--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To imagine yourself inside another…" description: "\"To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.\" — E..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png" --- # To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a… ![“To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.” quote by Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png) > “To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.” [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer must empathically inhabit another's perspective, making this the beginning and end of storytelling. **In simple terms:** Writers must imagine others' lives. Key Takeaway Practice deep empathy in writing. Themes empathy writing perspective Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - fiction writing - screenwriting - teaching literature Key Concepts narrative immersion character development Questions to Reflect On - How can writers expand empathy beyond their own life? - What techniques deepen character immersion? A Different Perspective Empathy may be limited by personal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-inside-2941687/) [Inside Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inside-person-589969/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Person Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-story-515359/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writer-661112/) [Working it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-it/) [Writer Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-does/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To imagine yourself inside another person... is what a storywriter does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-person-is-what-a-storywriter-does/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I love to imagine inside the head of a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-love-to-imagine-inside-the-head-of-a-woman/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [“There are more people involved in telling a story than the writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/there-are-more-people-involved-in-telling-a-story-than-the-writer/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [Writers don't often say anything that readers don't already know, unless its a news story. A writer's greatest pleasure is revealing to people things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/writers-don-t-often-say-anything-that-readers-don-t-already-know/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I'm just trying to tell a nice story. Whether you're a writer or a producer, all you want to do is tell a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-winkler/i-m-just-trying-to-tell-a-nice-story-whether-you-re-a-writer-or-a/) [Irwin Winkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-winkler/) > [For a short-story writer, a story is the combination of what the writer supposed the story would likely be about - plus what actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/for-a-short-story-writer-a-story-is-the-combination-of-what-the/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [The short-story writer knows that he can't proceed cumulatively, that time is not his ally. His only solution is to work vertically, heading up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-short-story-writer-knows-that-he-can-t-proceed-cumulatively-that/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [I think it's a short story writer's duty, as well as writing well about emotions and characters, to write story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-brown/i-think-it-s-a-short-story-writer-s-duty-as-well-as-writing-well/) [Eric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-brown/) > [I used to be a good story writer. I could make up a story with like, eight people in it and tell you where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-bregoli/i-used-to-be-a-good-story-writer-i-could-make-up-a-story-with-like/) [Danielle Bregoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-bregoli/) > [The first draft of a story is the writer's clay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-coville/the-first-draft-of-a-story-is-the-writer-s-clay/) [Bruce Coville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-coville/) > [Well, as a short-story writer, I don't think there are any weaknesses to the genre itself. I guess I would say that the difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/well-as-a-short-story-writer-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-weaknesses/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [The more original a short-story writer, the odder looking the assortment of things he or she puts together for a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-more-original-a-short-story-writer-the-odder-looking-the/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [As a story writer, you have work with sharp but relatively small tools, the picks of metaphor, the shovel blade of images, the trowel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/as-a-story-writer-you-have-work-with-sharp-but-relatively-small-tools/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I was trained mainly as a short story writer and that's how I started writing, but I've also become very interested in non-fiction, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-was-trained-mainly-as-a-short-story-writer-and-that-s-how-i-started/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“You are not a story, your life is a story and you are the writer, write an inspiring one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drishti-bablani-wordions/you-are-not-a-story-your-life-is-a-story-and-you-are-the-writer-write/) [Drishti Bablani, Wordions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drishti-bablani-wordions/) ## More by Eudora Welty > [“She (my mother) could still recite them (the poems) in full when she was lying helpless and nearly blind, in her bed, an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-could-still-recite-them-the-poems-in-full-when-she-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/long-before-i-wrote-stories-i-listened-for-stories-listening-for-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Once you're into a story everything seems to apply-what you overhear on a city bus is exactly what your character would say on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/once-you-re-into-a-story-everything-seems-to-apply-what-you-overhear/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Two by two, I read library books as fast as I could go, rushing them home in the basket of my bicycle. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/two-by-two-i-read-library-books-as-fast-as-i-could-go-rushing-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When somebody, no matter who, gives everything, it makes people feel ashamed for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-somebody-no-matter-who-gives-everything-it-makes-people-feel/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Daydreaming had started me on the way; but story writing, once I was truly in its grip, took me and shook me awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/daydreaming-had-started-me-on-the-way-but-story-writing-once-i-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“At the sting in her eyes, she remembered for him that there must be no tears in his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/at-the-sting-in-her-eyes-she-remembered-for-him-that-there-must-be-no/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“We do need to bring to our writing, over and over again, all the abundance we possess. To be able, to be ready, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/we-do-need-to-bring-to-our-writing-over-and-over-again-all-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Could she ever be, would she be, where she was going?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/could-she-ever-be-would-she-be-where-she-was-going/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When one of us (children) caught measles or whooping cough and we were isolated in bad upstairs, we wrote notes to each other perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-one-of-us-children-caught-measles-or-whooping-cough-and-we-were/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“She (my mother) stood always prepared in herself to challenge the world in our place. She did indeed tend to make the world look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-stood-always-prepared-in-herself-to-challenge-the-world/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“For there is hate as well as love, she supposed, in the coming together and continuing of our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-there-is-hate-as-well-as-love-she-supposed-in-the-coming-together/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“In children's art class we sat in a ring of kindergarten chairs and drew three daffodils that had just been picked out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/in-children-s-art-class-we-sat-in-a-ring-of-kindergarten-chairs-and/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/people-are-mostly-layers-of-violence-and-tenderness-wrapped-like/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) [Explore all 227 Eudora Welty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) [Browse all 25,574 Doe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eudora Welty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-person-is-what-a-story-writer-does/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-person-is-what-a-story-writer-does/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/eudora-welty-1564_doe_to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-perso_450203.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To imagine yourself inside another person...is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his…” — Eudora Welty", "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": "Eudora Welty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To imagine yourself inside another person...is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-person-is-what-a-story-writer-does/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/to-imagine-yourself-inside-another-person-is-what-a-story-writer-does/#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 } } ] } ```