quote · Legacy record
In a very real way, one writes a story to find out what happens in it. Before it is written it sits in the mind like a piece of overheard gossip or a bit of intriguing tattle. The story process is like taking up such a piece of gossip, hunting down the people actually involved, questioning them, finding out what really occurred, and visiting pertinent locations. As with gossip, you can't be too surprised if important things turn up that were left out of the first-heard version entirely; or if points initially made much of turn out to have been distorted, or simply not to have happened at all.
In a very real way, one writes a story to find out what happens in it. Before it is written it sits in the mind like a piece of overheard gossip or a bit of intriguing tattle. The story process is like taking up such a piece of gossip, hunting down the people actually involved, questioning them, finding out what really occurred, and visiting pertinent locations. As with gossip, you can't be too surprised if important things turn up that were left out of the first-heard version entirely; or if points initially made much of turn out to have been distorted, or simply not to have happened at all.
Approximate author period: c. 1942 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Samuel R. Delany
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1942 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Samuel R. Delany: documented birth year 1942; activity date not established. Wikidata Q438164, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q438164 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 41097; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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