--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Characters simply come and find me. They…" description: "\"Characters simply come and find me. They sit down, I offer them a coffee. They tell me their story and then they almost always leave. When a character,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/dacia-maraini-16876_books_characters-simply-come-and-find-me-they_2694067.jpg" --- # Characters simply come and find me. They sit down, I offer… ![“Characters simply come and find me. They sit down, I offer them a coffee. They tell me their story and then they almost always leave. When a character, after drinking some coffee and briefly telling her story, wants dinner and then a place to sleep and then breakfast and so on, for me the time has…” quote by Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/dacia-maraini-16876_books_characters-simply-come-and-find-me-they_2694067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/dacia-maraini-16876_books_characters-simply-come-and-find-me-they_2694067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/dacia-maraini-16876_books_characters-simply-come-and-find-me-they_2694067.jpg) > “Characters simply come and find me. They sit down, I offer them a coffee. They tell me their story and then they almost always leave. When a character, after drinking some coffee and briefly telling her story, wants dinner and then a place to sleep and then breakfast and so on, for me the time has come to write the novel.” [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes a ritual of listening to strangers' stories over coffee, which triggers the creative impulse to write a novel. **In simple terms:** Listening to strangers' stories inspires writing. Key Takeaway Use everyday encounters as creative fuel. Themes creativity storytelling inspiration Mood reflective inspirational Type observation insight When to use this quote - writing - journalism - therapy Key Concepts listening empathy creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can everyday interactions spark creativity? - What boundaries exist between listening and exploiting stories? A Different Perspective May romanticize the writer's role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Breakfast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakfast/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-drinking-2680475/) [Characters Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-simply-549937/) [Coffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffee/) [Coffee Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffee-tell-1887736/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Find me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find-me/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Offer Coffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offer-coffee-2680474/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Write Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-novel/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [She had not character enough to take to drinking, and moaned about, slip-shod and in curl-papers, all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/she-had-not-character-enough-to-take-to-drinking-and-moaned-about/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Many times when you request an actor to do a film, they show respect to you, offer you coffee and nicely they will avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/many-times-when-you-request-an-actor-to-do-a-film-they-show-respect/) [Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/) > [“I marvel at these young people: drinking their coffee, they tell clear, plausible stories. 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There's a craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/i-don-t-assume-because-i-can-write-screenplays-that-i-know-how-to/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [“I'm going to write a novel and get it published. I'm going to do it because writing a novel is worthwhile and because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-ingermanson/i-m-going-to-write-a-novel-and-get-it-published-i-m-going-to-do-it/) [Randy Ingermanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-ingermanson/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-can-t-understand-why-a-person-will-take-a-year-or-two-to-write-a/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) ## More by Dacia Maraini > [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/) > [I dream of continuing to dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/i-dream-of-continuing-to-dream/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [For my whole life I have dedicated myself to those who have been subjected to injustice. I've conducted investigations and written in newspapers about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/for-my-whole-life-i-have-dedicated-myself-to-those-who-have-been/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [In a novel there's not much autobiography. There are characters in transit. Naturally, I can project something of my experiences onto the characters, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/in-a-novel-there-s-not-much-autobiography-there-are-characters-in/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I also really loved the sea when I was young, when I lived in Sicily, but unfortunately the sea here has been reduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/i-also-really-loved-the-sea-when-i-was-young-when-i-lived-in-sicily/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I consider myself an aware person who is sensitive to injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/i-consider-myself-an-aware-person-who-is-sensitive-to-injustice/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I don't always understand my characters. I write to understand them better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/i-don-t-always-understand-my-characters-i-write-to-understand-them/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Her gaze dims as her nostalgia for Palermo overcomes her. Those smells of seaweed dried by the sun, of capers, of ripe figs, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/her-gaze-dims-as-her-nostalgia-for-palermo-overcomes-her-those-smells/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [It's enough for a small betrayal, a distancing, an affirmation of independence to provoke wrath, fear and also hatred from the adult. How many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-enough-for-a-small-betrayal-a-distancing-an-affirmation-of/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [Don't wait for success, but for the respect and interest of those who read you. At the start it could be a classmate, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/don-t-wait-for-success-but-for-the-respect-and-interest-of-those-who/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [To leave a book is like leaving the better part of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/to-leave-a-book-is-like-leaving-the-better-part-of-oneself/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [He talked and talked because he didn't know what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/he-talked-and-talked-because-he-didn-t-know-what-to-say/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [A winter without snow seems depressing, lacking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/a-winter-without-snow-seems-depressing-lacking/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [Writing is a solitary activity, it requires isolation and silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/writing-is-a-solitary-activity-it-requires-isolation-and-silence/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [While on the level of civil rights many things have changed decisively for the better, on the level of attitudes and mentality there's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/while-on-the-level-of-civil-rights-many-things-have-changed/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) [Explore all 36 Dacia Maraini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) ## 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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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Characters simply come and find me. They sit down, I offer them a coffee. They tell me their story and then they almost always leave. 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