The Saturday Writing Quote — on magic and hope

I’ll end this month of focusing on the sense of hope inherent in any act of creativity with a line from one of today’s most inventive artists.

“To engender empathy and create a world using only words is the closest thing we have to magic.”

— Lin-Manuel Miranda

I wish you much magic in the year to come, in your studio and beyond. 

The Saturday Writing Quote — on magic and hope

Creative work — no matter what the medium — challenges us to dig deeply into life, into our experiences both our own and not our own. To think and feel deeply, and share our findings through our work.

“People are primarily motivated by a sense of meaning. We want to lead a good life. How do you live a good life if you haven’t thought deeply about life?”
– David Brooks, columnist and speaker, speaking at the University of Montana, 9/10/18, quoted in The Missoulian 

(Photo by Rebecca Bauder)

The Saturday Writing Quote — on magic and hope

The world has been a difficult place lately, you’ve noticed. And while the holiday season is traditionally a time of hope, the plagues of fire, flood, anger, hatred, divisiveness, and inequality can challenge even the perkiest of cozy-mystery protagonists and their authors and readers. So, for this month of December, I’m sharing a few quotes about the importance of our voices, our creative work, to the world.

You are the magic for which the world hungers. …  [T]he world needs your voice! Stories send ripples across continents and through cultures. Stories shape minds. And most importantly, particularly in times like these, stories change hearts. Your writings contribute to a tapestry that captures what it means to be human, at our best and at our very worst. It doesn’t matter if you write comedies or mysteries or dramas set in our own world, past or present, or ones set in alien galaxies a billion light years away. It doesn’t matter if your tales are as vast as a global war or as small as a single household. Your protagonist may be an aging matriarch or an orphaned youth. They may be timid, kind, brave or cruel (and maybe all of those and more). What matters is your devotion to getting it right, to conveying what is real in your world, aligning with your unique perspective. For when writing hits upon truth, eyes are opened. Maybe millions will eventually see your story. But even if it only reaches a dozen, you will have built a bridge where a wall once stood.

So do your duty.”

John J. Kelley, on Writer Unboxed, 10/29/18