January - The Novel

We've had a run of spring-like days for a week or so, and it's been wonderful. Some birds are building nests. And I know for a fact what some of the doves are up to. But the grass is still brown. And no buds are poking out on any tree I've seen.

But yesterday, the winds blew in. With a vengeance. And this morning our temps are near freezing, but it's supposed to be sunny and reach the mid-sixties today.

I just looked at the ten-day weather forecast for San Antonio. By the end of the week, winter will have returned. At least for a few days. So much for spring beginning in January.

It dawned on me that our recent weather pattern is a lot like the pacing of a novel.

Back around the first of the month, we had a few days where the temps stayed below freezing all day. That would be the inciting incident. The beginning of your story. The event that changes everything for your protagonist, Suzy Sunshine.

This isn't normal winter weather here, so people were unprepared. Some had broken water pipes. Others wouldn't go outside. Lots of things. So this is when Suzy suffers problem after problem. She fixes one, two more pop up.

Then it rained. Like crazy. At one point it rained about 24 hours straight. That's when you really dump on all your characters, especially Suzy. By the bucketful.

Then came spring. We thought. Ms. Sunshine has a plan! It's a good one. She's positive it will work.

But the W-I-N-D! This plan of hers suddenly doesn't look so good. In fact, it seems to be heading in the wrong direction entirely.

Winter is back. Suzy Sunshine is huddled in her boots and parka worse off than when she started.

But what's this? A bud on the pear tree! Suzy has a much improved plan. She'll see to it that this one will work!

And what do you know. That old pear tree is loaded with beautiful white blossoms. And Suzy Sunshine overcomes the odds, accomplishes her goal, and lives happily ever after.

The End.