Autumn is my favorite season and I
love writing about it. If you ever want to write about this time of the year,
check out these pointers:
1.
Change of Season
Leaves are changing pretty
colors—oranges, red, and yellows. The weather is becoming chilly, the days are
shorter. Don’t miss the opportunity to describe the colorful foliage and the
crispness in the air as nothing says autumn more than the colors of nature and
the feel of the temperature gradually lowering.
2.
School
In the United States, kids go back to
school in the autumn, so if your main character has children or works with kids
(perhaps he/she is a teacher), this time will impact his/her home and work
life.
3.
Cool Temperatures
The heat of summer has passed (at least
if your characters don’t live in Florida), and the temperature is dropping to a
nice degree that could prompt your characters to open their windows. I know I
take advantage of the nice autumn temperatures as often as I can in the
Sunshine State.
4.
Holidays
Halloween – Now is the tome to
honor your passed loved ones, to decorate your house with spooky knick-knacks,
and to pick out costumes with your kids to go trick-or-treating/ Your
characters can do all of those things too.
Thanksgiving – Let your
characters gather for a Thanksgiving feast at their parents’ or grandparents’
house. Food, football, laughter, and maybe a little family drama make this
holiday what it is. Explore all of those things with your characters.
5.
Football Season
In the U.S., autumn is the time for
NFL. Maybe your hero and heroine bond while watching a game or they go on a
date to see their favorite team play. These would be a fun scene to write.
6.
Food/Drinks
Each season has its own menu. Here are
some of the goodies associate with autumn:
Food – apples,
pomegranates, squash, turkey, pumpkin pie/bread, cranberry sauce, carrot cake,
gingerbread cookies.
Drinks – apple juice,
spiced cider, spiced hot tea, pumpkin-flavored coffee.
7.
Autumn Fun
There are many things your characters
can do during this season such as:
Game hunting, hayrides, walk through
haunted houses, apple picking, fairs/festivals, visit pumpkin patches, go on a
ghost walk, trick-or-treat, go to a loved one’s grave, and Halloween parties.
Let your characters enjoy a couple of
these to bring the season to life in your story.
8.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are the popular vegetable for
autumn. They can be made into stew/soup, added to special pizza and ravioli,
and used for countless desserts including my favorite pumpkin white chocolate
chip cookies.
If one of your characters is a baker
or chef, he/she can make many of these. And if your MC is a mom or dad, he/she
can go to a pumpkin patch with their kids, carves pumpkins, and roast the seeds
for a healthy snack.
9.
Shorter Days
Daylight Savings happens in autumn
when we turn back out clocks an hour. The days will grow shorter, which means
it’ll get dark earlier. Darkness is always great to utilize in stories to add
suspense and autumn can be an eerie season due to Halloween, you can use the
dark in your story.
See:
Utilize the Dark
10.
Clothing
Summer clothes will start to disappear
and quarter sleeves, light cardigans/sweaters, a scarf, and darker colors
(browns, purples) will start to appear in everyone’s wardrobe. Dress your
character’s accordingly. And keep the setting in mind as slightly
thicker layers will be needed further North than in the South.
Check out these posts for the other seasons:
- Winter
- Spring
- Summer
QUESTIONS:
What do you like most about autumn? What do you like least?
The days are getting short here. Autumn is becoming my favorite season. The color, cooler weather, and approaching holidays. What's not to like?
ReplyDeleteAutumn has always been my favorite season. :)
DeleteHi Chrys ... it is now almost winter here ... dark earlier, and about to get cold - at the weekend. I love autumn with its damp leaves, and those colours ... great list of reminders you've given us ... or for anyone writing a novel! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYes, this post is a little later. So many places are experiencing winter like conditions right now. The colors of Autumn are the best.
DeleteAutumn is my favorite season! I love the colors, the smells, the chillier weather, and Halloween. NaNoWriMo is also in November! Hehehe!
ReplyDeleteI love all of that too ! :D Except I've never done NaNo.
DeleteI love that it grows cooler outside. The sounds change, too. The crunch of fallen leaves under feet for one. Plus, with less humidity, sound travels farther.
ReplyDeleteThe sound of crisp leaves is nice, calming. :)
DeleteAutumn is okay, much better than Winter. I guess the best thing I like in Autumn is the changing of the leaves. One of my favourite poems is about the changing of colours. So I'd have to say that's probably what I like best. What do I like least? Daylight savings time. Yes, this is something I've already r.a.n.t.ed about.
