I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany´s.
Truman CapoteRead
I think the only person a writer has an obligation to is himself. If what I write doesn't fulfill something in me, if I don't honestly feel it's the best I can do, then I'm miserable.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A writer's primary responsibility is to express their own truth and fulfill their own creative needs.
Truman Capote emphasizes the importance of authenticity and self-fulfillment in the writing process. He suggests that a writer should prioritize their own creative satisfaction and integrity over external expectations or obligations, as failing to do so leads to personal dissatisfaction and misery.
Themes
WriterObligationAuthenticitySelf-FulfillmentCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, a facilitator might share this quote to encourage participants to focus on their own genuine voices.
More from Truman Capote
All quotes →All writing, all art, is an act of faith. If one tries to contribute to human understanding, how can that be called decadent? It's like saying a declaration of love is an act of decadence. Any work of art, provide it springs from a sincere motivation to further understanding between people, is an act of faith and therefore is an act of love.
Truman CapoteRead
No one will ever know what 'In Cold Blood' took out of me. It scraped me right down to the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did kill me.
Truman CapoteRead
Hot weather opens the skull of a city, exposing its white brain, and its heart of nerves, which sizzle like the wires inside a lightbulb. And there exudes a sour extra-human smell that makes the very stone seem flesh-alive, webbed and pulsing.
Truman CapoteRead
I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together.
Truman CapoteRead
The quietness of his tone italicized the malice of his reply.
Truman CapoteRead
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