--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I am writing, I'm very much on the…" description: "\"When I am writing, I'm very much on the ground, on the same ground my characters are treading.\" — Graham Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/graham-swift-8547_character_when-i-am-writing-i-m-very-much-on-the-g_1257040.jpg" --- # When I am writing, I'm very much on the ground, on the… ![“When I am writing, I'm very much on the ground, on the same ground my characters are treading.” quote by Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/graham-swift-8547_character_when-i-am-writing-i-m-very-much-on-the-g_1257040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/graham-swift-8547_character_when-i-am-writing-i-m-very-much-on-the-g_1257040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/graham-swift-8547_character_when-i-am-writing-i-m-very-much-on-the-g_1257040.jpg) > “When I am writing, I'm very much on the ground, on the same ground my characters are treading.” [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing grounds the author in the same reality as their characters, fostering empathy and authenticity in the narrative. **In simple terms:** Writing connects author and characters on shared ground. Key Takeaway Write from the characters' perspective. Themes craft empathy authenticity Mood introspective analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing classes - novel drafting - screenwriting Key Concepts Literary realism character immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does sharing ground enhance story truth? - When does immersion become limiting? A Different Perspective Too much immersion may blur personal boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Treading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-treading-3982210/) [Ground Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ground-characters-3257896/) [Treading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treading/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-ground-3982211/) ## Related quotes > [You have to have somebody to root for. I truly believe that's how you ground a movie. You ground them in the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-shuler-donner/you-have-to-have-somebody-to-root-for-i-truly-believe-that-s-how-you/) [Lauren Shuler Donner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-shuler-donner/) > [I have a tendency as an actress in general to ground my characters. Even when doing outlandish characters, that's my instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-burton/i-have-a-tendency-as-an-actress-in-general-to-ground-my-characters/) [Kate Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-burton/) > [I try to ground most of my characters in reality somehow. That's kind of what I bring to the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/i-try-to-ground-most-of-my-characters-in-reality-somehow-that-s-kind/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [Any mother with half a skull knows that when Daddy's little boy becomes Mommy's little boy, the kid is so wet he's treading water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/any-mother-with-half-a-skull-knows-that-when-daddy-s-little-boy/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [One of the reasons for putting yourself on the line, is that life is not simply treading water... I always felt that once you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-button/one-of-the-reasons-for-putting-yourself-on-the-line-is-that-life-is/) [Dick Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-button/) > [“I’m treading very carefully on glass here, and I’m not sure how long it will last before I lose concentrating and cut my foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimie-roberts/i-m-treading-very-carefully-on-glass-here-and-i-m-not-sure-how-long/) [Jaimie Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimie-roberts/) > [We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/we-have-come-over-a-way-that-with-tears-has-been-watered-we-have-come/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [“There is not, perhaps, a more painful exercise of the mind than that of treading, with weary and impatient pace, the entire round of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-not-perhaps-a-more-painful-exercise-of-the-mind-than-that-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As I have already urged, the practice of that which is ethically best - what we call goodness or virtue - involves a course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/as-i-have-already-urged-the-practice-of-that-which-is-ethically-best/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [And when children begin to use their reason, fathers and mothers should take great pains to fill their hearts with the fear of God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales/and-when-children-begin-to-use-their-reason-fathers-and-mothers/) [Saint Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-francis-de-sales/) > [Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/nothing-can-be-more-touching-than-to-behold-a-soft-and-tender-female/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It takes five years for a willing person's mind to change. Have patience with yourself and others when treading in an area protected by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/it-takes-five-years-for-a-willing-person-s-mind-to-change-have/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [When she walked...she stretched out long and thin like a little tiger, and held her head high to look over the grass as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-orne-jewett/when-she-walked-she-stretched-out-long-and-thin-like-a-little-tiger/) [Sarah Orne Jewett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-orne-jewett/) > [Every step you take will feel as if you were treading upon knife blades so sharp that blood must flow. I am willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/every-step-you-take-will-feel-as-if-you-were-treading-upon-knife/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [The administration of government lies in getting proper men. Such men are to be got by means of the ruler's own character. That character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-administration-of-government-lies-in-getting-proper-men-such-men/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) ## More by Graham Swift > [I like the world we've got. If there is anything special and magical, I have to find it in the ordinary stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/i-like-the-world-we-ve-got-if-there-is-anything-special-and-magical-i/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [The idea of stopping is not unmeaningful to me. I think there might be a time when, in theory at least, you'd say, 'Well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/the-idea-of-stopping-is-not-unmeaningful-to-me-i-think-there-might-be/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [There has always been, for me, this other world, this second world to fall back on--a more reliable world in so far as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/there-has-always-been-for-me-this-other-world-this-second-world-to/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [My upbringing was absolutely not the archetypal writer's upbringing. Even, arguably, the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/my-upbringing-was-absolutely-not-the-archetypal-writer-s-upbringing/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [As a novelist, I suppose I can say that I'm highly articulate. But I know, as a person, in other ways, I'm not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/as-a-novelist-i-suppose-i-can-say-that-i-m-highly-articulate-but-i/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“There’s this thing called progress. But it doesn’t progress, it doesn’t go anywhere. Because as progress progresses the world can slip away. It’s progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/there-s-this-thing-called-progress-but-it-doesn-t-progress-it-doesn-t/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“And books, she knew by then, were one of the necessities, the rocks of her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/and-books-she-knew-by-then-were-one-of-the-necessities-the-rocks-of/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [Structure that really pays off is all based on emotion. I don't write down an elaborate plan. It's really done by feel. It's one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/structure-that-really-pays-off-is-all-based-on-emotion-i-don-t-write/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [The novel that's contemporary in the sense of being wholly 'of now' is an impossibility, if only because novels may take years to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/the-novel-that-s-contemporary-in-the-sense-of-being-wholly-of-now-is/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“But this would have been to ignore the young man of only twenty-five, who, for all his, by now, increasing and debilitating proneness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/but-this-would-have-been-to-ignore-the-young-man-of-only-twenty-five/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [Literature is the voice of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/literature-is-the-voice-of-the-human-heart/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [In my work you often get an abrupt shift in time, a jolt. But the emotional logic will take the reader on. I hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/in-my-work-you-often-get-an-abrupt-shift-in-time-a-jolt-but-the/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [London is like no other city I know in its ability to become beautiful. You can suddenly turn a corner and there are odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/london-is-like-no-other-city-i-know-in-its-ability-to-become/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [When people aren't expecting to be seen, they look their truest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/when-people-aren-t-expecting-to-be-seen-they-look-their-truest/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [And I didn't know I loved her till I'd dreamt of her. I didn't know it was the real thing until an illusion had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/and-i-didn-t-know-i-loved-her-till-i-d-dreamt-of-her-i-didn-t-know-it/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) [Explore all 79 Graham Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) ## 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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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