If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Memories, impressions and emotions from the first 20 years on earth are most writers' main material; little that comes afterward is quite so rich and resonant.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The early experiences in life significantly shape a writer's creative material.
John Updike emphasizes the idea that the formative years of a writer's life, especially the first two decades, provide a wealth of vivid memories, impressions, and emotions that are more compelling than experiences encountered later. These early experiences serve as the foundation of their artistic expression and creativity, suggesting that the richness of youth is unparalleled in its influence on a writer's work.
Themes
MemoriesImpressionsEmotionsWritingCreativityYouthExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In an essay about the importance of childhood in shaping one's creative voice.
More from John Updike
All quotes →Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
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Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
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The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
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To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
John UpdikeRead
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