Nature is a force that we cannot ignore in our stories. It can be kind and gentle, as when it brings storms that refresh the earth, allowing plants and trees to grow. It cleanses our air and turns the grasses green.

It can also bring tornadoes and hurricanes that cause destruction and take lives.

Mudslides sweep down hills, taking down buildings, bridges, roads and making it impossible for people to get through to safety.

Earthquakes bring down buildings, often trapping people and pets inside.  They destroy houses of rich and poor alike.

Trees fall when their root systems become weak. If we are lucky, they come down in forests and do no further damage. But they also fall on cars, killing passengers, and on houses, injuring sleeping children.

Droughts eat up the water, making it a precious commodity that has to be rationed. But not everyone saves water. Stories abound about the wealthy who ceaselessly water their green lawns while the poor look at dried brown grass and collect used water in buckets.

Your task is to write a story in which weather plays a part. You need to decide whether it’s a force for good or destruction. Whether someone gets hurt or not.

Be descriptive in your telling. Use the senses to allow your readers to be there, experiencing the same things that your characters go through. The reader needs to be able to feel the force of the wind, the sting of the rain, the shaking of the earth, the strength of the wind.

Have fun with this one.

Good luck.