Tuesday Museday freezes and thaws

I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, which most people know to be a pretty chilly place. When my husband's job asked us to transfer to Wyoming, many of our friends said, "Can you handle it? It's so cold there!" I brushed them off, because please. I am from ALASKA. I know cold.

Except in Anchorage, it gets cold, stays cold, gradually warms up, then stays warm. Here in Wyoming? The weather fluctuates wildly in the winter, and on top of that whoever was supposed to turn off the wind machine clearly forgot. Monday was sixty-five degrees warmer than Friday. SIXTY. FIVE. DEGREES. That is some bullshirt right there.

When world building or setting a scene, don't forget to include the temperature! It has a significant effect on characters, which you can use to your advantage. I challenge you to describe the temperature as perceived by your characters in a scene of your WIP this week.

Want a query critique from me? Let me know in the comments! I will reply to a few comments to select winners of the critiques.

And finally, here is a funny poem about winter in Wyoming. The author is unknown, but every Wyoming-ite on Facebook has seen it about a hundred times:

It’s winter in Wyoming

And the gentle breezes blow

Seventy miles an hour

At twenty five below

Oh how I love Wyoming

When the snow is up to your butt

You take a breath of winter

And your nose gets frozen shut

Yes the weather here is wonderful

So I guess I’ll hang around

I could never leave Wyoming

‘Cuz I’m frozen to the ground!