The boys and I have been listening to The Tales of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo.  Although the jury is still out on the content of the story itself (because we haven't gotten to the end), the writing itself has been superior.  I picked up the book on tape because it is a Newberry winner.  It captured our imaginations right from the beginning.  Although the story has been filled with tragedy, it has remained humourous and intriguing enough to keep us glued! 

Kate is also the author who wrote Because of Winn Dixie, and because of some of the imagery and themes I saw in common in her work, I checked out her website tonight.  Although I didn't get answers to the questions I was asking in the back of my mind, her website is a delightful place to visit.  She has a wonderful section on writing that I am planning on recommending to Josh's FLVS teacher.  About writing she said:

 Not until years later when I finally made a commitment to writing, when I was fighting despair, wondering if I had the talent to do what I wanted to do, did those words come back to me. And what I thought was this: I cannot control whether or not I am talented, but I can pay attention. I can make an effort to see.

 

Because of Winn-Dixie is the result of that effort. It is a book populated with stray dogs and strange musicians, lonely children and lonelier adults. They are all the kind of people that, too often, get lost in the mainstream rush of life. Spending time with them was a revelation for me. What I discovered is that each time you look at the world and the people in it closely, imaginatively, the effort changes you. The world, under the microscope of your attention, opens up like a beautiful, strange flower and gives itself back to you in ways you could never imagine. What stories are hiding behind the faces of the people who you walk past everyday? What love? What hopes? What despair?

 

Trey Greer did know what he was talking about. Writing is seeing. It is paying attention.

As I reflected on her comments, I thought about how the things that make for a great writer are also the things God wants us to be as believers.  Coincidence?  I think not!  I am sure that the God who creates instilled part of this, His character, into those gifted to create pictures with words.  I am grateful to Him that He has used circumstances in my life in the last decade to cause me to be more alert to people around me and to wonder about their story, as I try to tell stories, and try to tell the Greatest Story ever told.