Does the Endless Winter Harm an Author's Creativity?

©Mary Montague Sikes

This is an endless winter. I don't ever recall a winter as continuously bitter cold. I don't remember week after week of snow or the possibility of snow. So far, we have been fortunate in my little Virginia town. Not much in the way of deep snow, and we've been able to get around in it.

Still the dreary, sunless days have taken a toll on the writer in me. I can understand why people sometimes complain about life in states where drizzle lingers day after day and where the sun seldom shines.

I love sunsets on warm, sandy beaches, and heat rising from the waters of the Caribbean. Those scenes inspire me. Photographs bring back memories I cherish long after the scenes vanish from sight.

For many years, we've had brief spells of lingering cold, snow storms that leave their mark for a day or two, then melt from sight. We were spoiled. We forgot about the darkness of winter.

For now, I plan to retreat to my painting studio and create my own patches of sunshine on canvas and paper. It's easier for me to find beauty and solace with paint than to find them through words. Even paintings of the Red Rocks in Sedona, Arizona can brighten the dark winter days.

Does dreary weather harm your writing inspiration?

Bell Rock Sedona - Mixed Media ©Mary Montague Sikes