Most writers tend to get worse rather than better. I'm determined to be one that gets better.
Edmund WhiteRead
I changed my writing style deliberately. My first two novels were written in a very self-consciously literary way. After I embraced gay subject matter, which was then new, I didn't want to stand in its way. I wanted to make the style as transparent as possible so I could get on with it and tell the story, which was inherently interesting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects an evolution in the author's writing style to prioritize storytelling over literary form.
In this quote, Edmund White discusses how his approach to writing transformed as he began to explore gay subjects in his novels. He moved away from a self-aware, literary style to a more transparent one, allowing the narrative to take precedence and engage the reader with the inherent interest of the story itself. This illustrates a profound understanding of how style can impact the delivery and reception of content.
Themes
WritingStyleStorytellingGay LiteratureTransparency
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be referenced in a lecture about the evolution of writing styles in modern literature.
More from Edmund White
All quotes →I've always seen writing as a way of telling the truth. For me, writing is about truth. I have always tried to be faithful to my own experience.
Edmund WhiteRead
In a memoir, your main contract with the reader is to tell the truth, no matter how bizarre.
Edmund WhiteRead
If bigots oppose gay marriage so vehemently, it must be because marriage is a defining institution for them; gays will never be fully accepted until they can marry and adopt, like anyone else.
Edmund WhiteRead
When we are young... we often experience things in the present with a nostalgia-in-advance, but we seldom guess what we will truly prize years from now.
Edmund WhiteRead
I was never an assimilationist. I always thought gays had some special mission.
Edmund WhiteRead
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