Weather/Sagging Middles/The Voice/Persecution/Devo

1.  Angela Ackerman guest posts at Writers in the Storm. Using weather imagery in fiction is tricky, but she gives some important guidelines to avoid it becoming a cliche.

2.  Zoe M. McCarthy examines the works of 5 authors and how to avoid sagging middles in novels. This is one of those posts every aspiring author could use to hone their skills.

3.  If you haven't heard that Jordan Smith won The Voice, you're probably not on social media. His stellar performances are not only a reflection of his talent, but also of his faith that gives him strength and joy. My hope is that Jordan will continue to use the gift God gave him to express his faith.

4.  The continued murder of Christians in the Middle East is largely ignored by the media. I discovered this story on Christianheadlines.com. Why aren't Christians from the Middle East being encouraged to seek refugee status in other countries? They are the ones facing the greatest persecution.

5.  Alisa Hope Wagner did a thoughtful devotional on Zechariah 1:3. "Return to me, and I will return to you..."

Writers:  Do you use weather imagery in your manuscripts? How do you avoid cliches?

Readers: What keeps the middle of a book from sagging for you? Tension? Problems? Danger? All the above?

Photo Credit:  Jeffrey van Bijleveld