Why Write about Nature?
Nature has been one of the primary inspirations for writers and artists since homosapiens began artist endeavors. What motivates its depiction and interpretations varies somewhat from era to era, century to century, decade to decade, generation to generation.
And individual to individual.
What is Nature Narrative Writing?
Nature narrative writing is essentially personal narrative writing directly in reaction to encounters with the natural world. Narratives such as these may describe an event in the author’s experience that changed or influenced how they relate to the natural world or how being in nature became a therapeutic and healing experience as they faced other various challenges in life. Or it may be a commentary on how they understand life and the world after a memorable observation or intensive immersion in some aspect of natural surroundings.
This type of nature writing is distinct from scientific writing about nature, which is a scholarly account of specific research for a specific purpose seeking a somehow measurable result, although some books and research projects may find ways to intentionally combine both approaches.
Notably, however, just as scientific writing has influenced nature narrative writing, significantly, so has spiritual writing, demonstrated by the emergence of eco-spiritualism, a multi-disciplinary approach that may be applied to any religion or spiritual belief system by examining how the values of that tradition support living mindfully and in harmony with nature and sustainable practices.
Stated another way, nature, science, and religion/spirituality are more or less in continuous dialogue—with each other or within their own disciplines (and not necessarily in the same books). However, nature narrative isn’t required to directly engage with either science or religion/spirituality.
Although many fiction works could be described as nature writing, as an encompassing term, my focus for this post is nonfiction.
How to Write about Nature (and Considerations for Editing Nature Writing)
As you may imagine or may have observed, nature narrative writing tends to be descriptive and demonstrably emotive, reflecting the author’s engagement and captivation with its subject. The storytelling follows the qualities observed—from humble, quiet, and peaceful moments to dramatic and majestic interplay.
Crucially, readers will look for how the experience affected the person writing it and why the experience was in some way profound.
Authors who write about nature effectively often demonstrate:
-What is the author’s understanding of the experience?
-What other scientific, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs shape the author’s experience or how did the experience shape those beliefs?
-Why is the author inclined to write about it?
Why Write About Nature? Traditions of Nature Writing
Pastoral traditions of art and literature stretch back to the Bible and ancient Greek literature, while Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) is considered a pioneer of ecology.
The British Romantics are known for exploring nature poetically, the Victorians were absorbed with scientific studies of the plant and animal worlds (that’s not to suggest that the Romantics weren’t scientific or that the Victorians weren’t poetic).
“Manifest Destiny” mentalities of the United States were intent on conquering nature during Westward expansion.
Henry David Thoreau’s and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings on nature and their spiritual views were fundamentally connected.
That is, reasons for nature writing are continually in flux but tend to represent fascination with the tensions of the relationships of domestic and wild, the contrasts or similarities, or the undisturbed wild (if it can be arranged) and how we, as humans, come to terms with those contrasts within our own psyches and ways of living among them.
Nature Advocacy Writing
Nature writing is also closely linked to the establishment of national and state parks and conservation causes.
While some readers and critics, such as the editors of The Norton Book of Nature Writing, object to relegating nature writing to advocacy causes instead of “its own literary form,” I find it important to note that while advocacy writing may not be intrinsic to nature writing, it is often a logical extension of it, and advocacy writing is inherent to many examples of nature writing, such as that by Edward Abbey and Rachel Carson.
Authors such as Isabella Tree have written about rewilding (returning to its original natural state with native plants and animals) transformation, in her case the reviving of their family’s 3500-acre farm.
Editing for Nature Narrative or Advocacy Books
If your nature writing is a form of advocacy writing, you will need to understand the concepts behind persuasive writing.
What most of us probably think of when we hear the term “advocacy writing” is a type of copywriting—a persuasive form of writing usually thought of as sales writing. That is, a specific call to action (CTA) of some sort, often to buy something. However, a CTA might also be used for signing a petition, attending a local government session or town hall meeting, or donating to a cause.
Effective persuasive writing becomes essential in such situations but many of us resist it because of our associations with sales writing that seems “sleazy” because it exaggerates, manipulates, and distorts. But those tactics aren’t inherent to copywriting, persuasive writing, or advocacy writing, they are a reflection of marketing tricks that seek to take advantage, mislead, and misrepresent. CTAs don’t necessarily “sell” anything—they may be written simply as public awareness or as part of a service. They could remind you of the importance of your daily wellness routine (e.g. “Take a moment to check in with yourself…”).
Writers who don’t want to overtly incorporate advocacy into their books may choose to include a blog on their author website for that purpose, but advocacy writing can take many forms and subjects, and versions of it may even appear indirectly in fiction (or directly as an afterword from authors).
Sometimes, persuasive writing can become unbalanced, not through intentional marketing tricks, but through an overzealousness of the author’s determination to make their case. Long ago, Aristotle described a concept known as the rhetorical triangle: ethos, pathos, logos (I’m harkening back to my days as a college English teacher now).
Ethos: credibility and authority (for instance, who are you and what is your expertise)?
Pathos: often an appeal to connect in some way, pathos provides your audience with a reason to care about what you have to say, frequently through storytelling.
Logos: What’s the logic (statistics, data, reasoning) that your argument is based on? You’ll also need to provide the ethos to support them.
As a self-editing technique, consider whether the advocacy component of your nature writing portrays a balanced presentation of the rhetorical triangle.
The reactions of developmental editors and alpha and beta readers may go a long way at this phase of the project when they provide an unbiased reaction to your argument.
Interested in working together? I’m a good-fit editor for nature writers promoting conservation, sustainability, and animal rights advocacy. I also write advocacy blogs and webpages. Contact me to discuss how we might collaborate.