--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think by writing about a place with…" description: "\"I think by writing about a place with great specificity, you manage to make it universal.\" — Bonnie Jo Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png" --- # I think by writing about a place with great specificity… ![“I think by writing about a place with great specificity, you manage to make it universal.” quote by Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png) > “I think by writing about a place with great specificity, you manage to make it universal.” [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Specific details in writing make a story feel universal. **In simple terms:** Specificity creates universality. Key Takeaway Use vivid detail to connect readers. Themes writing universality detail Mood inspirational thoughtful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - teaching - marketing - creative writing Key Concepts literature communication Questions to Reflect On - How does detail affect your empathy? - When does specificity become limiting? A Different Perspective Over‑specificity may alienate some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Specificity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specificity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The more particular you make something, the more universal it becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/the-more-particular-you-make-something-the-more-universal-it-becomes/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Sometimes I would write something that was so private, people would say, 'Make it more universal.' I never liked that idea. I always thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wiedlin/sometimes-i-would-write-something-that-was-so-private-people-would/) [Jane Wiedlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wiedlin/) > [Make the Universal personal and you become richer, wiser and stronger. Make the personal Universal and you will find freedom, compassion and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/make-the-universal-personal-and-you-become-richer-wiser-and-stronger/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I talk about life, and I make universal music with an American style - and that's what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-talk-about-life-and-i-make-universal-music-with-an-american-style/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [The more personal you make something, the more universal it becomes, because essentially we're all made up of the same emotional stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-molko/the-more-personal-you-make-something-the-more-universal-it-becomes/) [Brian Molko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-molko/) > [Writing is the only place I can be myself and not feel judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/writing-is-the-only-place-i-can-be-myself-and-not-feel-judged/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [Writing is almost a place of dreams for me, and I don't have to give up anything to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/writing-is-almost-a-place-of-dreams-for-me-and-i-don-t-have-to-give/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I've spent most of my life writing and developing everything that I've wanted to be in - which is why I started writing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-borstein/i-ve-spent-most-of-my-life-writing-and-developing-everything-that-i/) [Alex Borstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-borstein/) > [“Writing is a place and getting there is the real art,” Otto Cristóbal Almeida.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-zamarripa/writing-is-a-place-and-getting-there-is-the-real-art-otto-crist-bal/) Samuel Zamarripa > [Writing about a place is, of course, one good way of feeling close to it, feeling you have made something out of your interaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-michael-wilson/writing-about-a-place-is-of-course-one-good-way-of-feeling-close-to/) [Sean Michael Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-michael-wilson/) > [I'm not saying that I don't experience people in life as evil, but writing is not a place of alienation; writing is the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-m-not-saying-that-i-don-t-experience-people-in-life-as-evil-but-2/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I might be writing what people expect me to write, writing from that place where I might be ruled by economic considerations. To overcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-might-be-writing-what-people-expect-me-to-write-writing-from-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [When I write a story, I have no idea what I'm doing. All I know is that I want to share something with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/when-i-write-a-story-i-have-no-idea-what-i-m-doing-all-i-know-is-that/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [For a man who no longer has a homeland, writing becomes a place to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/for-a-man-who-no-longer-has-a-homeland-writing-becomes-a-place-to-live/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [Writing is the place where I can do it all and get away with it. You can't do that in the theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/writing-is-the-place-where-i-can-do-it-all-and-get-away-with-it-you/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) ## More by Bonnie Jo Campbell > [In fact, when I finally realized I was really going to write, when I was about thirty-four, I was working on my Ph.D. in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/in-fact-when-i-finally-realized-i-was-really-going-to-write-when-i/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [I'm of the people in the bar and the people in my stories. They are my tribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-m-of-the-people-in-the-bar-and-the-people-in-my-stories-they-are-my/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [That's where I live, a junkyard in a neighborhood of junkyards. We have three tractors from the 1940s and '50s, several old pickup trucks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/that-s-where-i-live-a-junkyard-in-a-neighborhood-of-junkyards-we-have/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [A Life in Men is a joyful, ambitious novel that is also an adventure traversing three continents, as well as a meditation on love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/a-life-in-men-is-a-joyful-ambitious-novel-that-is-also-an-adventure/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [People seem to want to read more nonfiction than fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/people-seem-to-want-to-read-more-nonfiction-than-fiction/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Eighty