--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you're involved in the work, it's…" description: "\"Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and the characters and the words.\" — Edwidge Danticat" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png" --- # Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and… ![“Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and the characters and the words.” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png) > “Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and the characters and the words.” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep involvement with work turns focus to characters and language alone **In simple terms:** Work becomes intimate with characters and words Key Takeaway Prioritize deep connection with narrative elements Themes writing intimacy character focus Mood contemplative intimate Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - creative retreats - writing workshops - storytelling sessions - literary festivals Key Concepts narrative immersion authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - How does solitary focus affect narrative depth? - When is collaboration beneficial for a writer? A Different Perspective Isolation may limit external feedback and growth ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [All the characters are made out of words. With reading, I understand that the people aren't real but the fact that they are made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-the-characters-are-made-out-of-words-with-reading-i-understand/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Fictional characters are made of words, not flesh; they do not have free will, they do not exercise volition. They are easily born, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/fictional-characters-are-made-of-words-not-flesh-they-do-not-have/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“I've never said anything worth quoting. You can quote me on that. My characters' words are another matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-vorbeck-williams/i-ve-never-said-anything-worth-quoting-you-can-quote-me-on-that-my/) Karen Vorbeck Williams > [I do think people see us on WWE so often as just characters. They forget we have real lives and we go through similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/i-do-think-people-see-us-on-wwe-so-often-as-just-characters-they/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I think in telling a good story there has to be ups and downs with any character, and you can't just have everything go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sullivan/i-think-in-telling-a-good-story-there-has-to-be-ups-and-downs-with/) [Chris Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sullivan/) > [The funniest things just come from honesty. We have a tendency to see female characters as representative of something larger than what they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-meriwether/the-funniest-things-just-come-from-honesty-we-have-a-tendency-to-see/) [Elizabeth Meriwether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-meriwether/) > [They really stay just characters to me. I look at them, and I don't see always the same person up there. And hopefully, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/they-really-stay-just-characters-to-me-i-look-at-them-and-i-don-t-see/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [I've always just done characters and solo stuff. Like, before I even started working, that's what I did... I'll just go wig shopping and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/i-ve-always-just-done-characters-and-solo-stuff-like-before-i-even/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [“Sometimes I don't know whether Zelda and I are real or just characters in one of my novels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/sometimes-i-don-t-know-whether-zelda-and-i-are-real-or-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [If you go back to the '80s, I didn't really know much about the characters. I knew what they did in the ring. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheamus/if-you-go-back-to-the-80s-i-didn-t-really-know-much-about-the/) [Sheamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheamus/) > [I find the best way to make things real is to just put two characters into a space and let them talk to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-find-the-best-way-to-make-things-real-is-to-just-put-two-characters/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [Collaboration is the best way to work. It's only way to work, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-starr/collaboration-is-the-best-way-to-work-it-s-only-way-to-work-really/) [Antony Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-starr/) > [Collaboration is the best way to work. It's only way to work, really. Everyone's there because they have a set of skills to offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-starr/collaboration-is-the-best-way-to-work-it-s-only-way-to-work-really-2/) [Antony Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-starr/) > [I really enjoy my time off. If I'm going to go to work, it has to be something I really believe in, or else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/i-really-enjoy-my-time-off-if-i-m-going-to-go-to-work-it-has-to-be/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Instead I dreamt of walking out of the world, of spending all my time inside with no one to talk to, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/instead-i-dreamt-of-walking-out-of-the-world-of-spending-all-my-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Then what do you want with me?'... 'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [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'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and the characters and the words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edwidge Danticat" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-really-just-you-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-really-just-you-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/edwidge-danticat-2559_character_once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-re_900249.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once you're involved in the work, it's really just you and the characters and the words.” — Edwidge Danticat", "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": "Edwidge Danticat", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Once you're involved in the work,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-really-just-you-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/once-you-re-involved-in-the-work-it-s-really-just-you-and-the/#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 } } ] } ```