Writing that Makes My Heart Sing by Lorrie Orr

 

Slice of life: a story about a small segment of one's day, a poem that tells about a small moment in time, a collection of words and photos that describes a scenario

Slice of life perfectly describes the writing that makes my heart sing. I've loved writing my blog Fabric Paper Thread since 2007. Along the way since then I've written and published articles, begun a book or two, created hundreds of lesson plans, and struggled with writing essays in English and French for my B.A. I've learned so much and have truly enjoyed writing of all sorts. 

But...writing the little stories of my life is what charms me most. These might be short interactions with strangers, mental notes taken while out and about, or sweet anecdotes about my grandchildren. My current large writing project is the story of our family's years in Ecuador (21 of them!) and of God's faithfulness to us. 

I love writing about nature, and combining words with images captured on my camera. I write in a most unscientific way about my observations on the wonders of creation - what goes on in my garden, or in the geographies I visit. 

I love to write the kinds of things I love to read - mysteries (they are hard to write), poetry, vignettes about food and home-keeping, stories of the past and the present. 

As I string words together, I am always cognizant of the presence of Christ guiding my writing, and yet much of my writing is not overtly Christian. C. S. Lewis writes "We needn't all write patently moral or theological work. Indeed, work whose Christianity is latent may do quite as much good and may reach some whom the more obvious religious work would scare away. The first business of a good story is to be a good story." Blog readers occasionally write me private emails to ask for prayer, or to comment on my faith and how they hope for more faith in their own lives. 

In my collected quotations, this one, by L. M. Montgomery in Anne's House of Dreams, where Anne is conversing with Gilbert, perhaps describes my favourite writing projects best,

"I'd like to add some beauty to life, said Anne dreamily.

I don't exactly want to make people know more...

I'd love to have them have a more pleasanter time

because of me...to have some little joy

or happy thought that would never have existed

if I hadn't been born."

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island where she enjoys boating and hiking with her husband. Gardening, reading, sewing, and spending time with her five grandchildren fill her days when she isn't teaching Spanish at a local high school. She also writes a "slice of life" blog at www.fabricpaperthread.blogspot.com