percent of all novels are bought by women, or so I've heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/eighty-percent-of-all-novels-are-bought-by-women-or-so-i-ve-heard/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Any of us who listen to the news or listen to stories our neighbors tell are accustomed to violence. We have to decide then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/any-of-us-who-listen-to-the-news-or-listen-to-stories-our-neighbors/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [In a regular class I don't focus on the form, but I think that focus is helpful for brainstorming and coming up with ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/in-a-regular-class-i-don-t-focus-on-the-form-but-i-think-that-focus/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [My donkeys are Jack and Don Quixote. They're very smart, very cautious. Much of what people consider stubbornness in donkeys is actually cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/my-donkeys-are-jack-and-don-quixote-they-re-very-smart-very-cautious/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Cocoa-buttered girls were stretched out on the public beach in apparently random alignments, but maybe if a weather satellite zoomed in on one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/cocoa-buttered-girls-were-stretched-out-on-the-public-beach-in/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [I think back when I was kind of a crappy writer, I really did know my time was better spent working and having adventures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-back-when-i-was-kind-of-a-crappy-writer-i-really-did-know-my/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [The great thing about fiction is that I don't have to settle on an answer to any troubling question, or even a solution. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/the-great-thing-about-fiction-is-that-i-don-t-have-to-settle-on-an/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Writing is so wrapped up in ego, but with math one is just trying to get it right, although you're often wrong. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/writing-is-so-wrapped-up-in-ego-but-with-math-one-is-just-trying-to/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [“She hoped Smoke was wrong about people being unknowable. She hoped that she could crack herself open like a nut and know herself, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/she-hoped-smoke-was-wrong-about-people-being-unknowable-she-hoped/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [That was a mistake, I guess, going out to California. They have these things called guidance counselors in high school. They drink a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/that-was-a-mistake-i-guess-going-out-to-california-they-have-these/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) [Explore all 71 Bonnie Jo Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) ## More Manage quotes > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Accept the past, just manage the present, and work hard towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accept-the-past-just-manage-the-present-and-work-hard-towards-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In the games of queens and kings, we leave our dreams at the door and we make do with what we have. Sometimes if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/in-the-games-of-queens-and-kings-we-leave-our-dreams-at-the-door-and/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [We tend to think of orphans as being the protagonist of stories we read when we're kids, and yet here you are: you're an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-tend-to-think-of-orphans-as-being-the-protagonist-of-stories-we/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Why was is that the Light acted through lies, and the Darkness acted though the truth? Why was is that our truth proved powerless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/why-was-is-that-the-light-acted-through-lies-and-the-darkness-acted/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [The book it reminded me of most is Henry Miller’s The Books in My Life. Like Miller, Shields manages to convey his affection for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-alexis/the-book-it-reminded-me-of-most-is-henry-miller-s-the-books-in-my/) [Andre Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-alexis/) > [We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/we-must-be-talented-powerful-and-resilient-creatures-indeed-given-how/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [It's also so cool to be able to develop the talent to be able to jump and control the motorcycle which is a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/it-s-also-so-cool-to-be-able-to-develop-the-talent-to-be-able-to-jump/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [I do try to be of some use in the world. I sometimes do volunteer work with kids, and manage to help some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/i-do-try-to-be-of-some-use-in-the-world-i-sometimes-do-volunteer-work/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [Trade and commerce, if they were not made of Indian rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/trade-and-commerce-if-they-were-not-made-of-indian-rubber-would-never/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Society needs people who can manage projects in addition to handling individual tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-vos-savant/society-needs-people-who-can-manage-projects-in-addition-to-handling/) [Marilyn vos Savant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-vos-savant/) Browse all 1,754 Manage quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think by writing about a place with great specificity, you manage to make it universal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bonnie Jo Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-great-specificity-you-manage-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Manage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-great-specificity-you-manage-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_manage_i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-gr_2800412.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think by writing about a place with great specificity, you manage to make it universal.” — Bonnie Jo Campbell", "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": "Bonnie Jo Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think by writing about a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-great-specificity-you-manage-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-by-writing-about-a-place-with-great-specificity-you-manage-to/#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 } } ] } ```