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Home » Writing Craft » Creativity » Page 3

Creativity

A Writer’s Lorica

By Bob Hostetleron March 17, 2021
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Today is St. Patrick’s Day, which tradition marks as the day of his death. Some mark the day with parades, drinking, and other festivities. I think it’s a great day for prayer, especially for writers, since the famous prayer known as “St. Patrick’s Lorica” (or “breastplate”) is attributed to him. I’ve adapted the prayer numerous times (for my children, grandchildren, etc.), so here is “A Writer’s Lorica,” based on the Breastplate of St. Patrick:

I bind to myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
Invoking the same,
The Three in One
and One in Three.

I plead for my thinking and writing today
The power of love, the power of faith,
Christ’s incarnate immanence,
The passion of his holy death,
Awareness of His imminence,
His power bursting from the spiced tomb,
His exaltation up the heavenly way,
His princely coming at the day of doom
I plead for them all today.

I invoke for my words the power
Of angels’ shout,
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The voice of the seraphim,
The certainty of the Apostles,
The backbone of patriarchs,
The certainty of prophets,
And all good work done
as to the Lord and not for men.

I ask for my work today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s lifegiving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I beseech for my sentences, paragraphs, and pages,
My grammar, style, usage, and punctuation,
My concepts and conceits, advances and retreats,
The power of God to inspire and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give them speech,
His heavenly host to be their guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The lie of judgment, lack of grace,
The haunting doubts that war within,
The lazy word, the easy phrase,
Such fatal flaws as these in me,
In every place and in all hours,
Against all unChristlike tendencies
I ask, in Jesus’ name, these powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the world’s deceitful thrills,
Against the lure of pleasing men,
Against dependence on my own skills,
Protect me, Christ, as You alone can.

Christ be with me, be all to me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ flow through me,
Christ to empty and restore me.
Christ my waking, Christ my sleeping,
Christ my thinking, Christ my feeling,
Christ my laughing, Christ my weeping,
Christ concealing and revealing.

I ask all this in the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Amen.

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Category: Creativity, The Writing Life, Theology

A Cliché Simile Is a Bad Simile

By Bob Hostetleron February 24, 2021
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One of the many things I fairly harp on when I teach at writers conferences (full disclosure: I’m a fair harper) is the need to eliminate clichés from your writing. Seriously, they’re old hat.  One of the places clichés seem to creep in most often is in similes and metaphors. (Quick refresher: a simile is a figure of speech comparing two things, usually using “like” or “as,” while a metaphor is a …

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Category: Craft, Creativity, Grammar

God at Auschwitz

By Dan Balowon February 18, 2021
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Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to travel to a conference in Poland and afterward tour Auschwitz/Birkenau, one of the more infamous Nazi death camps. More than a million people were murdered there at the hands of the SS from 1942 until its liberation by the Russian army in early 1945. The picture I took above shows still-visible fingernail scratches on the wall inside the lone remaining gas …

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Category: Creativity, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Theology

God’s Autonomous Zone

By Dan Balowon February 10, 2021
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In the late 17th century, Catholic theologian and scientist Blaise Pascal authored a book titled Pensées. In it, he wrote: What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he …

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Category: Creativity, The Writing Life, Theology, Trends

Do Writers Read Differently?

By Bob Hostetleron November 18, 2020
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Writers are readers. Right? Of course, right. In fact, I’d say that if you’re not a devoted, even voracious reader, you might not want to pursue writing for publication, as reading and writing tend to go hand-in-hand. But do writers read differently than other people? And if so, how? I asked that question of some of my friends and clients, and here’s what they said: Yes, I think writers read …

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Category: Creativity, Reading, The Writing Life

What about Credit for Ideas?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 5, 2020
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The “Your Questions Answered” Series __________ If an author asks his or her Facebook followers or blog readers for help in brainstorming, does the author owe anything if he or she uses an idea presented in that way? I have seen some do it as a contest. They’ll ask for ideas for the book title or a character’s name, and if they use one, they’ll give that person a free, signed …

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Category: Copyright, Creativity, Your Questions Answered Series

A Writer’s “Voice”

By Bob Hostetleron October 28, 2020
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A couple months ago I asked some of my clients if there are terms they hear in writing and publishing that they wish someone would clearly and conclusively define. One said this: “Professionals say, ‘Find your voice,’ ‘Trust your voice,’ ‘Embrace your voice.’ I can recognize another writer’s voice, but I can’t for the life of me describe mine. Is ‘your voice’ something someone else has to describe …

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Category: Craft, Creativity, Editing, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, Writing CraftTag: voice, writing voice

Strange Writing Habits

By Bob Hostetleron September 30, 2020
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In the acknowledgments for her novel In the Midst of Winter, Isabel Allende reveals that she starts each new book on January 8.  Isn’t that interesting? That little tidbit got me thinking (always dangerous, I know). So, I asked some clients to share any strange writing habits—quirks, superstitions, compulsions, etc.—they might have (also dangerous, I know). Here’s what they said: If I don’t …

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Category: Creativity, The Writing Life

How Do I Identify the Needs of My Readers?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 10, 2020
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The “Your Questions Answered” Series __________ Could you offer some help for identifying the needs of readers? I am a strong biblical writer and want to share what I’ve learned, but it is hard for me to link it with a particular need. Ask yourself: What does the Bible say about relationships, such as: Marriage Children Parents Siblings Extended family Church Friends What does the Bible say about: …

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Category: Creativity, Your Questions Answered Series

Should You Write Short Stories First?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 20, 2020
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The “Your Questions Answered” Series __________ What are your thoughts on writing some short stories before you jump into your first novel? I don’t recommend writing short stories before jumping into your first novel IF your goal is to be a novelist. Writing where you don’t want your success to be is akin to the dieter craving a chocolate candy bar but eating a container of yogurt instead. I’ve …

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Category: Branding, Career, Craft, Creativity, Genre, Your Questions Answered Series
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