A moment in the mind of a writer. My first attempt was;
I long to escape the monotony of my desk in dreary London before winter sets in.
Deep down, I’m not happy with the ending. “…winter sets in.” It’s not powerful enough; not convincing me as a reader, so I try an alternative;
I long to escape the monotony of my desk in dreary London before winter closes in.
Yes. “…closes in.” has more impact and it’s something that winter does. The idea that winter ‘closes in’ suggests confinement and something worth escaping from. But, I’m still not convinced and come up with;
I long to escape the monotony of my desk in dreary London before winter traps me.
Ah, that’s better and more juxtaposed with “…escape…traps.” I don’t want to be trapped by winter, so now I have a good reason to want to escape it. After all, who wants to be trapped in London in winter?
I think I will stay with this change unless something better comes to mind. My wife and I have experienced the cold, damp winter conditions mentioned here. We had two days in London at Christmas. It started out fine and warm, but temperatures descended, along with drizzly rain, to soak our bodies and enthusiasm for this part of the world. Dickens described London as a magic lantern. London gave him his range of characters and fired his imagination, inspiring him to write. It helped me too.
