I am transcribing a book that I have, in a sense, not yet written, and in another sense, have always written, and in another sense, am currently writing, and in another sense, am always writing, and in another sense, will never write.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the complex relationship between creation, existence, and time in writing.
Charles Yu's quote delves into the intricacies of the writing process, suggesting that the act of writing is not a linear endeavor. Instead, it represents a continuous and evolving journey where past, present, and future intertwine, highlighting the perpetual state of creation and the inherent struggle of articulation that every writer experiences.
In practice
In a creative writing workshop, one might share this quote to encourage participants to reflect on their writing journeys.
I had forgotten: this is what it feels like to live in time. The lurching forward, the sensation of falling of a cliff into darkness, and then landing abruptly, surprised, confused, and then starting the whole process again in the next moment, doing that over and over again, falling into each instant of time and then climbing back up only to repeat the process.
All of her heart, a meaningless phrase, but correct and precise, too. She used her heart to love him, not her head, and not her words and not her thoughts or ideas or feelings or any other vehicle or object or device people use to deliver love or love-like things.
Enjoy the elastic present, which can accommodate as little or as much as you want to put in there. Stretch it out, live inside of it.
Maybe we spend most of our decades being someone else, avoiding ourselves, maybe a man is only himself, his true self, for a few days in his entire life.
You want to tell a story? Grow a heart. Grow two. Now, with the second heart, smash the first one into bits.
It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.
The usefulness of religion - the fact that it gives life meaning, that it makes people feel good - is not an argument for the truth of any religious doctrine. It's not an argument that it's reasonable to believe that Jesus really was born of a virgin or that the Bible is the perfect word of the creator of the universe.
Freedom is the alone unoriginated birthright of man, and belongs to him by force of his humanity.
Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough.
The letter kills the spirit. The written text is mute in the face of responding challenge. It does not admit of inward growth and correction. Text subverts the absolutely vital role of memory.
Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
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