As a writer of fiction, I spend my days inventing real lives for make-believe people; what I create can only seem real.
I write because I'm in love with language; because I like working for myself, inside my head; and because it's the only way I know to make a stab at answering the never-ending questions of the heart that arise simply from the everyday living of our lives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing is a passionate engagement with language that helps explore and answer life's profound questions.
In this quote, Julia Glass expresses her deep love for language and writing as a means to navigate the complexities of human emotion and experience. She suggests that writing is not only a personal endeavor that allows her to work independently and introspectively, but also a way to confront the endless inquiries and feelings that life presents us with daily. This highlights the transformative power of writing as both an art form and a tool for understanding oneself and the heart's desires.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a creative writing workshop, I shared this quote to inspire participants to embrace their love for language.
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When I was a kid, I took 'The Brady Bunch' and 'The Partridge Family' very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus.
One does not photograph something simply for 'what it is', but 'for what else it is.
I met, not long ago, a young man who aspired to become a novelist. Knowing that I was in the profession, he asked me to tell him how he should set to work to realize his ambition. I did my best to explain. 'The first thing,' I said, 'is to buy quite a lot of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen. After that you merely have to write.'
Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.
I always felt that I was a writer, that was what I had to do.