Hello lovelies!
This is the second post on determining a time setting for your stories, depending on the seasons: Spring edition!
Spring is often considered people's favourite season, and it's easy to see why. The temperature grows warmer, flowers begin to bloom, and nature seems to reawaken from a long, deep slumber.
This aspect alone can give a lot of inspiration for stories and themes, which is why much folklore, festivals, and deities are centred around spring, as much as they are around winter.
So, I will be talking about some of the themes and type of stories that would the setting of spring, and hopefully help some of you decide whether this season is the one to tell your tale in.
Youth and Maturing:
The spring of one's life is a way of referring to a person's youth and childhood, but also to a person's transition to puberty and adulthood.
Stories of childhood fit very well within this season, specifically when it comes to nostalgia. The beauty of spring lends itself well to rose-coloured glasses, so having a story centred around happy memories from the past can be even more emphasized when the memories take place around this time of year. However, stories involving childhood or children in general can be very compatible with spring, as well, since nature is just about to come to life.
Considering spring is a season of new life and nature coming back into bloom, coming-of-age stories are a prime fit for this time of the year. A young person coming to terms with who they are, who they are becoming, and navigatig the confusion that is 'growing up' is perfect for a spring setting, where the environment around them is also coming into its own alongside them.
However, coming-of-age isn't just for young people. Becoming more yourself, chasing your dreams, and shaking off toxic environments, is a coming-of-age all on its own, regardless of age. Stories about a person starting to express who they really are, or transitioning into an environment that brings out the best parts of them also fit this season, as nature shifts into their most beautiful self.
Love and Gender:
The spring of our lives often introduces us to our first love and first romantic and intimate experiences. So, spring is the ideal setting for stories centred around love, puberty, and sexuality.
Specifically, spring is a great setting for 'first experiences', which can refer to a young person's first experience with love and sexuality in general, but also someone's discovery of a new type of love and sexuality.
Stories of a person exploring their sexual or romantic preferences, from types of relationships, to their own roles in their relationships, to finding out the gender they are attracted to, fit perfectly in a setting of spring.
Not only that, but, like growing into your own through puberty, spring can also be the ideal setting for a story centred around exploring one's gender, gender identity, or transitioning.
Spring is a season that follows a period of hibernation and concealment, bringing to mind staying hidden. This means, writing a story about finally being able to express a key part of oneself, whether that be letting go of constricting views on sex and love, or accepting one's gender and/or sexuality.
Sometimes both gender identity and sexuality go hand in hand, but not necessarily, and both things will typically reveal themselves over a period of time, instant of in one key moment. So, having a story involving a character, or characters, each taking steps into becoming and expressing their authentic self, at their pace, fits well with the blooming season of spring.
New beginnings and Hope:
Similarly to stories about childhood and coming-of-age, spring is a season of renewal and rebirth, meaning it's a very compatible setting for stories centring around themes like 'starting fresh' or 'new horizons'.
Sometimes, this can mean a story is about a literal, new birth, as in the coming of a child, and all the new joys and challenges that come with that. However, new beginnings can also mean that your characters find themselves in either a new phase of their life, taking on new roles, or are at the start of new endeavours. This can be as simple as starting a new job, or as complicated as being thrust into a position within their environment that is completely alien to them.
These stories typically revolve the characters' growth as a person as they take on new challenges and mature as a result.
However, a new beginning can also be written as a reward. The coming of spring can be used in a narrative as the end of a difficult time for the characters in your stories, and give them new hope for the future. For example: your character has been stuck in an abusive relationship, and is unable to leave during the winter. However, an opportunity for safety and freedom presents itself around spring, and the character takes it, moving towards a better future. This is just one example, but stories about escape or finally getting a break after a period of hardship, fit very well with a setting of spring, and its aspect of life returning after a cold, barren time.
I hope this has been helpful for you all to get a clearer idea of when to set your story, or how to try and work your themes into the season of spring.
If there is anything you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments and don't forget to subscribe!
Goodye lovelies!,
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