--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A lot of my books have started with an…" description: "\"A lot of my books have started with an abstract premise.\" — Colson Whitehead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/colson-whitehead-1042_abstract_a-lot-of-my-books-have-started-with-an-a_2230221.png" --- # A lot of my books have started with an abstract premise. ![“A lot of my books have started with an abstract premise.” quote by Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/colson-whitehead-1042_abstract_a-lot-of-my-books-have-started-with-an-a_2230221.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/colson-whitehead-1042_abstract_a-lot-of-my-books-have-started-with-an-a_2230221.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/colson-whitehead-1042_abstract_a-lot-of-my-books-have-started-with-an-a_2230221.png) > “A lot of my books have started with an abstract premise.” [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer notes that many of his stories begin with a vague, conceptual idea. **In simple terms:** Stories often start from abstract concepts. Key Takeaway Begin with a clear concept before expanding. Themes creativity writing process Mood inquisitive analytical Type creative process When to use this quote - brainstorming - outline drafting - creative workshops Key Concepts conceptualization story development Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn an abstract premise into a concrete plot? - What techniques help clarify a vague idea? A Different Perspective Abstract ideas can be too vague to sustain a full narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Premise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-premise-5014808/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-started-458769/) [Lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lot/) [Lot Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lot-books-722146/) [Premise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/premise/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Started Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-abstract-4357406/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [As with most of my work, I started from the abstract, from research, building an intellectual model that slowly became internalized when the characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/as-with-most-of-my-work-i-started-from-the-abstract-from-research/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I often get asked, 'Is the book dead?' It hasn't happened yet. It's different than music. Music was always meant to be pure sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/i-often-get-asked-is-the-book-dead-it-hasn-t-happened-yet-it-s/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [I hadn't read any of the books before, but I have since we started. It's so funny because I'm reading a book of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-hadn-t-read-any-of-the-books-before-but-i-have-since-we-started-it/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [School did give me one of the greatest gifts of my life, though. I learned how to read, and for that I remain thankful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/school-did-give-me-one-of-the-greatest-gifts-of-my-life-though-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“My interest in books started as a child. I had a voracious appetite for reading. 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But the future is very uncertain with books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-m-not-itching-to-sue-amazon-or-wal-mart-they-sell-a-lot-of-books/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [A lot of books, if you take them at face value, they're just not gonna work as films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcquarrie/a-lot-of-books-if-you-take-them-at-face-value-they-re-just-not-gonna/) [Christopher McQuarrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcquarrie/) > [I cry in movies a lot, and over books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-mills/i-cry-in-movies-a-lot-and-over-books/) [Hayley Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-mills/) > [Take no heed of her… She reads a lot of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/take-no-heed-of-her-she-reads-a-lot-of-books/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) ## More by Colson Whitehead > [I'd never been much of an athlete, due to a physical condition I'd had since birth (unathleticism). Perhaps if there were a sport centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-d-never-been-much-of-an-athlete-due-to-a-physical-condition-i-d-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I want to keep growing as a writer. I find myself doing unexpected projects and sort of challenging my idea of where I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-want-to-keep-growing-as-a-writer-i-find-myself-doing-unexpected/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“Every Tuesday, James Fulton (and later, Orville Lever) stood in the downstairs drawing room and lectured on the intricacies of his science. 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Homer watched her as she dressed, like a valet who had waited on her since the cradle. “I’m caught,” Cora said. “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/its-terms-homer-watched-her-as-she-dressed-like-a-valet-who-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [These days I find myself wanting to avoid being pigeon-holed, ghettoized, held in a different category than other authors. And when people ask me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/these-days-i-find-myself-wanting-to-avoid-being-pigeon-holed/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Part of any book is establishing the rules at the end of the world. 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No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. 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