Nature Writing by Lorrie Orr

 

I would argue that every story written contains something of the natural world. It is within the setting of nature that we live our lives. Nature affects much of humankind's actions throughout millennia. The houses we build, the clothes we wear, the food we eat - all are a product of and a response to the created world - nature. 

Nature writing is a sub-genre of creative non-fiction that seems to be growing in popularity. It is not scientific writing, although elements of scientific observation are a useful tool. It is also not completely poetic and personal, rather it bridges these two types of writing to, as one writer puts it "take our world and make it sing." 

Including elements of nature in our writing allows readers to enter into the world we are laying out for them and make connections to our work, and to the world they live in. How many have gotten up to put on a sweater or make a cup of tea when reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder? I know that I have. 

John Muir, an early Nature writer, wrote that nature gives "a glimpse of the mind of God." In the natural world we see abundance, diversity, constancy, and hope - all aspects of God's character. The earth spins on its axis, the seasons change, and flowers bloom because of God's constancy, even in our broken world. He is faithful.

Biblical nature metaphors abound - from "the storehouses of the snow" in Job to God portrayed as an eagle that "hovers over its young" in Deuteronomy. In life, metaphors of rivers often indicate the passing of time, and we use tidal language of ebb and flow for life's seasons. 

Every writer, not just a Nature Writer, benefits from including elements of creation in her work. We can draw inspiration out of our surroundings to highlight emotional responses from our readers. A murder taking place on a dark and stormy night is perhaps trite; a murder taking place on a sun-filled afternoon in the garden provides striking contrast.

Writing about nature requires us to be observant and, as Mary Oliver says, to "pay attention." I find that in my personal journals I often begin writing by describing what's going on outside my window. There's a balance between overly flowery language and mere facts. It's good practice for me. 

A few of my favourite writers who use elements of nature writing include Mary Oliver, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Annie Dillard, Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre), Gladys Taber, Raynor Winn, and Celia Thaxter. 

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island where she and her husband love exploring the beautiful and astounding world God created. 

 

Busy as a Beaver .... by Jocelyn Faire

In this world you will have troubles ...

Almost every negative has a positive side. Can this be true of writer's block?

Biking along the Legacy Trail, a pathway that follows the Trans-Canada highway from Canmore to Banff, my high achieving sister leads the way. She is always busy, always productive. Busy as a beaver, with enough letters behind her name to spare a few for me. Many times I feel un-productive beside her.

I'd been mulling over the writer's block issue knowing I needed to pre-post before the two of us join a trip to the Yukon. I called out to say, “I have to stop.” To our right a well built beaver dam approximately ten feet high, had effectively stopped the creek, vibrant green grass lay below and the still pond above reflected the surrounding trees. “That is a picture of writer's block” I said, hoping to catch it with my camera. Cyclists stopped to see what we were snapping, hoping for wild-life? “It's a beaver's dam.” I said.

“Oh, just a dam?” I noticed a man on foot, with a telephoto lens attached to his camera. Turns out he has been watching and photographing this dam for years, in summer he comes daily to view the progress. He pointed out the recent construction to us, as well as the beaver's hidden lodge. “A beaver family lives in this pond. Just below that new white log is their entrance.” He points, “If you watch closely, you can see the ripples of their movement. There, there goes one now.” I wanted to see it, but all I saw were the water wrinkles. The culprits are invisible, but the evidence is damming.(couldn't resist the pun!)

So what does the Dam of a Beaver have to do with a writer's block?

Writer's Block—what is it?

A usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing www.urbandictionary.com

Temporary or not, the words like water, are not flowing.

When I got home, still reflecting on the powerful damage of the little rodent, I was compelled to look a little further. Google to the rescue.

The beaver's teeth never stop growing. Their dental care plan is simple—keep gnawing at trees; perhaps the writer's take is to keep on writing.

The more exciting find resulted from a three year research project examining ecosystems in the Colorado River: a busy beaver's dam work is felt downstream in a major way.

According to the study:

Beavers are well known for creating large pond-like areas upstream from their dams, but scientists have found that the construction projects also spread water downstream with the efficiency of a massive once-every-200-years flood ... beaver dams force water out of the natural stream channel and spread it across and down the valley for hundreds of yards.

"We found that upstream ponds were not the main hydrologic effect of the [beaver] dams in the Colorado River valley," said study co-author Cherie Westbrook. "Instead, the beaver dams greatly enhance hydrologic processes during the peak-flow and low-flow periods, suggesting that beavers can create and maintain environments suitable for the formation and persistence of wetlands."
(Beaver Dams: http://www.livescience.com/10512-impact-beaver-dams-wider-thought.html)

I re-read the report. When God does something in nature there is always more to it, than meets the ordinary eye, usually my eye. My initial response is not always the correct assumption, I need to go deeper. The power of the beaver dam is to block off the water, but this report suggests that there can be a positive impact on the environment beyond the blockage in the way that the water seeps through to nurture roots. Perhaps the season of writer's block can be used to water the soul in different ways. The slow seepage of water does more for the roots than a quickly passing stream. God wants to nurture my roots in a dry spell.

"In this world you will have troubles, but take heart I have overcome the world.” (Jesus) John 16:33

 

www.schmutzie.com

Jocelyn writes (briefly in summer) at her blog: http://whoistalking.wordpress.com 

She is the author of a grief book, Who is Talking out Of My Head/Grief as an Out of Body Experience