I'm not a writer on a mission, and I'm very suspicious of writers on missions, but I'm also not living a false life.
Marlon JamesRead
The fiction writer in me likes gaps in stories because I can jump into that gap and try to suggest something.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The author appreciates the unfinished aspects of narratives, using them as opportunities for creativity.
Marlon James expresses the idea that gaps or unfinished portions in a story are not limitations but rather invitations for writers to explore and contribute their own interpretations or narratives. This perspective highlights the creative freedom that fiction allows, as writers can fill these gaps with their imagination and personal insights.
Themes
FictionGapsStorytellingCreativityWriter
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I shared a quote by Marlon James to encourage participants to embrace the unknown in their narratives.
More from Marlon James
All quotes βIf your depiction of loss doesn't make the reader feel loss, then you didn't depict it right.
Marlon JamesRead
I always tell my students to complicate your characters: never make it easy for the reader. Nobody is ever one thing. That's what makes characters compelling.
Marlon JamesRead
Not every gay person recites poetry or has read Keats. You can get readers through anything if the characters are complicated. You can't dismiss Josey Wales' quite liberal worldview.
Marlon JamesRead
Similar quotes
Novel-writing is, for the novelist, a game of let's pretend.
Philip RothRead
If I were a first rate writer, I wouldn't mind a bit. What does depress me is this: it is so desperately hard and so obsessive and so lonely to write that, in return for all this work, one would like a little self satisfaction. And that is never going to come, for the simple reason that I do not deserve it. I cannot be a good enough writer. You see? I call it grim. But the future looks awfully clear to me.
Martha GellhornRead
I always say it takes three weeks to know a character and three months to own it. And I think that's probably true of every theater artist. If you really want to see a performance of the show, wait three months.
Brian Stokes MitchellRead
It's time for storytellers to tell the stories that have not had the privilege of being shown to the world, and the audience will be there.
Jon M. ChuRead
Every building must have... its own soul.
Louis KahnRead
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott AdamsRead