I discovered that writing was very nice indeed when I was very young, and I never changed. I don't think my style has changed very much at all - though I hope what I say is a bit more interesting. It's about getting to know a character and loving them, I think.
Interpretation
Writing is a cherished activity that remains constant throughout one's life and fosters a deep connection with characters.
This quote from Jane Gardam reflects a lifelong passion for writing that remains unchanged from childhood despite hopes of improvement in depth and interest. It emphasizes the importance of developing a relationship with the characters created, suggesting that true engagement in writing occurs when one both knows and loves the characters they bring to life.
In practice
This quote could be shared in a writing workshop to inspire young authors.
Stories of all lengths and depths come from different parts of the cave. For a novel, you must lay in mental, physical and spiritual provision as for a siege or for a time of hectic explosions, while a short story is, or can be, a steady, timed flame like the lighting of a blow lamp on a building site full of dry tinder.
I started to write as a child as soon as I could read, or even before, when my mother read me Beatrix Potter at bedtime. Writing seemed to me to be the only sensible way to live and be happy.
I was nearly 40 when I started. I had no fear that I wasn't going to write. I knew it was just delayed. Then, my goodness, I never stopped.
In modern novels, there is no one I want to copy. My style 'is a poor thing, but it is my own.'
This world is but a canvas to our imagination.
Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgement. The artist... faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an offensive state.
Every form of theatre has something in common with a visit to the doctor. On the way out, one should always feel better than on the way in.
My music is best understood by children and animals.
The genius of poetry must work out its own salvation in a man; it cannot be matured by law and precept, but by sensation and watchfulness in itself. That which is creative must create itself.
Most serious writers refuse to make themselves available to the things that technology is doing. I've never been able to understand this sort of fear.
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