--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The editor wants something a little more…" description: "\"“The editor wants something a little more oblique, a little less opaque. Let the reader watch you / dissolve.”\" — Aaron Kent" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/aaron-kent-108815_books_the-editor-wants-something-a-little-more_992007.jpg" --- # The editor wants something a little more oblique, a little… ![“The editor wants something a little more oblique, a little less opaque. Let the reader watch you / dissolve.” quote by Aaron Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/aaron-kent-108815_books_the-editor-wants-something-a-little-more_992007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/aaron-kent-108815_books_the-editor-wants-something-a-little-more_992007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/aaron-kent-108815_books_the-editor-wants-something-a-little-more_992007.jpg) > ““The editor wants something a little more oblique, a little less opaque. Let the reader watch you / dissolve.”” Aaron Kent ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Oblique writing invites readers to engage actively, interpreting meaning rather than receiving a clear, direct message. **In simple terms:** Use subtlety to engage readers. Key Takeaway Write with nuance and invite interpretation. Themes writing literature interpretation creativity subtlety Mood artistic introspective enigmatic Type Books:1 Editor:1 Opaque:1 Poem:1 Poetry:1 Poetry quotes:0 Editor Wants:1 Little Opaque:0 Let Reader:1 When to use this quote - novels - poetry - journalism - scriptwriting - creative workshops Key Concepts narrative theory poetics reader response Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance clarity with mystery? - What techniques make subtlety effective? A Different Perspective Too much opacity can alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Opaque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opaque/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-quotes/) ## Related quotes > [I worked as an assistant editor, actually, for a few years. That was right when I was just starting to get out at night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/i-worked-as-an-assistant-editor-actually-for-a-few-years-that-was/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [By all means be experimental, but let the reader be part of the experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/by-all-means-be-experimental-but-let-the-reader-be-part-of-the/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Never submit an idea or chapter to an editor or publisher, no matter how much he would like you to. Writing from the approved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-creasey/never-submit-an-idea-or-chapter-to-an-editor-or-publisher-no-matter/) John Creasey > [“Let every reader do as his conscience bids him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/let-every-reader-do-as-his-conscience-bids-him/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“I am most spectacular in convalescence / of the night sky / when I break the shell / in search of silence as a plot device”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-kent/i-am-most-spectacular-in-convalescence-of-the-night-sky-when-i-break/) Aaron Kent > [Derivatives serve practically no purpose except to enrich bankers through opaque pricing and to deceive investors through off-the-balance-sheet accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rickards/derivatives-serve-practically-no-purpose-except-to-enrich-bankers/) [James Rickards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rickards/) > [Ready comprehension is often a knee-jerk response and the most dangerous form of understanding. It blinks an opaque screen over your ability to learn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/ready-comprehension-is-often-a-knee-jerk-response-and-the-most/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I'm interested in when language fails, when it is opaque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-interested-in-when-language-fails-when-it-is-opaque/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I've got spider veins all over my legs, so I wear opaque tights all winter. All sorts of colours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/i-ve-got-spider-veins-all-over-my-legs-so-i-wear-opaque-tights-all/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [No one can cross the boundary into another -- for the simple reason that no one can gain access to himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-one-can-cross-the-boundary-into-another-for-the-simple-reason-that/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [ History is opaque. You see what comes out, not the script that produces events, \[...\] The generator of historical events is different from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/history-is-opaque-you-see-what-comes-out-not-the-script-that-produces/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Nothing is more opaque than absolute transparency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nothing-is-more-opaque-than-absolute-transparency/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The new experience that has replaced dignified suffering is artificially prolonged, opaque, depersonalized maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-new-experience-that-has-replaced-dignified-suffering-is/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“However, if application A is opaque and application B provides a rich set of observability tools, it’s very likely that application B will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gregg/however-if-application-a-is-opaque-and-application-b-provides-a-rich/) Brendan Gregg ## More by Aaron Kent > [“I am most spectacular in convalescence / of the night sky / when I break the shell / in search of silence as a plot device”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-kent/i-am-most-spectacular-in-convalescence-of-the-night-sky-when-i-break/) Aaron Kent Explore all 2 Aaron Kent quotes ## 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. 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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": "“The editor wants something a little more oblique, a little less opaque. 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