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
I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the idea that writing serves as a means of self-discovery and understanding one's thoughts and emotions.
Joan Didion's quote highlights the intrinsic relationship between writing and self-exploration. She articulates how the act of writing allows her to delve into her own thoughts, perceptions, desires, and fears, portraying writing as not just a form of expression but also a tool for comprehension of oneβs own mental landscape and emotional state.
Themes
WritingSelf-DiscoveryThoughtsEmotionsFearUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to emphasize the importance of reflection through writing.
More from Joan Didion
All quotes βThe truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Joan DidionRead
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
Joan DidionRead
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
Joan DidionRead
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Joan DidionRead
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Joan DidionRead
Similar quotes
If anyone should want to know my name, I am called Leah. And I spend all my time weaving garlands of flowers with my fair hands, t o please me when I stand before the mirror; my sister Rachel sits all the day long before her own, and never moves away. She loves to contemplate her lovely eyes; I love to use my hands to adorn myself: her joy is in reflection, mine in act.
Dante AlighieriRead
In my art, I deconstruct and then I reconstruct, so visual perception is one of my primary interests.
Chuck CloseRead
People haven't always been there for me, but music always has.
Taylor SwiftRead
Movies aren't finished, they're abandoned. And you have to make your peace with that.
David FincherRead
When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.
Pablo PicassoRead
I think that were beginning to remember that the first poets didn't come out of a classroom, that poetry began when somebody walked off of a savanna or out of a cave and looked up at the sky with wonder and said, "Ahhh." That was the first poem.
Lucille CliftonRead