WEATHER AND EARTHLY PHENOMENON THESAURUS

MUDSLIDE



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HELPFUL TIP:

Don’t be afraid to pair weather conditions with your setting choice to contrast or reinforce a character’s emotions. Hopelessness might be mirrored in the relentless drizzle of rain and the resulting heavy drag of one’s clothes; alternatively, this feeling can stand out in stark contrast to sunlight dancing over fresh snow. Can weather also provide symbolism, thereby enriching the reader’s experience? Think about your goal for the scene and the mood you are trying to create, and then layer your description with meaningful choices.
SIGHTS:
Muddy topsoil unable to hold the moisture from heavy rains
Rock loosening away from the ground and rolling downhill
Water rushing over the land soaking through moss and other ground cover
Swollen creeks exposing tree roots and weakening their hold on the land
Over-saturated dirt that begins to slough away
Trees sagging until gravity pulls them down
A wall of mud sliding over the ground
Mud causing vast destruction (toppling trees, knocking over telephone poles, uprooting giant boulders)
Structures being jerked away from their foundations when the slide hits (patios and decks shifting and tilting, sheds being pushed over, houses jerking loose from their footings)
Natural and man-made debris being carried downhill, picking up speed and strength
A wide trough of mud that devours everything in its path (roadways, cars, bridges, buildings, people) 

SMELLS:
Rainwater
Mud

TASTES:
Splatters of mud that hit one's mouth while trying to escape

TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS:
The ground shifting under one's feet
Walls shuddering (if one is inside when a mudslide hits)
Losing one's balance and crashing into things
Bashing one's knees on the floor or ground
Mud seeping into one's shoes
Being sucked down into the mud

SOUNDS:
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REINFORCING A MOOD:
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SYMBOLISM:
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COMMON CLICHÉS:
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WEATHER NOTES:
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SCENARIOS FOR ADDING CONFLICT OR TENSION:
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