Among writers, if you don't have a therapist, it's like saying you don't keep a journal or use the thesaurus. It's a natural accompaniment.
Amy TanRead
We all hate moral ambiguity in some sense, and yet it is also absolutely necessary. In writing a story, it is the place where I begin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Moral ambiguity is disliked yet essential for storytelling.
Amy Tan highlights the paradox of moral ambiguity, emphasizing that while it can be uncomfortable, it is a crucial element in storytelling. This complexity allows writers to explore deeper truths about human experience and the challenges of navigating ethical dilemmas, which enriches the narrative and resonates with readers.
Themes
Moral AmbiguityStorytellingEthicsHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on creative writing, I shared a quote by Amy Tan to highlight the importance of moral complexity in narratives.
More from Amy Tan
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You can't have intentions without consequences. The question is, who pays for the consequences? Saving fish from drowning. Same thing. Whoβs saved? Whoβs not?
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I am fascinated by language in daily life: the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.
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Even if I had expected it, even if I had known what I was going to do with my life, it would have knocked the wind out of me. When something that violent hits you, you can't help but lose your balance and fall. And after you pick yourself up, you realize you can't trust anybody to save you- not your husband, not your mother, not God. So what can you do to stop yourself from tilting and falling all over again?
Amy TanRead
And for all those years, we never talked about the disaster at the recital or my terrible accusations afterward at the piano bench. All that remained unchecked, like a betrayal that was now unbreakable. So I never found a way to ask her why she had hoped something so large that failure was inevitable. And even worse, I never asked her what frightened me the most: Why had she given up hope?
Amy TanRead
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He was a thorough good sort; a bit limited; a bit thick in the head; yes; but a thorough good sort. Whatever he took up he did in the same matter-of-fact sensible way; without a touch of imagination, without a sparkle of brilliancy, but with the inexplicable niceness of his type.
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We vary greatly in the natural advantages that we've been given. The world's not fair
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