--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about…" description: "\"“On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female character to try, in vain, to understand two things: the purpose of life, and women.”\" — Dennis R. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg" --- # On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female… ![“On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female character to try, in vain, to understand two things: the purpose of life, and women.” quote by Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg) > ““On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female character to try, in vain, to understand two things: the purpose of life, and women.”” [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He uses a fictional character to explore existential questions about life's purpose and women's experiences. **In simple terms:** Fiction helps probe deep life questions. Key Takeaway Use storytelling to examine personal and societal themes. Themes literature existentialism gender identity purpose Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading groups - personal reflection - academic study Key Concepts Narrative analysis feminist theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does Nora represent for you? - How does gender shape purpose? A Different Perspective Fiction may not capture reality fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art of writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-of-writing/) [Female character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-character/) [Female characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-characters/) [Hawks Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks-write-6157419/) [How-to-write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how-to-write/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nora Hawks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nora-hawks-628889/) [On-writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/on-writing/) [Purpose of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-of-life/) [Write Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-female-575079/) [Writing Nora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-nora-6157418/) ## Related quotes > [“When I'm writing, really writing, everything but breathing is an ignorable distraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/when-i-m-writing-really-writing-everything-but-breathing-is-an/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“I don’t care that it has been going on since the Old Testament. Rape is wrong and I will keep fighting violent men. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/i-don-t-care-that-it-has-been-going-on-since-the-old-testament-rape/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“For some offenses, there is only retribution." Nora Hawks, "One Woman's Vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/for-some-offenses-there-is-only-retribution-nora-hawks-one-woman-s/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [I couldn't write a female who fell to pieces every time something didn't go right in her life. She would just annoy me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/i-couldn-t-write-a-female-who-fell-to-pieces-every-time-something/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [It's to a writer's advantage to contain within himself elements of each sex, or any sex. It's to his advantage because it makes him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/it-s-to-a-writer-s-advantage-to-contain-within-himself-elements-of/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [One of the main reasons I wanted to write about female friendship is because it's so powerful and underestimated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/one-of-the-main-reasons-i-wanted-to-write-about-female-friendship-is/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [I don't set out to write female lead shows, necessarily. I like deeply flawed characters. When they come to me, or when I'm introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenji-kohan/i-don-t-set-out-to-write-female-lead-shows-necessarily-i-like-deeply/) [Jenji Kohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenji-kohan/) > [I don't write about too many male businessmen, and I'm not apt to write about too many female businessmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-don-t-write-about-too-many-male-businessmen-and-i-m-not-apt-to/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [For the blockbusters, people were always telling me that if you write female protagonists, the boys won't go, so you have to put the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-woolverton/for-the-blockbusters-people-were-always-telling-me-that-if-you-write/) [Linda Woolverton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-woolverton/) > [Is it easy for me to write from a female point of view? Yeah, I am a female. I'm a very sensitive type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-blanco/is-it-easy-for-me-to-write-from-a-female-point-of-view-yeah-i-am-a/) [Benny Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-blanco/) > [I do not think that when I write a female character, I intend to reflect my thoughts on gender equality, but I always make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sriram-raghavan/i-do-not-think-that-when-i-write-a-female-character-i-intend-to/) [Sriram Raghavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sriram-raghavan/) > [I grew up in a household of women, they ran the show, they kept it all together. I credit my ability to write in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-grew-up-in-a-household-of-women-they-ran-the-show-they-kept-it-all/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“we as authors have been writing about people we aren't for forever. We find a way to empathise, we find a way in. Female…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-kress/we-as-authors-have-been-writing-about-people-we-aren-t-for-forever-we/) [Adrienne Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-kress/) > [I didn't set out to write some female-empowering movie; I just wanted to write a funny college comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-cannon/i-didn-t-set-out-to-write-some-female-empowering-movie-i-just-wanted/) [Kay Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-cannon/) > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## More by Dennis R. Miller > [“Writing a novel is like traveling the universe on foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/writing-a-novel-is-like-traveling-the-universe-on-foot/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“I don’t care that it has been going on since the Old Testament. Rape is wrong and I will keep fighting violent men. