QuoteProject
I do tend to think that I've written a great deal out of my unconscious because half the time I don't know what a given character is going to say next.
Harold Pinter
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the idea that creativity often comes from the unconscious mind, suggesting spontaneous inspiration.

Harold Pinter's quote highlights the concept that much of art and writing can stem from the unconscious, where the author might not fully control or understand the characters they create. This spontaneity can lead to profound and authentic expressions in storytelling, indicating that the creative process is sometimes guided by instinct rather than conscious thought.

Themes

CreativityUnconsciousSpontaneityWritingArt

In practice

Example use cases

In a workshop about writing techniques, you might use this quote to encourage participants to embrace their intuitive creativity.

More from Harold Pinter

I'll tell you something, and this is true: I've never been able to write a film which I didn't respect. I just can't do it. I'm very happy about all the films I haven't done.
Harold PinterRead
All that happens is that the destruction of human beings - unless they're Americans - is called collateral damage.
Harold PinterRead
I never think of myself as wise. I think of myself as possessing a critical intelligence which I intend to allow to operate.
Harold PinterRead
It's so easy for propaganda to work, and dissent to be mocked.
Harold PinterRead
There are places in my heart...where no living soul...has...or can ever...trespass.
Harold PinterRead
The speech we hear is an indication of that which we don't hear. It is a necessary avoidance, a violent, sly, and anguished or mocking smoke screen which keeps the other in its true place. When true silence falls we are left with echo but are nearer nakedness. One way of looking at speech is to say that it is a constant stratagem to cover nakedness.
Harold PinterRead

Similar quotes

The last song was so deep and raw and pure that I could not escape. It was as if the people were singing in between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt like their voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a scared kid, and I opened up to that feeling-and it washed over me.
Anne LamottRead
I wanted to keep exploring... I'm not about to choose a series of movies in which I can use the same bag of tricks and style that I used in the first film.
Sam MendesRead
One reason to write a poem is to flush from the deep thickets of the self some thought, feeling, comprehension, question, music, you didn't know was in you, or in the world.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Create form out of the nature of the task with the means of our time. This is our work.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
What's incredible about 'Hamilton,' and the reason you can't get a ticket, is because everyone's responding to it. Everyone is seeing a bit of themselves in it.
Lin-Manuel MirandaRead
I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, "That's a flower.
Sherman AlexieRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Harold Pinter | QuoteProject