"I have never started a novel - I mean except the first, when I was starting a novel just to start a novel - I've never written one without rereading Victory. It opens up the possibilities of a novel. It makes it seem worth doing"
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In this quote, Joan Didion reviews the profound effect that Joseph Conrad's novel "Victory" has had on her own writing procedure. By specifying that she has never ever started a book without first rereading "Victory", Didion indicates that this specific work functions as an important source of motivation and an imaginative driver for her writing. She highlights the value of "Victory" in her innovative life, suggesting that it acts as an example for the limitless capacity that a novel can embody.
When Didion mentions her first book, she recommends that the preliminary attempt was driven by the intrinsic motivation to participate in the craft of writing itself. Nevertheless, her subsequent novels are rooted in a much deeper, more reflective practice-- one that includes revisiting a work she thinks about excellent. In stating that "Victory" "opens up the possibilities of an unique", Didion acknowledges the way the book expands her understanding of narrative form, thematic depth, and character intricacy. Conrad's novel most likely challenges standard storytelling limits, providing new insights and novelistic approaches that influence Didion to explore the boundaries of her own creative expression.
The phrase "makes it appear worth doing" poignantly catches a much deeper existential belief about the nature of writing. Writing a novel can be a tough and solitary venture, often loaded with self-doubt and the fear of insignificance. Yet, the act of going over "Victory" reaffirms for Didion the intrinsic worth and possible effect of developing literature. It reminds her that books can capture the intricacies of the human condition and transform both the author and the reader.
In amount, Didion attributes her imaginative renewal and motivation to "Victory", placing it as a cornerstone text that both challenges and raises her work. This practice of revisiting a beloved unique underscores the complex dialogue in between writers and the literature that influences them, highlighting the cyclical nature of motivation.
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