The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: 'Just do it; get something, anything, on to the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticise them later.' You give this advice but can't always take it.
Hilary MantelRead
Insights don't usually arrive at my desk, but go into notebooks when I'm on the move. Or half-asleep.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creative insights often come during moments of movement or relaxation rather than in structured settings.
This quote by Hilary Mantel highlights the idea that inspiration and creativity can strike when we are not actively seeking them, such as while being physically active or in a relaxed state. It suggests that the mind can be more open to new ideas when we are engaged in movement or are in a semi-conscious state, emphasizing the importance of being open to insights that arise spontaneously.
Themes
InsightCreativityMovementInspirationNotebook
In practice
Example use cases
In a creative writing workshop, I shared this quote to encourage participants to jot down ideas at any moment.
More from Hilary Mantel
All quotes βHistory is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it.
Hilary MantelRead
Why are we so attached to the severities of the past? Why are we so proud of having endured our fathers and our mothers, the fireless days and the meatless days, the cold winters and the sharp tongues? It's not as if we had a choice.
Hilary MantelRead
He is careful to deny responsibility for September, but he does not, you notice, condemn the killings. He also refrains from killing words, sparing Roland and Buzot, as if they were beneath his notice. August 10 was illegal, he says; so too was the taking of the Bastille. What account can we take of that, in revolution? It is the nature of revolutions to break laws. We are not justices of the peace; we are legislators to a new world.
Hilary MantelRead
It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.
Hilary MantelRead
History offers us vicarious experience. It allows the youngest student to possess the ground equally with his elders; without a knowledge of history to give him a context for present events, he is at the mercy of every social misdiagnosis handed to him.
Hilary MantelRead
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