There's a certain grain of stupidity that the writer of fiction can hardly do without, and this is the quality of having to stare, of not getting the point at once. The longer you look at one object, the more of the world you see in it; and it's well to remember that the serious fiction writer always writes about the whole world.
Interpretation
Fiction writers must embrace a certain ignorance that allows them to explore and see deeper meanings in their subjects.
Flannery O'Connor highlights the importance of patience and observation in the writing process. She suggests that fiction writers benefit from taking the time to deeply engage with their subjects, as this allows them to uncover layers of meaning and represent the complexities of the world through their storytelling. The quality of 'staring' or prolonged observation enriches the writer's perspective, ensuring that their work reflects a more holistic view of reality.
In practice
This quote can be used in a writing workshop to emphasize the importance of observation in creating fiction.
Let me make no bones about it: I write from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. Nothing is more repulsive to me than the idea of myself setting up a little universe of my own choosing and propounding a little immoralistic message. I write with a solid belief in all the Christian dogmas.
What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
If you live today, you breath in nihilism ... it's the gas you breathe. If I hadn't had the Church to fight it with or to tell me the necessity of fighting it, I would be the stinkingest logical positivist you ever saw right now.
There won't be any biographies of me because, for only one reason, lives spent between the house and the chicken yard do not make exciting copy.
Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are
He loved her because it was his nature to do so, but there were times when he could not endure her love for him. There were times when it became nothing but pure idiot mystery.
People are fond of using military terms to describe what they do. We call it bombing when we go out painting, when of course it's more like entertaining the troops in a neutral zone, during peacetime in a country without an army.
Art has always had as its test in the long term the ability to speak to our innermost selves.
As far as I can recall, the initial shiver of inspiration [for Lolita] was somehow prompted by a newspaper story about an ape in the Jardin des Plantes, who, after months of coaxing by a scientist, produced the first drawing ever charcoaled by an animal: this sketch showed the bars of the poor creature's cage.
I have a real interest in pushing some of the limits of things that studios don't want to make.
After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
Poetry is indispensable - if I only knew what for.
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