News on Book 2 of Piper Pan and Her Merry Band:

I got some helpful feedback, and I’m back at work on it. Not much to share beyond that. Instead I’m bringing you a quote of the week.

This quote of the week is a line from a movie I love. It inspires and motivates me as an author. As a reader, it gives me a rare window into the heart of authors I enjoy.

“That is what we storytellers do—

We restore order with our imagination.

We instill hope—again, and again, and again.”

The line comes from Saving Mr. Banks starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers, author of the book Mary Poppins.

The scene is late in the movie. Walt Disney has followed Mrs. Travers all the way back to London, in pursuit of the movie rights she has so far refused to grant. It’s a pivotal moment in the film. He finally “gets it.” He intuits the great “wrong” that drives her creative process; the key that unlocks both the author and her creation.

He tells the story of his own father, a man so driven by the need for profit that he lost sight of his sons’ needs. Walt speaks to his need to let go of the painful memories, to plant something wonderful in their stead.

Mrs. Travers has taken her father’s first name as her nomme de plume. Her father’s fate carries as large a significance for her as Walt’s father has for him. Walt articulates the driving need we have, as artists, to make things all right, both for ourselves and those we loved. He has a gorgeous line about how storytellers do that. This is what Walt says:

“That is what we storytellers do—

We restore order with our imagination.

We instill hope—again, and again, and again.”

 How wonderful to realize one of the great roles of stories and storytelling. In this way, stories become vehicles for healing. To me, that’s quite grand!