The reason one writes isn't the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say.
Interpretation
Writing is driven by a deeper purpose than mere communication; it's about expressing intrinsic thoughts and ideas.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote underscores the distinction between mere expression and the deeper intent behind writing. It suggests that true writing stems from a profound need or an intrinsic urge to communicate meaningful ideas, rather than simply wanting to share information. This highlights the importance of authenticity and depth in creative endeavors.
In practice
During a workshop on creative writing, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the importance of genuine expression.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
Today's photographers think differently. Many can't see real light anymore. They think only in terms of strobe - sure, it all looks beautiful but it's not really seeing. If you have the eyes to see it, the nuances of light are already there on the subject's face. If your thinking is confined to strobe light sources, your palette becomes very mean - which is the reason I photograph only in available light.
When I was a child, I used to paint intently. The older I become, and the closer death approaches, the brighter my life gets day by day.
Art supplies constantly to contemplation what nature seldom affords in concrete experience - the union of life and peace.
One reason to write a poem is to flush from the deep thickets of the self some thought, feeling, comprehension, question, music, you didn't know was in you, or in the world.
Whenever I get an idea for a song, even before jotting down the notes, I can hear it in the orchestra, I can smell it in the scenery, I can see the kind of actor who will sing it, and I am aware of an audience listening to it.
I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I'm afraid of.
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