Take a writing lesson from the B-I-B-L-E

Yesterday, I told another creative writer who'd stopped in my office that I'm ruined when it comes to reading books.

He stared at me quizzically.

I went on to explain that now that I've studied and aimed to be a practitioner of creative writing, I can no longer experience a book the way I used to--innocently, wholly, naively. Now, anything I read is interpreted through the gimlet eye of the writer searching for craft.

If no longer reading thrillers for sheer enjoyment weren't bad enough, now I can't even participate in readings from the Bible during a church service without examining the craft evident in the text.

Maybe that's because the Bible is so well crafted, especially when it comes to the use of fresh, figurative language.

Last Sunday, the first reading was from the book of Isaiah, chapter 35. Look at the first several verses through the lens of a creative writer:

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.

(skip to verse 5):

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy,
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

First, I really responded to the personification in the passage: desert rejoicing; crocus rejoicing with singing; the land shall be glad.

Next, I love the comparisons that are fresh and unpredictable: the lame shall leap like a deer; the tongue of the speechless sing for joy; burning sand shall become a pool; haunts of jackals shall become a swamp.

In the book of Isaiah, the writer takes us places we don't expect to travel. Forget the lame merely walking. No, they're going to leap like deer! How powerful is that? Plenty powerful.

The the speechless won't just recover their speech. They'll sing for joy.

The burning sand doesn't cool down. No, that's not potent enough to express what God's chosen people can find once God leads them out of exile. The sand must become a pool to be impactful.

The language "the haunts of jackals shall become a swamp" is evocative. A few well-chosen nouns (haunts, jackals, swamp) and a clear image forms in the minds of readers!

The other piece of craft worth noting is the prophet Isaiah's attention to audience. He is writing to a people who have been in captivity in Babylonia for so long--for generations--that they are past hope. His language must capture their imaginations, and in describing how their homeland will transform so completely to welcome them, he captures our imaginations, too.

If you're looking for a new source of craft, try reading passages from the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, which is laden with powerful and lovely prose. It couldn't be more instructive--in more ways than one.