--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unlike prose writing, the strange process…" description: "\"Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with pictures encourages associations and recollections to accumulate literally in front of your e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg" --- # Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with… ![“Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with pictures encourages associations and recollections to accumulate literally in front of your eyes; people, places, and events appear out of nowhere. Doors open into rooms remembered from childhood, faces form into dead relatives, and distant…” quote by Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg) > “Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with pictures encourages associations and recollections to accumulate literally in front of your eyes; people, places, and events appear out of nowhere. Doors open into rooms remembered from childhood, faces form into dead relatives, and distant loves appear, almost magically, on the page- all deceptively manageable, visceral, the combinations sometimes even revelatory.” [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author describes how visual storytelling in comics creates immediate, layered associations, allowing memories, emotions, and narratives to appear vividly and sometimes reveal new insights. **In simple terms:** Comics let pictures trigger memories and ideas directly, making storytelling richer. Key Takeaway Use visual media to explore and connect personal and collective memories. Themes creativity memory visual storytelling association imagination art Mood inspired introspective playful Type artistic psychological educational When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - education - design - visual arts Key Concepts graphic narrative visual metaphor associative thinking emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What images best capture your hidden memories? - How can visual cues enhance understanding of complex ideas? A Different Perspective Visual storytelling can be limited by literal interpretation and may exclude non‑visual learners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Distant love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distant-love/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Recollection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollection/) [Visceral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I do want to work on writing, because writing's a skill. Writing is something that you can train yourself to know better. To know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-do-want-to-work-on-writing-because-writing-s-a-skill-writing-is/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [I'd always been really intimidated by prose writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-d-always-been-really-intimidated-by-prose-writing/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [It wasn't by accident that the Gettysburg address was so short. The laws of prose writing are as immutable as those of flight, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-wasn-t-by-accident-that-the-gettysburg-address-was-so-short-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I started out in life as a poet; I was only writing poetry all through my 20s. It wasn't until I was about 30…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-started-out-in-life-as-a-poet-i-was-only-writing-poetry-all-through/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [When seriously explored, the short story seems to me the most difficult and disciplining form of prose writing extant. Whatever control and technique I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/when-seriously-explored-the-short-story-seems-to-me-the-most/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [There should be two main objectives in ordinary prose writing: to convey a message and to include in it nothing that will distract the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/there-should-be-two-main-objectives-in-ordinary-prose-writing-to/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“Writing is that strange calling which weighs so heavily on the soul yet brings much delight in its achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-laronda-johnson/writing-is-that-strange-calling-which-weighs-so-heavily-on-the-soul/) Nancy LaRonda Johnson > [I'm still happy with the way Einstein's Dreams came out. That book came out of a single inspiration. I really felt like I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-m-still-happy-with-the-way-einstein-s-dreams-came-out-that-book/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [I wrote for years before I was ever published, and I don't think I could ever stop. That said, I was also a veterinarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/i-wrote-for-years-before-i-was-ever-published-and-i-don-t-think-i/) [James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/) > [Writing is a strange synthesis between the two parts of your mind: the analytical side and the side that knows nothing at all, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/writing-is-a-strange-synthesis-between-the-two-parts-of-your-mind-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Writing is a strange and solitary activity. There are dispiriting times when you start working on the first few pages of a novel. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/writing-is-a-strange-and-solitary-activity-there-are-dispiriting/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [Fiction writing is a strange business when you think about it. You sit down and weave a network of lies to explore deeper truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/fiction-writing-is-a-strange-business-when-you-think-about-it-you-sit/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Writing is such a strange, utterly mysterious process. First, there was nothing; then, suddenly, there was something. I don't know where thoughts are born.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-is-such-a-strange-utterly-mysterious-process-first-there-was/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [If I am just home and writing, I become very strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/if-i-am-just-home-and-writing-i-become-very-strange/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [“Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks" All those men were there inside, when she came in totally naked. They had been drinking: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/fable-of-the-mermaid-and-the-drunks-all-those-men-were-there-inside/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## More by Chris Ware > [I don't trust art that promises a 24-hour joyride. In fact, there seems to be a modern sense of entitlement for such constant "ups,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-don-t-trust-art-that-promises-a-24-hour-joyride-in-fact-there-seems/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [My grandmother was an unparalleled storyteller who gave me a preview of how life might turn out, and also fortified my empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/my-grandmother-was-an-unparalleled-storyteller-who-gave-me-a-preview/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Comics, at least in periodical form, exist almost entirely free of any pretense; the critical world of art hardly touches them, and they're 100% personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/comics-at-least-in-periodical-form-exist-almost-entirely-free-of-any/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [I'm only trying to present as honest a portrayal of the grimness of human ambition as I can. I'd hope it's rather uplifting, actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-m-only-trying-to-present-as-honest-a-portrayal-of-the-grimness-of/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“Newly Found Sugary Spill: Tastes Like Dried Spit or Old Soda”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/newly-found-sugary-spill-tastes-like-dried-spit-or-old-soda/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“The whole experience reminded me of my own 'old lady' phase that I went through in high school while I was reading Somerset Maugham...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/the-whole-experience-reminded-me-of-my-own-old-lady-phase-that-i-went/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [I can definitely say that of all my friends who I consider to be really great cartoonists, we're all trying to aim at basically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-can-definitely-say-that-of-all-my-friends-who-i-consider-to-be/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Comics are not a genre, but a developing language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/comics-are-not-a-genre-but-a-developing-language/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [ There's a rhythm to the words combined with the pictures \[in a comic\]. Whenever I'm working on a comic strip I re-read it, probably… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/there-s-a-rhythm-to-the-words-combined-with-the-pictures-in-a-comic/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [There seems to be such a laziness in - and I hate to use this phrase - the modern world. Everything is pumped out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/there-seems-to-be-such-a-laziness-in-and-i-hate-to-use-this-phrase/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“I guess we all make choices as to how we want to live, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-guess-we-all-make-choices-as-to-how-we-want-to-live-right/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Fortunately, I'm able to make a living from comics, so I'm privileged enough to be quite choosy, though most cartoonists can't afford to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/fortunately-i-m-able-to-make-a-living-from-comics-so-i-m-privileged/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“Every city began as a campsite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/every-city-began-as-a-campsite/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [I think cartooning gets at, and re-creates on the page, some sixth sense ... in a way no other medium can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-think-cartooning-gets-at-and-re-creates-on-the-page-some-sixth/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“This life we endure - how strange, yet how jolly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/this-life-we-endure-how-strange-yet-how-jolly/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) [Explore all 84 Chris Ware quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with pictures encourages associations and recollections to accumulate literally in front of your eyes; people, places, and events appear out of nowhere. Doors open into rooms remembered from childhood, faces form into dead relatives, and distant loves appear, almost magically, on the page- all deceptively manageable, visceral, the combinations sometimes even revelatory.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris Ware" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process-of-writing-with-pictures/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process-of-writing-with-pictures/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/chris-ware-8123_age_unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process_2760037.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Unlike prose writing, the strange process of writing with pictures encourages associations and recollections…” — Chris Ware", "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": "Chris Ware", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Unlike prose writing, the strange process...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process-of-writing-with-pictures/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/unlike-prose-writing-the-strange-process-of-writing-with-pictures/#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 } } ] } ```