When I lock myself up to write, I cannot allow myself to think about the censor or the reviewer or anyone but my characters and their story!
Judy BlumeRead
When I'm writing a book, you can't think about your audience. You're going to be in big trouble if you think about it. You're got to write from deep inside.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing should come from within, not be influenced by the audience's expectations.
Judy Blume emphasizes that the core of writing lies in personal expression and authenticity rather than catering to the perceived tastes and preferences of an audience. By suggesting that one must write from 'deep inside', she highlights the importance of genuine creativity and introspection, warning that preoccupying oneself with audience expectations can stifle the creative process.
Themes
WritingCreativityAuthenticityExpressionAudience
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, I shared Judy Blume's quote to inspire fellow writers to focus on their inner voice rather than external validation.
More from Judy Blume
All quotes βWhat I remember when I started to write was how I couldn't wait to get up in the morning to get to my characters.
Judy BlumeRead
What can happen if a young reader picks up a book he/she isn't yet ready for? Questions, maybe. Usually, that child puts down the book and says, 'Boring.' Or, 'I'm not ready for this.' Kids are really good at knowing what they can handle.
Judy BlumeRead
Concentrate on how good if feels to be alive. No matter what. Just to see the color of the sky, just to smell the air, and feel the wind in your face
Judy BlumeRead
I wrote 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' right out of my own experiences and my own feelings when I was in sixth grade.
Judy BlumeRead
Nobody ever asks me why my characters don't text each other. Besides, as soon as you put something 'electronic' in a book, it's already out of date by the time it's published: everything will have changed. Human emotion, on the other hand, will never change.
Judy BlumeRead
Similar quotes
Though, technically, I'm shooting on location, my films are actually based inside a woman's heart. I think women are more emotional than men, and that's a thread I've explored in all my films. When I see TV these days, I'm shocked at how all the main women characters are portrayed as evil. Women are the foundation of everything, and they deserve to be treated that way on camera.
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If you have to find devices to coax yourself to stay focused on writing, perhaps you should not be writing what you're writing. And if this lack of motivation is a constant problem, perhaps writing is not your forte. I mean, what is the problem? If writing bores you, that is pretty fatal. If that is not the case, but you find that it is hard going and it just doesn't flow, well, what did you expect? It is work; art is work.
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I'd love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point.
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I've gradually realised that what I do best is universes. And I shouldn't be afraid of that.
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