No matter how close to personal experience a story might be, inevitably you are going to get to a part that isn't yours and, actually, whether it happened or not becomes irrelevant. It is all about choosing the right words.
Interpretation
The importance of storytelling lies in the choice of words rather than the accuracy of the experience.
This quote by Roddy Doyle emphasizes that storytelling transcends mere factual recounting of events. Even when a narrative draws from personal experiences, the skillful use of language and the emotional truth conveyed through those words is what truly resonates with the audience, making the details of personal experience less significant than the art of expression.
In practice
In a writing workshop, you could use this quote to inspire participants to focus on the emotional impact of their stories.
GRINNING, DUCKING MY HEAD FOR BALANCE, I START TO SPIN WILDLY AS I CAN. THAT IS MY FAVORITE DANCE, BECAUSE IT CONTAINS A SECRET. THE FASTER I TWIRL, THE MORE I AM STILL INSIDE. MY DANCE IS ALL MOTION WITHOUT, ALL SILENCE WITHIN. AS MUCH AS I LOVE TO MAKE MUSIC, IT'S THE UNHEARD MUSIC THAT NEVER DIES. AND SILENCE IS MY REAL DANCE, THOUGH IT NEVER MOVES. IT STANDS ASIDE, MY CHOREOGRAPHER OF GRACE, AND BLESSES EACH FINGER AND TOE.
They both changed the way we hear the sound of the piano, both of them inventors of sonority: Chopin took bel canto singing lines and reproduced them on the keyboard above richly upholstered counterpoint; Debussy somehow preserved vibrations in the air, blending their ephemeral magic into music that reaches far back into deep memory.
All art is contemporary, if it's alive, and if it's not alive, what's the point of it?
That kill the bloom before its time, And blanch, without the owner's crime, The most resplendent hair.
The biggest thrill you can have is to tell people one of your songs, and have them be able to hum it.
Censorship is the thing that stops you doing what you want to do, and what writers want to talk about is what they do, not what stops them doing it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.