Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of the chaos, can point to the fact that some people survived even as most people died. And can remind us that the swallows still sing around the smokestacks.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the power of storytelling to convey human experiences amidst tragedy.
Jane Yolen's quote reflects the profound ability of fiction and storytelling to capture the essence of human experience, particularly in times of suffering and loss. While numbers and statistics can be cold and unyielding, a storyteller bridges the gap between facts and emotions, allowing us to remember and empathize with those who have endured hardship. Through vivid narratives, they highlight resilience and beauty, reminding us that life continues even in the darkest times.
Themes
StorytellingMemoryHuman ExperienceResilienceNarrative
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a memorial service could use this quote to highlight the importance of remembering the stories of those who suffered.
More from Jane Yolen
All quotes →I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
Jane YolenRead
What makes a good book? Scholars and critics have been debating that question for decades. I like books that touch my head and my heart at the same time.
Jane YolenRead
Just write. If you have to make a choice, if you say, 'Oh well, I'm going to put the writing away until my children are grown,' then you don't really want to be a writer. If you want to be a writer, you do your writing... If you don't do it, you probably don't want to be a writer, you just want to have written and be famous—which is very different.
Jane YolenRead
I believe that culture begins in the cradle . . .To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity's past, is to have no star map for our future.
Jane YolenRead
Childrens books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.
Jane YolenRead
Similar quotes
I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.
Wilkie CollinsRead
I'm writing all the time. And as the songs begin to coalesce, I'm not doing anything else but writing. I wish I were one of those people who wrote songs quickly. But I'm not. So it takes me a great deal of time to find out what the song is.
Leonard CohenRead
I'm just glad that I'm the musical equivalent of a character actress, because blues singers can keep singing and having an audience at 35, and someone like Madonna's gonna have to find something else to do, 'cos I don't care how pointy those bras are that she wears, they're still gonna look a little odd when she's 55!
Bonnie RaittRead
Let me sit in a flowerpot, The spiders won't notice. My heart is a stopped geranium.
Sylvia PlathRead
If you don't think there is magic in writing, you probably won't write anything magical.
Terry BrooksRead
The effect of sincerity is to give one's work the character of a protest. The painter, being concerned only with conveying his impression, simply seeks to be himself and no one else.
Claude MonetRead