Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects just need time, as I've learned over and over again. You've got to wait before you write about them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writer's block isn't a true phenomenon; it arises when we attempt to tackle ideas before they are ready.
This quote by Joyce Carol Oates emphasizes the idea that creativity has its own timing. It suggests that when an individual forces the creative process, it may lead to frustration and a sense of block. Instead of succumbing to writer's block, one should recognize that certain topics or ideas require a period of reflection and maturation before they can be effectively expressed. Thus, patience is essential in the creative process.
Themes
WritingCreativityPatienceInspirationProcess
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to encourage students to give themselves grace in their creative process.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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