The more specific we are, the more universal something can become. Life is in the details. If you generalize, it doesn't resonate. The specificity of it is what resonates.
Interpretation
Being specific helps ideas resonate more deeply with others.
In this quote, Jacqueline Woodson emphasizes the importance of detail and specificity in communication and creativity. She suggests that the more clearly and specifically we articulate our thoughts and experiences, the more universally they can connect with others, as it is the details that give our words depth and relatability, allowing for a stronger emotional impact.
In practice
In a creative writing workshop, this quote could be used to encourage participants to incorporate more specific details in their narratives.
'Brown Girl Dreaming' was a book I had a lot of doubts about - mainly, would this story be meaningful to anyone besides me? My editor, Nancy Paulsen, kept assuring me, but there were moments when I was in a really sad place with the story for so many reasons. It wasn't an easy book to write - emotionally, physically, or creatively.
In the midst of observing the world and coming to consciousness, I was becoming a writer, and what I wanted to put on the page were the stories of people who looked like me.
Sometimes you do have to laugh to keep from crying. And sometimes the world feels all right and good and kind of like it's becoming nice again around you. And you realize it, and realize how happy you are in it, and you just gotta laugh.
I don't want anyone to walk through the world feeling invisible ever again.
The strength of my mother is something I didn't pay attention to for so long. Here she was, this single mom, who was part of the Great Migration, who was part of a Jim Crow south, who said, 'I'm getting my kids out of here. I'm creating opportunities for these young people by any means necessary.'
I would have written 'Brown Girl Dreaming' if no one had ever wanted to buy it, if it went nowhere but inside a desk drawer that my own children pulled out one day to find a tool for survival, a symbol of how strong we are and how much we've come through.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me, along with the growth of vegetation from the earth and of hair from the head, is the growth of understanding.
The consolation of reading biography: Most great men have led lives even more miserable than our own.
There is indeed a certain sense of gratification when we do a good deed that gives us inward satisfaction, and a generous pride that accompanies a good conscience…These testimonies of a good conscience are pleasant; and such a natural pleasure is very beneficial to us; it is the only payment that can never fail. “On Repentance
When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work.
Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
Beware of the person of one book.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.