Whether the weather, or, writing for Halloween in the depths of summer

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Here in New England, many people eagerly await the arrival of summer -- partly because summer seems so fleeting, compared to wintertime. 

Of course, if you're a writer of horror fiction or poetry, or simply a fan, your orientation is more likely to be toward fall. 

Fall in New England is magical, and filled with folklore, falling leaves, flocks of tourists, and of course, the anticipation of Halloween. 

As I write this, in the midst of a heatwave -- as many parts of the U.S. are soldiering on through even higher temps -- fall can seem very far away. 

And there is fear in the air -- is this hot weather a portent of things to come, of the specter of climate change?

This blog is not to open a debate on the subject, though to me, there is little to debate. Climate change is real, and its effects will slip past our control if we continue to abdicate control. 

That said, please seek out other forums for arguments on this topic -- but do consult atmospheric scientists, with expertise in the field. 

As a scientist's widow, I can tell you -- when someone spends many  years of study and research and a certain sacrifice in order to understand a topic, that person has more to say than someone who simply "just knows," or has a passing interest.

Back to writing, and summer, in New England. 

To me, this will always mean a kind of Rocket Summer, as described in Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which I read, at age 13, the summer before my freshman year of high school. 

Thus summer became the time of possibilities. It meant longer daylight hours, more time out of doors.

It meant communing with creatures -- grasshoppers, frogs, toads, rabbits, butterflies, moths. There was both beauty and uncertainty in that communion.

This remains true. Like a glimpse of Mars, or even Earth, summer, for writer, can unlock the portal to unguessed worlds. 

For a writer, this may mean creating a world, and surely, being created by it. 

Meg Smith is a writer, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass. She welcomes visits to megsmithwriter.com.


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