The Effective Author: The Tapestry of Realities in Your Writing

© 2018 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM. World Rights Reserved. Kebba.com

Different levels of “reality” are perceived as “real” by different people. Atheists and Christians, literalists and metaphysicians, flat-world adherents and solar system fans, Earth Supreme and students of Ancient Aliens: all could be your readers. As we consider levels of reality, think about who your ideal readers may be and on what levels you want to write in order to draw and serve them.

As a child, I was taught that what we see is what is real. If you could tap on it, like a piece of furniture or a rock, it was real. At the same time, my Episcopalian mother believed deeply in God and the activity of God. In my years on this planet, I have since seen and experienced many layers of reality. Perhaps part of our human journey is to learn about the many layers of existence, and to learn to accept that we simply do exist on multiple levels, and that there is much the physical eye cannot (yet?) see.

In a simple example, when you “catch a cold,” is that a physical, emotional, mental, or partly metaphysical experience? Did germs or weather exposure cause your cold? Did sadness cause it? Did your lack of vigilance toward your stress-thoughts cause it? Did you attract it because you really needed several days’ change of pace? Or do colds “just happen”? And when you are deciding what to do about the discomforts of having a cold, do you take something for it, ponder your emotional balance, consider how you attracted this experience, and/or pray? In the layers of life and livingness, I work on my (rare) colds on all those levels. I ask Guidance what is needed and then work to bring the needs into balance.

On the level of the meaning/s of life, I have increasingly experienced the Tapestry Effect: the interwoven levels of “reality” meeting each other, over the years. If you weave the Tapestry of your fiction or even nonfiction narratives as richly as reality has been proceeding, you will attract readers who are looking for a deep and meaningful read. Here are a few interlayered examples of reality from my life:

• I was born at St. Therese (Catholic) Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, near Houston. A compassionate nun brought infant Kebba back from the nursery to my young mom, in the middle of the night, because my young mom was crying.
• The sight of nuns in habits has always been very comforting to me. I feel deeply relaxed just thinking of cloisters.
• I knew by age 11 that my life was for God. I thought, for a time, that would mean becoming a nun, but there are no Episcopal nuns. As an adult, I pursue what I am called to do.
• The hospital where I was born was replaced in 1962 with a more modern facility, the St. Elizabeth Hospital. I was unable to find the name of the original hospital, which had been leveled, until I “accidentally” met a minister from Beaumont, who gave me the name as “Saint Teresa’s.” Rev. David Ault became one of the inspirational colleagues of my career and life.
• Friends happened to offer me an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, which greatly inspired me.
• I had years of dealing with strong head pain, due to head injuries. I discovered St. Teresa of Avila was the patron saint of head pain. Today, I smile whenever I hear her name. My head pain is cleared. Was the head pain a gift, to guide me into natural pain relief and healing as a profession?
• From the single photo I have found of St. Therese Hospital, the front steps are red brick or tile. Although we left the area before I turned 2 years old, I have persistent vivid memories of looking down at steps just like that.
• One of my most meaningful professional associations today is with a Catholic retreat center, the Franciscan Renewal Center, where I teach the Biospirituality of Peace Within and serve on the Season for Nonviolence Council.

As you read my list, did you think of parallels from your own life? Make notes to use later. Reality is not always neat and clear, nor does it always show up in orderly sequence. Perhaps you have had experiences that provided a lesson and you thought, “Hey, I could have used that when I was 20!” But reality and realizations don’t always unfold according to earthly chronology.

Our writing can reflect the great, rich depth of the Tapestry of Life, if we take the time to weave it. As you write, you can either weave the interlayered stories and characters, and then see who the readers might be, or select the reader base and weave your work to help them receive what you are sharing. That’s you: The Effective Author^SM!

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Kebba Buckley Button is an ordained minister whose passion is helping people find their Peace Within. She is also a stress management expert with a natural healing practice. Her next class at the Franciscan Renewal Center is on Saturday, February 10^th. Contact her office for details. Kebba is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You, available on Amazon, plus Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office. Her newest book is Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire. It is available on Amazon in full-color glossy format. For the full-color PDF versions, contact the office. For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: calendar@kebba.com