From the National Cathedral

Do you ask an illustrator to write a book? No, that is for the writer to do. Do you ask a writer to illustrate a book? No, that is for the illustrator to do. Together they create a story that illustrator-types and writer-types can both enjoy. They’ve approached the story as they are able and through their efforts others may also approach the story as they are able. The whole world shares in the gifts.

Some are gifted and able to approach stories as both writer and illustrator. So much greater the gift and the blessing, but may they not look down on those who approach only one way. For it is through all gifts both big and small that the story is exalted.

The writer meant no disrespect in missing the subtleties of the illustrator’s art when forming sentences, and likewise the illustrator meant no disrespect by simplifying the writer’s craft into one glimpse. As neither are masters of the other’s craft, they cannot measure up or be judged parallel or compared. While the writer conveys action and movement, the illustrator conveys detail and imagery. Neither approach is better nor worse; they are merely different.

Differences that divide subtract from the whole. Each craft becomes competition, drawing audiences away from the true center, the story, and towards the writing or the illustrations. Differences that complement combine to form something greater than the two parts could alone. The focus can then be central as the voice of the story is multiplied. The focus is seen and the story magnified when the elements are held together despite differences.