--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Write in pictures. With your words, let…" description: "\"“Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not letters, but images. Be specific about every detail, but don't describe it--make it happen ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg" --- # Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not… ![“Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not letters, but images. Be specific about every detail, but don't describe it--make it happen on the page, if you were writing fiction, or make it happen over again, if you were writing about history or some recent event.” quote by A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg) > ““Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not letters, but images. Be specific about every detail, but don't describe it--make it happen on the page, if you were writing fiction, or make it happen over again, if you were writing about history or some recent event.”” [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourage vivid, image‑based writing that shows scenes rather than merely naming them. **In simple terms:** Show, don’t tell. Key Takeaway Use concrete details to create mental pictures. Themes writing imagery detail visualization Mood inspirational creative Type instructional artistic When to use this quote - fiction writing - historical narrative - journalism Key Concepts show don sensory description creative technique Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance vividness with brevity? - Which senses best serve your story? A Different Perspective May become overly ornate, obscuring clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [I like to do the research of history and the creativity of writing fiction. I am creating this thing which I think is twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-like-to-do-the-research-of-history-and-the-creativity-of-writing/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [I think with pictures; I'm a very lousy writer. If I write without pictures, I become this pathetic chick sitting somewhere trying to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-think-with-pictures-i-m-a-very-lousy-writer-if-i-write-without/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [I want to make books. I want to take pictures and then write all over the pictures. And then I don't have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-want-to-make-books-i-want-to-take-pictures-and-then-write-all-over/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [I like to read and write and take pictures and bike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-d-linz/i-like-to-read-and-write-and-take-pictures-and-bike/) [Alex D. Linz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-d-linz/) > [“I make books because I love them as objects; because I want to put the pictures and the words together, because I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-make-books-because-i-love-them-as-objects-because-i-want-to-put-the/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Everybody's idea of a great book is different, of course. For me it's one that makes my jaw drop on every page, the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/everybody-s-idea-of-a-great-book-is-different-of-course-for-me-it-s/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/you-should-write-because-you-love-the-shape-of-stories-and-sentences/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [I think that one is constantly startled by the things that appear before you on the page when you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-hazzard/i-think-that-one-is-constantly-startled-by-the-things-that-appear/) [Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-hazzard/) > [When you have so much history with someone you just can't close the book , you have too rip that page out and keep writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-have-so-much-history-with-someone-you-just-can-t-close-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hope for quick, fluent copy and memorable pictures. The words would not 'describe' the pictures; the pictures would not 'illustrate' the words. Together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/i-hope-for-quick-fluent-copy-and-memorable-pictures-the-words-would/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [I like to paint pictures with words, 'cause I can't draw for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-shumpert/i-like-to-paint-pictures-with-words-cause-i-can-t-draw-for-anything/) [Iman Shumpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-shumpert/) > [I work with pictures and words because they have the ability to determine who we are, what we want to be and what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-work-with-pictures-and-words-because-they-have-the-ability-to/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Literature is the stringing together of pictures in words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/literature-is-the-stringing-together-of-pictures-in-words/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [“Pictures and words don't hurt anyone, except for those who are afraid of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-govier/pictures-and-words-don-t-hurt-anyone-except-for-those-who-are-afraid/) Katherine Govier > [Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-browne/picture-books-are-for-everybody-at-any-age-not-books-to-be-left/) [Anthony Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-browne/) ## More by A.A. Patawaran > [“Sound gives life to our words just as well as the images they conjure up and the sound is there, whether or not we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/sound-gives-life-to-our-words-just-as-well-as-the-images-they-conjure/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“Grammar to a writer is to a mountaineer a good pair of hiking boots or, more precisely, to a deep-sea diver an oxygen tank.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/grammar-to-a-writer-is-to-a-mountaineer-a-good-pair-of-hiking-boots/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“Words are music to the ears, alone or together, with or without melody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/words-are-music-to-the-ears-alone-or-together-with-or-without-melody/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“Every story is a ride to some place and time other than here and now. Buried in an armchair, reclined on a couch, prostrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/every-story-is-a-ride-to-some-place-and-time-other-than-here-and-now/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“And yet—and yet—she enchants me, intrigues me, draws me like sin to hellfire. The infernal regions in the hollow between her breasts, wet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/and-yet-and-yet-she-enchants-me-intrigues-me-draws-me-like-sin-to/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“He has killed me since he married me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/he-has-killed-me-since-he-married-me/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“And because the world is too big and time is too short and you only have one life to live, read!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/and-because-the-world-is-too-big-and-time-is-too-short-and-you-only/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) > [“The heart is a repository of emotions--real, imagined, and invented, owned and borrowed, past, present, future--and there in your chest, operating at an average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/the-heart-is-a-repository-of-emotions-real-imagined-and-invented/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) [Explore all 9 A.A. Patawaran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not letters, but images. Be specific about every detail, but don't describe it--make it happen on the page, if you were writing fiction, or make it happen over again, if you were writing about history or some recent event.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A.A. Patawaran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-the-reader-see-not-letters-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-the-reader-see-not-letters-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/a-a-patawaran-44667_books_write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-th_562175.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Write in pictures. With your words, let the reader see not letters, but images. Be specific about every…” — A.A. Patawaran", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "A.A. Patawaran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Write in pictures. With your words,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-the-reader-see-not-letters-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/write-in-pictures-with-your-words-let-the-reader-see-not-letters-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```