By the numbers/by the story

We seem to live in a world that boils down to numbers. World markets get jittery in advance of the release of metrics - unemployment rates, wholesale inventories, retail prices. Fortunes rise and fall on how much the market thinks we will spend on Christmas presents this year. Then there are personal numbers - household income, miles per gallon, the dreaded scale.

But does the world really run on numbers?

I've been listening to all of the coverage of
the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor since yesterday. I'm hearing third woman, sixth Catholic, first Latina. But more than anything, I am hearing one thing: She Has A Compelling Story.

Born into poverty, daughter of immigrants, raised by her widowed mother... we love the story of people who live out what for many others is only a dream of the American Dream.

It's hard to measure what inspires us. Does it boil down to numbers or gut feeling?

WWfaC has been making it safe and possible for all of us to tell our stories, no matter whether they're about the rainbow or the storm. Our supportive, non-competitive atmosphere encourages writers to take risks without fear; risks in form and risks in subject matter.

Not only are we able to get our words on the page but also we find our voices and become better writers in the process.

Gut AND numbers.

So what's your story?