Word and deed...

I think of painting and music as subcutaneous arts. They get under your skin. They may get deeper than that eventually, but it takes a while, and they get there to some extent tinged by if not diluted by the conditions under which you saw them or heard them. Writing on the other hand strikes me as intravenous. As you sit there only a few inches from the printed page, the words you read go directly into the bloodstream and go into it at full strength. More than the painting you see or the music you hear, the words you read become in the very act of reading them part of who you are, especially if they are the words of exceptionally promising writers. If there is poison in the words, you are poisoned; if there is nourishment, you are nourished; if there is beauty, you are made a little more beautiful. In Hebrew, the word dabar means both word and also deed. A word doesn’t merely say something, it does something. It brings something into being. It makes something happen. What do writers want their books to make happen?
--Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life, p. 189-190

Tricia’s Thoughts:
What do you want readers to do after laying down your book? Would you like to see a change in their thinking, or perhaps a change in their lifestyle? Would you like them to show appreciate for God’s creation, be gentler with their family, or open their arms to friends? Would you like them to see Jesus in a new light or be more determined to love the unlovely?

Writing is power. The words we offer do change people. They will not walk away the same after reading them.

Just something to consider the next time you sit down to write: What do I desire for this book to make happen?