ReplyDeleteDo you know the title of that poem? :) I'm interested in reading it.
DeleteIt's called 'Autumn Leaf' by J.A.Scott
DeleteIt's found in the poetry tab on my blog.
Hope you like it.
Ah. It;s by you. ;) I will check it out soon.
DeleteFootball! And the weather turning nicer. Plus that means Christmas is coming...
ReplyDeleteAutumn is certainly the time for football. And yay for Christmas!
DeleteAutumn is one of my favorite seasons too. Some of my favorite films take place on Thanksgiving. I start to get light deprived though. Especially now that the clocks have gone back an hour and the rains have set in here on the Coast. It gets dark at 3:30 on the rainy days. Suspense books always work well in the autumn with the mysteries of Halloween myths and monsters. Fun post, Chrys!
ReplyDeleteI adore Thanksgiving movies! And stories, although there's not too many of those.
DeleteI know. It gets dark so early now. I still can't get used to the sun setting at 4:00-4:30.
I love the changing leaves, Halloween, apple cider (both the drink and in doughnuts), gourds, pumpkins, and all the back-to-back holidays in the month of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabah, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah). Though most people in the North American Jewish community sadly only care about their so-called religion thrice a year, there are really many holidays in the fall, not just the major two observed by people who are otherwise extremely secular.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried an apple cider doughnut, but they sound yummy!
DeleteLiving in Florida, it only makes sense my favorite season is summer. As autumn approaches I grasp those last days of HOTness. Every day is a good day, but I am already looking forward to next summer. LOL
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Living in Florida, summer is my least favorite season. Way too hot for me!
DeleteSummer used to be my favorite season when I was young. Summer meant summer vacation, ice cream and popsicles. Now it’s unbearable. I mean, when did it get so hot? I like and much prefer Spring now. Seeing the trees and flowers blooming again. The temperature is warm but not hot (most times). And it’s a herald of new beginnings and re-birth.
ReplyDeleteSummers are fun when you're a kid, but they are brutal now with the heat and storms. Spring is a lovely season.
DeleteI love bonfires, sweaters, Thanksgiving, Halloween, the colourful leaves. But our autumn is much too short and foretells the horrible eight-month winter that is right around the corner.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a bonfire. I need to!
DeleteAutumn temps can vary depending on where you live too. I'm in MI and it goes from 30 to 50/60 for autumn weather.
ReplyDeleteExactly. We d ok not have autumn temps in Florida.
DeleteEnjoying the start of our cooler temps here in FL. I miss the autumn colors and the crispness of the air up North, but I don't miss owning a winter coat. :)
ReplyDeleteWhere I am in, Florida it's still pretty hot. But it is getting better.
DeleteI especially like your advice about describing the clothing; I often forget to do that, since my first drafts often focus mainly on dialogue rather than description. My main character of one of my stories is a teacher, so I will definitely have to remember to describe the back-to-school activities.
ReplyDeleteBack-to-school activities for a teacher is a must as teachers have to prepare for a new year and a new group of students.
DeleteAhh, Autumn in Florida. Swimming pools and air conditioning. Shorts and flip flops. Beaches and boats. Good ideas for Florida writers. Lol
ReplyDeleteLOL! Autumn in Florida is like the other seasons in Florida. :p
DeleteI love Autumn, but not all the rain we have had of late.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Yvonne.
It does rain a lot in some areas in the autumn.
DeleteThe color changing is great and cooling on down. Those are the two that are fine by me at my sea.
ReplyDeleteThe colors are great, indeed.
DeleteI got my copy:)
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!! :D
DeleteShorter days are nice, unless you need to get something done outside.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
DeleteAutumn is my favorite season. The holidays, the cooler temperatures after a blistering Texas summer, the colorful leaves (my yard is covered with them-so pretty) and a sense of peace and rest.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is a peaceful season and full of so much promise.
DeleteIf your character is in California, think about winds. Because at this time of year, there are a couple really windy days. Like today.
ReplyDeleteYrs, it's very important to research every location/setting.
