To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
Joan DidionRead
We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers create coherence from chaos by developing a narrative from various unrelated elements.
In this quote, Joan Didion emphasizes that writers craft a unified story by piecing together disparate images and ideas. The act of storytelling becomes a way of making sense of the world, allowing individuals to impose meaning onto random experiences and observations, thus transforming fragmentation into a cohesive narrative.
Themes
NarrativeWritingStorytellingImaginationCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on creative writing, one might use this quote to inspire participants to find connections in their personal experiences.
More from Joan Didion
All quotes βThe truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Joan DidionRead
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
Joan DidionRead
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
Joan DidionRead
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Joan DidionRead
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Joan DidionRead
Similar quotes
[People] want me to finish things. But I see them in such a way and paint them accordingly. ... Nothing is simpler than to complete pictures in a superficial sense. Never does one lie so cleverly as then.
Henri De Toulouse-LautrecRead
Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.
BanksyRead
I have had three masters, Nature, Velasquez, and Rembrandt.
Francisco GoyaRead
I think if I had been writing fiction, where the work is entirely dependent on the writer's creativity and the potential directions the narrative might take are infinite, I might have frozen
Laura HillenbrandRead
Photography is about being exquisitely present.
Joel MeyerowitzRead
The defect in wisdom and taste which exists among the majority of dancers is due to the bad education which they generally receive. They apply themselves only to the material side of their art, they learn to jump more or less high, they strive mechanically to execute a number of steps, and like children, who utter a great many words devoid of sense and relation, they execute many phrases of steps devoid of taste and grace.
Jean-Georges NoverreRead