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
Grammar is a piano I play by ear.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Grammar is intuitive and can be understood without formal training, much like playing music by ear.
In this quote, Joan Didion uses the metaphor of playing the piano by ear to suggest that grammar, much like music, can be learned through instinct and personal touch rather than strict rules. This reflects the idea that language can be flexible and creative, inviting a more organic approach to writing and communication.
Themes
GrammarLanguageIntuitionWritingExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, I referenced Didion's quote to emphasize the importance of intuitive writing.
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.
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I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
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Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
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Similar quotes
Once you have learned to trust your own voice and allowed that creative force inside you to come out, you can direct it to write short stories, novels, and poetry, do revisions, and so on. You have the basic tool to fulfill your writing dreams. But beware. This type of writing will uncover other dreams you have, too-going to Tibet, being the first woman president of the United States, building a solar studio in New Mexico-and they will be in black and white. It will be harder to avoid them.
Natalie GoldbergRead
The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts, but learning how to make facts live.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
To confer the gift of drawing, we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. In this sense, life itself is the only preparation for drawing. Once we have lived, the inner spark of vision does the rest.
Maria MontessoriRead
In a way, education by its nature favours the extrovert because you are taking kids and putting them into a big classroom, which is automatically going to be a high-stimulation environment. Probably the best way of teaching in general is one on one, but that's not something everyone can afford.
Susan CainRead
Words and ideas work in the short run to get you through school and to impress educators and employers. But they do not work in the long run or in the deep run. We soon find ourselves separate and without wonder.
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I cannot imagine the type of sinister fiend who would be against the library. A library essentially says, 'Look, here is some free information that will enrich your life. Read it on your own time. I trust that you will bring it back when you are finished.' It might be the most civilized, forward-thinking institution in America. Perhaps the only one, in fact.
Chuck KlostermanRead