I didn't know I was a zombie pedant until I started considering what from the zombie canon to keep in 'Zone One' and what to ignore.
Colson WhiteheadRead
People don't like it when you compare the miracle of childbirth to writing a book, but I think there is some overlap in the two because they are both pure agony.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Both childbirth and writing a book can be painful yet rewarding experiences.
In this quote, Colson Whitehead draws a parallel between the intense emotional and physical struggles of childbirth and the challenges of the creative process involved in writing a book. He suggests that despite their differences, both experiences require perseverance and can result in the creation of something beautiful and transformative.
Themes
ChildbirthWritingPainCreationMiracle
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used as an icebreaker in a writing workshop when discussing the struggles of authors.
More from Colson Whitehead
All quotes →I don't generally follow sports. At an early age, I discovered that nature had apportioned me only a small reserve of enthusiasm. Best to ration.
Colson WhiteheadRead
In keeping with my family's affection for doomed product lines and hexed formats, we purchased a Betamax. The year before, we'd bought a TRS-80 instead of an Apple II, and in due course we'd unbox Mattel's Intellivision, instead of Atari's legendary gizmo. This was good training for a writer, for the sooner you accept the fact that you are a deluded idiot who is always out of step with reality the better off you will be.
Colson WhiteheadRead
Access to information, to music or any kind of culture, is getting faster and faster and more streamlined. At each juncture, people are thrown into tumult and have to adapt or die.
Colson WhiteheadRead
I use New York to talk about home, but the ideas in 'Colossus' could be transferred to other cities. The story about Central Park is really about the first day of spring in any park. The Coney Island chapter is really about beaches and summer and heat waves.
Colson WhiteheadRead
Early on my career, I figured out that I just have to write the book I have to write at that moment. Whatever else is going on in the culture is just not that important. If you could get the culture to write your book, that would be great. But the culture can't write your book.
Colson WhiteheadRead
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