It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her life experience, prejudices, worldview and thoughts.
Annie ProulxRead
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing is driven by a passion for storytelling and is enhanced through reading.
Annie Proulx emphasizes the intrinsic joy of writing, suggesting that a true writer is motivated by a love for the artistry of language and storytelling. Furthermore, she highlights the importance of reading as a foundational practice that shapes and informs one’s writing skills, suggesting that effective writing evolves from a deep engagement with literature.
Themes
WritingReadingStoriesCreativityEducation
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, a participant could reference this quote to illustrate the connection between reading and writing.
More from Annie Proulx
All quotes →No wonder, he thought, that the panhandle people were a godly lot, for they lived in sudden, violent atmospheres. Weather kept them humble.
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I think it's important to leave spaces in a story for readers to fill in from their own experience.
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If a piece of knotted string can unleash the wind, and if a drowned man can awaken, then I believe a broken man can heal.
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But the only rhyme he could summon for 'out' was 'sauerkraut,' which lacked poetic glory. He let it go. The right line would come in time. That was the thing about poetry. It crept up through the draws and coulees of the brain.
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It takes a year, nephew... a full turn of the calendar, to get over losing someone.
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