON CLICHÉS:
...

WEATHER NOTES:
...

SCENARIOS FOR ADDING CONFLICT OR TENSION:
...