Word choice help set a mood for a scene. We’re in the midst of winter, and that implies snow. That sentence You could write, “It was a world of white.” You would expect that sentence in a Christmas card but not in a story. How about, “It had snowed overnight, but the dull gray of the sky promised nothing new?” You often think that a fresh snowfall in a story promises something new. Here “the dull gray of the sky” does just the opposite.
How about, “It had snowed overnight, transforming the pines with their fresh jacket of white into the beginnings of an enchanted kingdom.” This transformation implies something magical, “an enchanted kingdom.” You instinctively recognize something good is about to happen in the story. You have advanced the story with a single sentence.
I could say, “Never let a snowstorm go to waste.” More importantly, use that snowstorm to advance your story in the direction you want it to go. A few words carefully chosen can move the reader in the direction you want them to go. It is the difference between “the dull gray sky” and “an enchanted kingdom.”