DeleteAll great ideas to write about autumn :) I like the changing leaves of fall and hot apple cider :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Yum. Hot apple cider. :)
DeleteWe don't really have autumn, but it's getting a bit cooler. It was 78 today. I like it when we finally get some days that aren't burning hot. I hope that when my leaves finally turn color and fall in December or January that I'll be able to move them to the backyard to create rich soil.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I think you're in Florida, right? So am I. And no, we don't have autumn here. :(
DeleteYes, I'm in northern Florida--Jacksonville. Our winter is kind of like autumn. Last year we had several nights when the temps got down to freezing.
DeleteSo. Cal just gets a little taste of Autumn, but it is a great time to photograph with all the colors.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to photograph the colors.
DeleteYou forgot wine:) In my neck of the woods we have an abundance of wineries and we have the Grape and Wine festival in September. I find this season speaks the loudest due to all the great colours. I love the leaves and the crispness in the air. Many town fairs are up and running and who, except my hubby, could not like Halloween. The only thing I dislike is the time change and I think it should be done away with.
ReplyDeleteYay. Wine! I went to the fair on Sunday and had a blast. The time change does suck.
DeleteI love it when the temperatures start getting cooler and I can pull out my favorite clothing items: boots, sweaters, and scarves :)
ReplyDeleteBoots, sweaters, and scarves are the best clothing!
DeleteI just plain love everything about autumn. It's so all over the place here in Colorado. Today, we're getting a blizzard (they named it, which is ridiculous), yet it was in the 60's earlier this week. So we get our cool, crisp days, our smoky, white, cold days, and our pleasant, sunny, warm days, all wrapped up into one season. (And that sentence was terrible grammatically). Also, I discovered boot socks were a thing, and I've finally been getting to rock leggings and boots. Woot!
ReplyDeleteA blizzard? Yikes! Leggings and boots are the best!
DeleteI didn't use to like autumn, perhaps just because it's a step towards winter but I'm starting to appreciate it more. I like the colours and if there is a warm day it feels like a bonus.
ReplyDeleteThe colors truly are the best and most magical part of this season.
DeleteStepping over yesterday's sandals, I pull on a heavy jacket on my way out the door as the heavenly scent of pumpkin bread beckons my swift return. In my area, Autumn describes a season of visual splendor that we only see in pictures or hold in treasured memory banks. Fall is a better depiction, as it's what the temperatures do here ;-) Nevertheless, October through December prevails (to me) as the most exciting time of year, when kindness reigns and comfort and good cheer are once again acceptable.
ReplyDeleteTerrific tips, Chrys:-) I would only add the olfactory aspect. Incidentally, you've expertly utilized many of your tips in 30 Seconds! :-)
I loved that! October thru December is the most lovely time of the year. I wait for it year round. :)
DeleteLove this post! I adore Autumn, it's by far my favourite season. I love all your ideas about how to incorporate it into your writing - I mainly just describe the trees/the chill in the air/mist over fields, but I'm definitely going to try and add more detail in - especially the autumn baking ;)!
ReplyDeleteAdding baking really makes a story special. :)
DeleteWhen I was a kid, I loved the smell of burning leaves. It told me winter would be here soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Elements of Writing
I've never smelled burning leaves before....
DeleteAw, man... I miss the seasons. Here in Curaçao it's hot, hotter, and hurricane :D I spent some time in the US (NJ), though, and I remember how incredibly gorgeous the landscape becomes when the leaves start turning. (I also remember being really frustrated by being made to wear a jacket to go trick-or-treating... totally ruined the costume.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit over at Julie's blog yesterday... Much appreciated :)
Guilie @ You've put together a brilliant resource here—thank you! And these stones are gorgeous. I think we had a slice of one at home — pretty big, maybe a hand's breath across, half again that long — of Laguna Agate, in tones of sepia and purple. It sat there, on the master bedroom dresser, as decoration... I don't think anyone knew about its properties (and probably would've been skeptical about them if they did, haha).
Thanks so much for stopping over at Julie's yesterday... Much appreciated. And good luck with NaNo!
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
I know what you mean about hot, hotter, and hurrican. I get that here in Florida. Ruining a costume is not good! :p
DeleteFall is such a beautiful season, for many reasons, at least in some parts of the world. Alaska it barely existed. Here it's so lovely!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't imagine living in Alaska.
DeleteAutumn is my favourite season too, though I have not written it in any of my stories.
ReplyDeleteReally? Fall is such a fun season to write about. :)
DeleteWishing you many sales. I love autumn, although where I am it just gets a little bit cooler. I have to travel to see the leaves turning.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Medeia! Yes, I believe your also in Florida like I am.
Delete