While most of the things you've worried about have never happened, it's a different story with the things you haven't worried about. They are the ones that happen.
Ruth RendellRead
I have an idea, and I have a perpetrator, and I write the book along those lines, and when I get to the last chapter, I change the perpetrator so that if I can deceive myself, I can deceive the reader.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the creative process of writing and the intentional use of deception in storytelling.
In this quote, Ruth Rendell explores the intricacies of the writing process, particularly the element of surprise in narrative structure. By manipulating the identity of the perpetrator until the last chapter, the author emphasizes the duality of both self-deception and reader deception, highlighting how a well-crafted story can alter perceptions and expectations, engaging both the writer and the reader in a deeper literary experience.
Themes
WritingDeceptionNarrativeStorytellingCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on creative writing, one might share this quote to illustrate the importance of plot twists.
More from Ruth Rendell
All quotes →I always know when a novel is going to be a Barbara Vine one. In fact I believe that if I weren't to write it as Barbara Vine, I wouldn't be able to write it at all.
Ruth RendellRead
Similar quotes
Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.
Itzhak PerlmanRead
I dance for no reason, for reasons you can't dance, Call me an activist of intellectualized circumstance You can't learn my steps until you unlearn your thoughts Spirit, soul, can't be store-bought.
Saul WilliamsRead
Fashion, which often seems to be on a path to be bigger, more Instagram-ready, can also achieve its best through sincerity.
Anna WintourRead
My head is full of fire and grief and my tongue runs wild, pierced with shards of glass.
Federico Garcia LorcaRead
All my life I’ve pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It’s exactly as if I’d said, ‘I want rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple’—they have no idea what I’m talking about. About the best red is to copy the color of a child’s cap in any Renaissance portrait.
Diana VreelandRead
Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.
Steve PrefontaineRead