Using specific, active verbs for the storm's motion gives readers a more detailed image of the story's events. Weak verbs, such as "was" or "were," drain your descriptions of energy rather than infuse them with detail. Vivid Verbsīecause bad weather can often get out of control, describing a storm is not the time to skimp on verb usage. If your characters are trapped in open water during a hurricane, you might write, "The angry waves smacked against the side of the boat." Although water can't feel anger, the description of the waves as "angry" adds emotional texture and characterization to the storm. Personification occurs when a writer gives human characteristics, such as actions and emotions, to an inanimate object.
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If a storm is central to your story's conflict, you might consider having the weather literally take on a life of its own. Try making a list of all the sounds the storm in your narrative might involve and brainstorm onomatopoeic words to describe them. For example, if a thunderstorm figures prominently in your story, the thunder could "rumble" or "boom," rain could "patter" against the windows" and wind could "rush" across a field. You can bring these sound effects to your descriptions by using onomatopoeia, a device where words mimic the sounds of their meaning. In real life, the sounds of nature are often key indicators of approaching storms. If you're describing a hailstorm, for example, you might use a simile to write, "The hailstones clattered to the ground like marbles spilled from a box." To use a metaphor, you might write, "An avalanche of hailstones fell from the sky." The Sound of Storms
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You can use these devices to create surprising descriptions of your storm. A simile is a type of description that makes an explicit comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as." A metaphor, by contrast, is a direct comparison that does not use these words.