#detail

Literature differs from life in that life is amorphously full of detail, and rarely directs us toward it, wheras literature teaches us to notice. Literature makes us better noticers of life; we get to practice on life itself; which in turn makes us better readers of detail in literature; which in turn makes us better readers of life. ↗

— James Wood

#fiction #james-wood #literature #life

Life is not a plot; it's in the details. ↗

— Jodi Picoult

#life #plot #life

To our Creator, a small detail is a big deal. ↗

— Todd Stocker

#details #god #life #love #life

The details of life have a tendency to interfere with the actual living of life. ↗

— Richard Diaz

#life #living #life

There were far worse strategies in life than to try to make each aspect of one's existence a minor work of art. ↗

— Pat Conroy

#detail #excellence #art

When describing nature, a writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after he closes his eyes. For instance: you will capture the truth of a moonlit night if you'll write that a gleam like starlight shone from the pieces of a broken bottle, and then the dark, plump shadow of a dog or wolf appeared. You will bring life to nature only if you don't shrink from similes that liken its activities to those of humankind." (Letter to Alexander Chekhov, May 10, 1886) ↗

— Anton Chekhov

#detail #nature #show-don-t-tell #writing #life

Among these temples there is one which far surpasses all the rest, whose grandeur of architectural details no human tongue is able to describe; for within its precincts, surrounded by a lofty wall, there is room enough for a town of five hundred families. ↗

— Hernando Cortes

#among #architectural #describe #details #enough

In the 19th century the anatomy of the eye was known in great detail and the sophisticated mechanisms it employs to deliver an accurate picture of the outside world astounded everyone who was familiar with them. ↗

— Michael Behe

#accurate #anatomy #astounded #century #deliver

I do write long, long character notes - family background, history, details of appearance - much more than will ever appear in the novel. I think this is what lifts a book from that early calculated, artificial stage. ↗

— Anne Tyler

#appearance #artificial #background #book #calculated

I generally leave the details of fiscal programs to the Administration and Congress. That's really their area of authority and responsibility, and I don't think it's appropriate for me to second guess. ↗

— Ben Bernanke

#appropriate #area #authority #congress #details