I chose to have my novel take place in the 70s.
I was going to high school then and my characters are 2-10 years older than that. The groundwork for the book was begun in that time period as well.
I also wanted to write about criminal/espionage activities before the internet, the digital age, and DNA testing among others.
I settled on a date for Chapter 1 of June 2, 1972.
Since I have scenes that are outdoors and indoors I wondered: What was the weather like in the Chicago area that day?
So, I looked up Tom Skilling. And found a link to data from Midway Airport*. Well, though the graphs were not enlargeable, I did see that June 3, 1972 was 96 degrees.
I thought a hot, humid day would be good, so I moved my date up to June 3.
Then I thought: Was it a moonless night, so some sneaking around could take place?
Well, I googled "moon phase June 1972" and there it was: new crescent. So it was relatively dark.
And it was a Saturday, which is good because the first few chapters are about an awards banquet when few of the characters would be working.
Now if you ever get to go to a Shut Up and Write workshop with Judy Redbird Bridges (link in my last entry) you will learn one thing. A writer needs to employ all the senses in description. It improved my writing!
It wasn't a "dark and stormy night;" it was a "hot and humid" night.
Just what I needed.
*Midway Airport, rather than O'Hare was the official temperature back then. Midway is also closer to where my novel takes place. Here is the weather link: http://weatherspark.com/history/30851/1972/Chicago-Illinois-United-States
Moon phase calendar similar to the one I used: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=1972&country=1
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