A Few of My Writing Resources by Lorrie Orr

April's prompt is all about Writing Resources. How do you fill your creative container? How do you strengthen your craft? What writing resources do you use? Share books and publications, quotes, podcasts, and other resources you’ve found helpful.

Please remember that if you have difficulty writing to a particular prompt, you are free to write something else with a writing life focus.

Resource: a useful or valuable possession or quality that a person or organization has, for example, money, time, or skills

When I'm stuck for something to write, I often find definitions help me get started. A dictionary is definitely a resource, along with a thesaurus, and The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. The latter is useful for matters of grammar and punctuation.

Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of resources useful to the writer abound in libraries and on the internet. The key is to discover which resources are most useful to me. A search engine is a great resource and I can quickly scroll through the various suggested sites to see which might pique my interest or fulfill a need.

I write some things by hand on paper, but most of my writing is done on a computer, specifically my Surface Pro 8, a cross between a tablet and a desktop. With it I can write anywhere. I use Microsoft Word as my writing tool and find it very useful. Another tool I use is my iPhone, useful for jotting down thoughts on the go or for taking photos of things I don't want to forget such as signs, logos, etc.

My greatest resource is my mind. Without that unseen, complex part of me that's hard to define, I am a shell. With my mind I see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. My mind motivates my behaviour and my emotions. Just thinking of all those synapses constantly firing in my brain is enough to make my mind explode. I am "fearfully and wonderfully made." When my mind is in tune with God's Spirit, it is indeed a marvelous thing.

Since my mind is so important, I must care for it properly so it will serve me well throughout my life. I must nourish it carefully, minimizing the garbage that can hinder its function. I am careful about what I put into my mind, focusing on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, as the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4. Things that fit those descriptive words in my life become more resources for my mind to employ in writing.

I am also cognizant that my mind needs rest and relaxation. During stressful times of life, I am learning to pull back and let my mind recuperate. Time away from writing is just as important as the writing itself. A good night's sleep is something I appreciate more and more. My mind needs gentleness as well as occasional reminders to "do the next thing".

Tea is my hot drink of choice when I sit at my computer. In summer it's a glass of cold water with sprigs of mint or lemon balm. A comfortable chair and a table at just the right height are useful, although I can sit on the couch and write, too. Being in a good position helps me to focus on my writing rather than my physical state.

Creation is also an immensely powerful resource. While walking this morning I thought about how so many people play music or listen to podcasts while walking. I don't. My mind is full to overflowing with thoughts, prayers, songs, and stories. When I write, I find that mental pictures absorbed from what I've seen in nature often provoke a written response.

These are just a few of the things that help me to write.

I could include a vast number of websites, blogs, SubStack writers, and more in this blog. But I'll leave that to you. What resources help you to write?

Lorrie Orr writes from her home on Vancouver Island,

finding beauty and grace in the natural landscape.

Her memoir of 21 years in Ecuador will soon be published,

and you can find more of her writing on SubStack and her blog.

Listen to the Lord by Susan Barclay

 

This month’s writing prompt talks about the heart “as the core of one’s being, composed of our mind, emotion, and will”, and asks us how we keep or guard our heart. How do we guard our mind? How do we guard our emotions? How do we guard our will?

The mind is a powerful force. Our thoughts direct our actions, so it is important to control our thoughts. While we may not be able to restrain an initial, impulsive thought reaction, we can decide that we aren’t going to continue down that path or dwell in a place of negativity, judgment, or anger. We can rein in our thoughts and redirect them. Scripture tells us to “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8).

Because I have someone in my life whose spirit is often critical, I am frequently reminded of how I don’t want to be. When I find myself responding to others with agitation and irritation (I am only human, after all!), I soon remember to examine my thoughts. Are they true? Are they honourable? Are they right, pure, lovely, admirable? If not, I need to change them. I must recall that my “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). [W]e are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy seeks to stir up conflict and division, but God desires us to have an attitude of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. Recently my husband shared with me an Isabel Allum video (begin at 22:47) that speaks to this, if you would like to watch it.

Emotions are also powerful and action-oriented. We need to pay attention to emotions because they can represent our gut reaction or instincts and at times can save us a boatload of trouble. At other times they can mislead us and put us in danger. God has emotions and we are created in his image. Having emotions or being emotional is not “bad,” however unlike God, our expressions of emotions are not always perfect or holy. We have a sinful nature and live in a fallen world of volatility, subjectivity, and recklessness. I’ll confess that I haven’t striven too hard to guard my emotions, largely because I struggle to be in touch with them and feel that, if anything, they are tamped down already. I did find a couple of what I think are good introductory articles on the subject. Check out these in PsychologyToday and MyWell Being.

What else is powerful? Our will. Just like our mind and emotions, our will drives our actions. Merriam-Webster defines “will” (noun) as a desire or wish, such as a disposition, inclination, appetite, passion, choice or determination. I once heard it said (or read) that “the heart wants what it wants,” a quote I see attributed to Woody Allen but could have been said by anyone. This is an expression of the will: we want what we want, and we do whatever is necessary and in our own power to make it happen, even if it’s to our own or others’ detriment. So we must guard what we want and seek to align our will with God’s. He has good plans for us to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We should “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). We should remember that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). Be careful what you wish for,” the saying goes, because things don’t always work out the way we expect. God’s will is much better than ours; trust in him and he will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Rich Mullins is a favourite artist of mine and I leave you with this link to his song, Maker of Noses, for reflection. I hope you see the relevancy to our theme and enjoy Rich's writing as much as I do.

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c. Susan Barclay, 2025. For more about Susan and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com.