I don't think the world will destroy itself in a nuclear cataclysm. On the contrary, we have the capacity to save ourselves and save the planet, and we will use it.
Isabel AllendeRead
I never try to convey a message, I just want to tell a story. Why that story in particular? I have no idea, but I have learned to surrender to the muse. I become obsessed with a theme or with certain stories; they haunt me for years, and finally, I write them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of storytelling over delivering explicit messages in writing.
In this quote, Isabel Allende reflects on her artistic process, emphasizing that she does not set out to convey a specific message but rather to tell compelling stories. She acknowledges the unpredictable nature of inspiration, describing how certain themes and stories captivate her for a long time, leading her to write them down. This highlights the creative process as one of surrendering to inspiration and allowing the story to unfold naturally.
Themes
StorytellingCreativityInspirationWritingArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop to encourage emerging writers about the importance of storytelling.
More from Isabel Allende
All quotes →My mother is a great artist, but she always treated her paintings like minor postcards. Had she pursued it, she would have been a great artist. Instead, she looked down on her art.
Isabel AllendeRead
My life is about ups and downs, great joys and great losses.
Isabel AllendeRead
I'm interested in people who have to overcome obstacles, people who are not sheltered by the umbrella of the establishment, marginals.
Isabel AllendeRead
I'm a writer. In Latin America, they say I'm a Latin-American writer because I also write in Spanish and my books are translated, but I am an American citizen and my books are published here, so I'm also an American writer.
Isabel AllendeRead
All summer, I read fiction because you must read for the pleasure and beauty of it, and not only for research. I don't read thrillers, romance or mystery, and I don't read self-help books because I don't believe in shortcuts and loopholes.
Isabel AllendeRead
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