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/i-don-t-care-that-it-has-been-going-on-since-the-old-testament-rape/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“When I'm writing, really writing, everything but breathing is an ignorable distraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/when-i-m-writing-really-writing-everything-but-breathing-is-an/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“For some offenses, there is only retribution." Nora Hawks, "One Woman's Vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/for-some-offenses-there-is-only-retribution-nora-hawks-one-woman-s/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“Storytelling? God started that. Discovery. Lust. Murder. Revenge. Power. Sin. Redemption. Forgiveness. Miracles. We simply retell the stories in the language of our generation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/storytelling-god-started-that-discovery-lust-murder-revenge-power-sin/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“Writing is easy. Writing is hard. It's a breeze and a struggle, just like life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/writing-is-easy-writing-is-hard-it-s-a-breeze-and-a-struggle-just/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“Do you really think that laws made by men and a justice system maintained by men will ever be fair in cases of rape?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/do-you-really-think-that-laws-made-by-men-and-a-justice-system/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“For me, all writing -- storytelling and style -- gets back to the Bible, Twain and Hemingway, and not in that order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/for-me-all-writing-storytelling-and-style-gets-back-to-the-bible/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“Another drink, another sentence, and the writing continues on. . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/another-drink-another-sentence-and-the-writing-continues-on/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) > [“What fascinates me about writing is wrestling thought into reality and creating a new world that is forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/what-fascinates-me-about-writing-is-wrestling-thought-into-reality/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) [Explore all 11 Dennis R. Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) ## More Art of writing quotes > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice-2/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The art of writing is not, as many seem to imagine, the art of bringing fine phrases into rhythmical order, but the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/the-art-of-writing-is-not-as-many-seem-to-imagine-the-art-of-bringing/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [“NOVEL, n. A short story padded. A species of composition bearing the same relation to literature that the panorama bears to art. As it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/novel-n-a-short-story-padded-a-species-of-composition-bearing-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Whatever may be our natural talents, the art of writing is not acquired all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/whatever-may-be-our-natural-talents-the-art-of-writing-is-not/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I want my art to make people look at the world in a new way. I mean, what's the point of the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-want-my-art-to-make-people-look-at-the-world-in-a-new-way-i-mean/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [The craft or art of writing is the clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-craft-or-art-of-writing-is-the-clumsy-attempt-to-find-symbols-for/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“However great a man's natural talent may be, the art of writing cannot be learned all at once. Jean-Jaeques Rousseau”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jaeques-rousseau/however-great-a-man-s-natural-talent-may-be-the-art-of-writing-cannot/) [Jean-Jaeques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jaeques-rousseau/) > [“For life is short and the art of writing books is very, very long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/for-life-is-short-and-the-art-of-writing-books-is-very-very-long/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [There is an art of reading, an art of thinking, and an art of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/there-is-an-art-of-reading-an-art-of-thinking-and-an-art-of-writing/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [“In this mortal frame of mine which is made of a hundred bones and nine orifices there is something, and this something is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bash-matsuo/in-this-mortal-frame-of-mine-which-is-made-of-a-hundred-bones-and/) [Bashō Matsuo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bash-matsuo/) > [“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe." — Gustave Flaubert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-estelle-miller/the-art-of-writing-is-the-art-of-discovering-what-you-believe-gustave/) [Minnie Estelle Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-estelle-miller/) [Browse all 71 Art of writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-of-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female character to try, in vain, to understand two things: the purpose of life, and women.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dennis R. Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-about-a-female-character-to-try/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art of writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-about-a-female-character-to-try/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/dennis-r-miller-40133_art-of-writing_on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-abou_2426945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On Writing About Nora Hawks I write about a female character to try, in vain, to understand two things: the…” — Dennis R. Miller", "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": "Dennis R. Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“On Writing About Nora Hawks I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-about-a-female-character-to-try/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/on-writing-about-nora-hawks-i-write-about-a-female-character-to-try/#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 } } ] } ```