To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
Joan DidionRead
You have to make sure you have the characters you want. That's really the most complicated part.
Interpretation
Selecting the right characters is crucial in storytelling and challenges the creator's skill.
Joan Didion's quote emphasizes the importance of character selection in storytelling, suggesting that the most complicated aspect of writing is not the plot itself, but ensuring that the characters resonate well with the narrative and the intended audience. Strong, well-developed characters drive the story forward and make it compelling, impacting both the writer's vision and the reader's experience.
In practice
This quote could be used in a workshop about creative writing.
To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
The truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference: beauty demands to be noticed; it speaks to us directly like the voice of an intimate friend. If there are people who are indifferent to beauty, then it is surely because they do not perceive it.
The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn't just playing, it's about developing future audiences and performers.
Every form is a base for colour, every colour is the attribute of a form.
Only the very greatest art invigorates without consoling.
Architecture arouses sentiments in man. The architect's task therefore, is to make those sentiments more precise.
Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our own spontaneous expression with good humored inflexibility whether the whole cry of voices is on the other side.
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