Artists are not cheerleaders, and we're not the heads of tourism boards. We expose and discuss what is problematic, what is contradictory, what is hurtful and what is silenced in the culture we're in.
Junot DiazRead
I seem to have to make my characters family before I can access their hearts in any way that matters.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creating a familial bond with characters allows for deeper emotional connections.
Junot Diaz highlights the importance of establishing a familial relationship with characters in storytelling to unlock their emotional depth. By treating characters as family, writers can access the core of their hearts, making their narratives more poignant and relatable.
Themes
CharactersFamilyRelationshipsEmotionalStorytelling
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a workshop about character development in writing.
More from Junot Diaz
All quotes βRun a hand through your hair, like the white boys do, even though the only thing that runs easily through your hair is Africa.
Junot DiazRead
I can see myself watching him shave every morning. And at other time I see us in that house and see how one bright day (or a day like this, so cold your mind shifts every time the wind does) he will wake up and decide it's all wrong. I'm sorry, he'll say. I have to leave now.
Junot DiazRead
Migration gives a blank cheque to put anything you don't feel like addressing in the memory hold. No neighbours can go against the monster narrative of your family.
Junot DiazRead
We all dream dreams of unity, of purity; we all dream that there's an authoritative voice out there that will explain things, including ourselves.
Junot DiazRead
I think 90% of my ideas evaporate because I have a terrible memory and because I seem to be committed to not scribble anything down. As soon as I write it down, my mind rejects it.
Junot DiazRead
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