--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more prose I wrote, the more the…" description: "\"The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic sensibilities with the more fundamental elements of cre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg" --- # The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back… ![“The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic sensibilities with the more fundamental elements of creative prose.” quote by Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg) > “The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic sensibilities with the more fundamental elements of creative prose.” [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing prose and poetry leads to a middle ground where creative expression integrates both logical structure and lyrical feeling. **In simple terms:** Mixing prose and poetry creates balanced writing. Key Takeaway Blend logical and lyrical elements. Themes creativity writing balance artistic expression Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - fiction writing - poetry workshops - content creation - editorial work Key Concepts genre fusion creative process literary style Questions to Reflect On - How can writers maintain both clarity and lyricism? - When does blending genres dilute the message? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one style can stifle the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“It may be that those who care for poetry lost little by his death. Fluent in prose, he never wrote verse for the sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/it-may-be-that-those-who-care-for-poetry-lost-little-by-his-death/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Good prose almost always requires both showing and telling, scenes and summary, the two basic components of creative prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-alberts/good-prose-almost-always-requires-both-showing-and-telling-scenes-and/) Laurie Alberts > [Inexperienced fiction and creative nonfiction writers are often told to show, not tell - to write scenes, dramatize, cut exposition, cut summary - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-alberts/inexperienced-fiction-and-creative-nonfiction-writers-are-often-told/) Laurie Alberts > [I have problems with this very extreme form of capitalism where the pendulum has swung so far in one direction, where the focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/i-have-problems-with-this-very-extreme-form-of-capitalism-where-the/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [It had a very long pendulum, and the pendulum swung with a slow tick-tock that set his teeth on edge, because it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-had-a-very-long-pendulum-and-the-pendulum-swung-with-a-slow-tick-2/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“It had a very long pendulum, and the pendulum swung with a slow tick-tock that set his teeth on edge, because it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-had-a-very-long-pendulum-and-the-pendulum-swung-with-a-slow-tick/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [In many ways, America is on the receiving end of a pendulum that has been swung with great force, and for a long time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/in-many-ways-america-is-on-the-receiving-end-of-a-pendulum-that-has/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world we're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/but-the-pendulum-has-swung-way-out-of-whack-here-a-bad-idea-is-still/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [“It's strange how the human mind swings back and forth, from one extreme to another. Does truth lie at some point of th pendulum's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-strange-how-the-human-mind-swings-back-and-forth-from-one-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think I have let ego get in the way sometimes - the pendulum swung pretty strongly. I was maybe a little overconfident at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mcmahon/i-think-i-have-let-ego-get-in-the-way-sometimes-the-pendulum-swung/) [Stephanie McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mcmahon/) > [“Baby, that damn pendulum has already swung.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deidre-knight/baby-that-damn-pendulum-has-already-swung/) [Deidre Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deidre-knight/) > [“Each time it goes around a little bit, a second goes away.” “Where?” I asked, as the pendulum swung again. And again. He winked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristopher-jansma/each-time-it-goes-around-a-little-bit-a-second-goes-away-where-i/) [Kristopher Jansma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristopher-jansma/) > [The poetic sensibility was too good for this world, it was best to burn brightly and to die young like a shooting star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-howe-colt/the-poetic-sensibility-was-too-good-for-this-world-it-was-best-to/) George Howe Colt > [The idea of being a writer attracts a good many shiftless people, those who are merely burdened with poetic feelings or afflicted with sensibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-idea-of-being-a-writer-attracts-a-good-many-shiftless-people/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [A successful director is someone who has the combination of skills that you can learn, but there's also an intuitive sensibility that they bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-heinrichs/a-successful-director-is-someone-who-has-the-combination-of-skills/) [Rick Heinrichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-heinrichs/) ## More by Alex Lemon > [I found it incredibly challenging to write clear prose that had the dynamism that I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-found-it-incredibly-challenging-to-write-clear-prose-that-had-the/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [Poetry needs to be alive, unabashedly, and, for me, that entails seeing its complexity, the grit and grimness and jubilance and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-needs-to-be-alive-unabashedly-and-for-me-that-entails-seeing/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [I think of my best poems as vessels that I can or hope to fill with everything I have. I try to give to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-think-of-my-best-poems-as-vessels-that-i-can-or-hope-to-fill-with/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [The world comes to us in fragments and shards. Whatever stories we shape from our days, we're always dealing with gaps, blank-spots, and blackouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-world-comes-to-us-in-fragments-and-shards-whatever-stories-we/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [Well, we're all going to die, so mortality is a part of writing and life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/well-we-re-all-going-to-die-so-mortality-is-a-part-of-writing-and-life/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [I see the relationship sincerity/humor differently. Instead of seeing a balance between them, I see them more inextricably linked, as if one is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-see-the-relationship-sincerity-humor-differently-instead-of-seeing/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [My poems and prose are not often in direct conversation with each other, but there's so much crossover - everything that comes out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/my-poems-and-prose-are-not-often-in-direct-conversation-with-each/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [“I can be black magic Or boring as hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-can-be-black-magic-or-boring-as-hell/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [I think of my best poems as vessels that I can or hope to fill with everything I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-think-of-my-best-poems-as-vessels-that-i-can-or-hope-to-fill-with-2/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [Poetry does need a bit of ferocity. The only way to attend to the fractured world is to write a ferocious kind of music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/poetry-does-need-a-bit-of-ferocity-the-only-way-to-attend-to-the/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [I've never thought of my poems as violent. Violence, to me, has so much negativity attached to it - maybe that's my trouble with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/i-ve-never-thought-of-my-poems-as-violent-violence-to-me-has-so-much/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) > [Being deeply aware of fragility and ecstasy seems to me an essential part of being alive and living fully - and there's no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/being-deeply-aware-of-fragility-and-ecstasy-seems-to-me-an-essential/) [Alex Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) [Explore all 13 Alex Lemon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic sensibilities with the more fundamental elements of creative prose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alex Lemon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pendulum-swung-back-toward-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pendulum-swung-back-toward-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/alex-lemon-35846_creative_the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pend_2148599.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more prose I wrote, the more the pendulum swung back toward the middle, merging some poetic…” — Alex Lemon", "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": "Alex Lemon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lemon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The more prose I wrote, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pendulum-swung-back-toward-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lemon/the-more-prose-i-wrote-the-more-the-pendulum-swung-back-toward-the/#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 } } ] } ```