--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All writers write about the past, and I…" description: "\"All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.\" — Ernest Gaines" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg" --- # All writers write about the past, and I try to make it… ![“All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.” quote by Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg) > “All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.” [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author emphasizes that writers draw from history, aiming to animate it so readers can vividly experience past events. **In simple terms:** Writers revive history for readers. Key Takeaway Bring history to life through storytelling. Themes history writing memory Mood inspirational thoughtful Type educational literary When to use this quote - education - literature - historical fiction Key Concepts narrative immersion vividness Questions to Reflect On - What techniques make historical writing compelling? - How does vivid past affect our present understanding? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased or selective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Not afraid to write about my past to inspire your future”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordone-branch/not-afraid-to-write-about-my-past-to-inspire-your-future/) Jordone Branch > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [In my case, I write in the past because I'm not really part of the present. I have nothing valid to say about anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/in-my-case-i-write-in-the-past-because-i-m-not-really-part-of-the/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [“We all write fiction when we write about the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-all-write-fiction-when-we-write-about-the-past/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I write with my past, about the future, for the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eyedea/i-write-with-my-past-about-the-future-for-the-present/) [Eyedea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eyedea/) > [I cannot write about the past unless I go where history happened. Some make very good armchair historians, I'm not one of them. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/i-cannot-write-about-the-past-unless-i-go-where-history-happened-some/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“To write past events in the present tense adds immediacy to your prose. ~Yvonne Blackwood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-blackwood/to-write-past-events-in-the-present-tense-adds-immediacy-to-your/) Yvonne Blackwood > [I think we're on a journey…It was very easy to write about my past in my book, but writing about the present is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/i-think-we-re-on-a-journey-it-was-very-easy-to-write-about-my-past-in/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [It's even easier to write about the past now that I'm happy and have better stuff to write about. That's why someone like Bob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-cosmos/it-s-even-easier-to-write-about-the-past-now-that-i-m-happy-and-have/) [Frankie Cosmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-cosmos/) > [You can't re-write your past, but you can grab a clean sheet of paper and write your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-re-write-your-past-but-you-can-grab-a-clean-sheet-of-paper/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When you write about the past, you lie with each letter, with every grapheme, including the goddamn comma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/when-you-write-about-the-past-you-lie-with-each-letter-with-every/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [Why write about the past? Well, there's more of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/why-write-about-the-past-well-there-s-more-of-it/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [All those writers who write about their own childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/all-those-writers-who-write-about-their-own-childhood-gentle-god-if-i/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I'm an author. And writers write books. And writing books is a full-time career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-m-an-author-and-writers-write-books-and-writing-books-is-a-full/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) ## More by Ernest Gaines > [I try to write something that would interest anybody and keep them turning the page. You must have a plot and good storyline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-try-to-write-something-that-would-interest-anybody-and-keep-them/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Words mean nothing. Action is the only thing. Doing. That's the only thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/words-mean-nothing-action-is-the-only-thing-doing-that-s-the-only/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [In all my stories and novels, no one ever escapes Louisiana. Maybe that is because my soul never left Louisiana, although my body did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/in-all-my-stories-and-novels-no-one-ever-escapes-louisiana-maybe-that/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I think I'm a very religious person. I think I believe in God as much as any man does. I don't only believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-think-i-m-a-very-religious-person-i-think-i-believe-in-god-as-much/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [There will always be men struggling...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/there-will-always-be-men-struggling/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [What for?" I said. "What for, Tante Lou? He treated me the same way he treated her. He wants me to feel guilty, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/what-for-i-said-what-for-tante-lou-he-treated-me-the-same-way-he/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [We all have much more in common than we have difference. I would say that about people all over the world. They don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/we-all-have-much-more-in-common-than-we-have-difference-i-would-say/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I believe that the writer should tell a story. I believe in plot. I believe in creating characters and suspense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-believe-that-the-writer-should-tell-a-story-i-believe-in-plot-i/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they're better than anyone else on earth - and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/a-myth-is-an-old-lie-that-people-believe-in-white-people-believe-that/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I have learned as much about writing about my people by listening to blues and jazz and spirituals as I have by reading novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-have-learned-as-much-about-writing-about-my-people-by-listening-to/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [When I'm sitting in the church alone, I can hear singing of the old people. I can hear their singing and I can hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/when-i-m-sitting-in-the-church-alone-i-can-hear-singing-of-the-old/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/question-everything-every-stripe-every-star-every-word-spoken/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Now, about that mulatto teacher and me. There was no love there for each other. There was not even respect. We were enemies if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/now-about-that-mulatto-teacher-and-me-there-was-no-love-there-for/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [Without love for my fellow man and respect for nature, to me, life is an obscenity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/without-love-for-my-fellow-man-and-respect-for-nature-to-me-life-is/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I knew I wanted to be a writer and I knew if I had a wife and family, I would neglect something, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-knew-if-i-had-a-wife-and-family/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) [Explore all 41 Ernest Gaines quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Gaines" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-try-to-make-it-come-alive-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-try-to-make-it-come-alive-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/287/ernest-gaines-15825_alive_all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-t_2848501.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.” — Ernest Gaines", "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": "Ernest Gaines", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All writers write about the past,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-try-to-make-it-come-alive-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/all-writers-write-about-the-past-and-i-try-to-make-it-come-alive-so/#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 } } ] } ```