A storm's a-coming. Can't ignore it. by Eric Beetner

How does winter affect you and your writing?

In live in Southern California about a 4 minute drive over the hill to the beach. I play beach volleyball all year round. I haven’t seen snow on my front lawn in the 33 years I’ve lived in L.A. I grew up with actual seasons, both in the midwest and New England. Brutal cold winters, blizzards, shoveling out the car to get to work or classes. I know the suffering. I also know the coziest place on earth is to be warm by a fire while the wind howls outside. And there is no place better to read a good book.

I’ve never understood the idea of a ‘beach read’. If you’re at the beach, be at the beach. Don’t read a book.

But if you’re trapped inside on a blustery winter day? Put the hot cocoa on the stove and crack that spine.

You all know about the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, right? It’s the tradition of trading books with loved ones on Christmas, and then reading together on cold nights when the sun sets early. Having just been to Iceland last year, I can tell you they are a happy and well-adjusted culture and we could learn a lot from them.

Now then, how does this lack of a true winter affect my writing? Not at all. Sure, my office gets cold. I write in what is essentially a box built into my garage so it has no insulation and whatever temperature the garage is, that’s what I’m writing in. So yes, it gets cold. But I have a space heater for that, and nice slippers for my feet.

In summer, I wear shorts and no shoes because in the afternoon the sun hits the garage door and I end up working in a walk-in oven. I have seasons in my office, at least.

What does affect my writing, I’ve learned recently, is the larger world around me. The third book in my Carter McCoy trilogy is due this year (release is April 2026) and my logline pitch way back when I sold the series is changing.

I’d started outlining, plotting, finding obstructions for the hero, set pieces for the action, a fitting end to the whole trilogy. Then the election happened. The idea of who the bad guys are shifted for me. The story I had been planning on suddenly didn’t seem right. There were larger evil forces in the world. I started re-writing.

I’m not interested in writing a polemic. I don’t want to deviate from the world I’ve created in the first two books. But a storm hit and I had to react. If a blizzard snowed me in for weeks on end, or floodwaters began to rise outside my window, it might start to affect the book. Well, a deluge of bad news began falling every day and it shows no signs of slowing. So now the antagonists in the new book will reflect real-life horrors. I don’t want to make caricatures, or straw men, but I don’t want to ignore the real world. It also makes for a great plot driver for the book. These are some bad dudes, after all. I never try to be political in my work, but I have a point of view and I don’t want to ignore the chill outside my door.

So even if the weather doesn’t affect the words going down on the page, the world does. But typing will keep me warm, at least in my soul.