--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm constantly trying to make what…" description: "\"“I'm constantly trying to make what Stephen King called head movies or skull movies: things should be playing out on the inside of your eyes, if you wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/clive-barker-773_books_i-m-constantly-trying-to-make-what-steph_737369.png" --- # I'm constantly trying to make what Stephen King called… ![“I'm constantly trying to make what Stephen King called head movies or skull movies: things should be playing out on the inside of your eyes, if you will, without you having to think about me as an author being present. I have no interest in being present, in intervening between you and the work…” quote by Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/clive-barker-773_books_i-m-constantly-trying-to-make-what-steph_737369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/clive-barker-773_books_i-m-constantly-trying-to-make-what-steph_737369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/clive-barker-773_books_i-m-constantly-trying-to-make-what-steph_737369.png) > ““I'm constantly trying to make what Stephen King called head movies or skull movies: things should be playing out on the inside of your eyes, if you will, without you having to think about me as an author being present. I have no interest in being present, in intervening between you and the work. My job is to be as invisible as possible. My job is to say, 'Hey, I wrote this book and I'm on the cover, bye bye!' The story should have its own momentum; it should make its own way. I have no patience for that showy kind of writing, which is all about how clever the writer is. Postmodern stuff just leaves me totally cold. I'm much more interested in being drawn into a book, and I want to create the kind of writing which hopefully makes you turn and turn the pages.”” [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He believes a writer should disappear, letting the story drive itself without authorial presence. **In simple terms:** Writer should be invisible, story leads. Key Takeaway Let the narrative guide readers. Themes writing invisibility storytelling authorship postmodernism Mood introspective creative critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - creative process Key Concepts Narrative immersion authorial ego reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does authorial invisibility affect immersion? - Can a story succeed without a strong authorial voice? A Different Perspective If the author is too visible, it can distract from the story. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think of an author as somebody who goes into the marketplace and puts down his rug and says, "I will tell you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-think-of-an-author-as-somebody-who-goes-into-the-marketplace-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I expect to think that I would rather be author of your book than of any other on Nat. Hist. 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I think every author would feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/it-s-easier-to-come-up-with-new-stories-than-it-is-to-finish-the-ones/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [No one really knows the value of book tours. Whether or not they're good ideas, or if they improve book sales. I happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosecrans-baldwin/no-one-really-knows-the-value-of-book-tours-whether-or-not-they-re/) [Rosecrans Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosecrans-baldwin/) > [Oh, I think every author is inspired by all of the books that she reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/oh-i-think-every-author-is-inspired-by-all-of-the-books-that-she-reads/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“If you don’t put 99 percent of yourself into the writing, there will be no publishing career. 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Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/i-do-think-the-author-ought-to-be-able-to-give-a-good-reason-for-the/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [“I think once an author is attacking people for leaving Amazon reviews, common sense has shut up shop and gone home, and the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-charles/i-think-once-an-author-is-attacking-people-for-leaving-amazon-reviews/) [K.J. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-charles/) > [I think as an author every character ends up low-key being some kind of self-insert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-quinn/i-think-as-an-author-every-character-ends-up-low-key-being-some-kind/) [Zoe Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-quinn/) ## More by Clive Barker > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I dreamt a limitless book, A book unbound, Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance On every line there was a new horizon drawn, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-dreamt-a-limitless-book-a-book-unbound-its-leaves-scattered-in/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Only when they have outrun the all-too-eager shadows of the Canyon and they are back in the glare of the billboards on Sunset Boulevard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/only-when-they-have-outrun-the-all-too-eager-shadows-of-the-canyon/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I firmly believe that a story is only as good as the villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-firmly-believe-that-a-story-is-only-as-good-as-the-villain/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. 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The prime reason to be on the planet is to make things I can show to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-love-meeting-people-who-ve-read-my-books-the-prime-reason-to-be-on/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Nothing happens carelessly. We’re not brought into the world without reason, even though we may never understand the reason. An infant that lives an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/nothing-happens-carelessly-we-re-not-brought-into-the-world-without/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Despite his intent, tears sprang to his eyes, and he went into her embrace, both of them sobbing freely, like enemies joined by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/despite-his-intent-tears-sprang-to-his-eyes-and-he-went-into-her/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Always, worlds within worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/always-worlds-within-worlds/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“I'm an inclusionist. I've always divided up (very, very broadly, I admit) the artistic instincts into the inclusionist and the exclusionist. The exclusionist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-m-an-inclusionist-i-ve-always-divided-up-very-very-broadly-i-admit/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I think I'm less and less labelled a 'horror writer'. The books tend not to go on horror shelves any more, and when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-i-m-less-and-less-labelled-a-horror-writer-the-books-tend-not/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Horror shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely-illusory/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Explore all 365 Clive Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## 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! 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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. 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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": "“I'm constantly trying to make what Stephen King called head movies or skull movies: things should be playing out on the inside of your eyes, if you will, without you having to think about me as an author being present. I have no interest in being present, in intervening between you and the work. My job is to be as invisible as possible. My job is to say, 'Hey, I wrote this book and I'm on the cover, bye bye!' The story should have its own momentum; it should make its own way. I have no patience for that showy kind of writing, which is all about how clever the writer is. Postmodern stuff just leaves me totally cold. 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