--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was interested in writing a child's…" description: "\"I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in fragments, whispers, viewed from around corners -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg" --- # I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a… ![“I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in fragments, whispers, viewed from around corners - and it seemed to me a child would try to understand it through stories and games, which distort and change the experience, then become the…” quote by Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg) > “I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in fragments, whispers, viewed from around corners - and it seemed to me a child would try to understand it through stories and games, which distort and change the experience, then become the experience.” [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child processes catastrophic events through fragmented, imaginative play, turning trauma into narrative and games. **In simple terms:** Kids turn trauma into stories. Key Takeaway Support creative expression. Themes childhood trauma imagination Mood empathetic thoughtful Type psychological creative When to use this quote - therapy sessions - educational settings - family discussions Key Concepts psychology storytelling developmental growth Questions to Reflect On - How can adults guide children’s storytelling? - What role does imagination play in healing? A Different Perspective Play may not fully resolve trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It is the child's understanding that teaches the adults the way of the future. They're still doing it today with modern technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/it-is-the-child-s-understanding-that-teaches-the-adults-the-way-of/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [A promise is a child of the understanding and the will; the understanding begets it, the will brings it forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/a-promise-is-a-child-of-the-understanding-and-the-will-the/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [When you're a child - and my understanding of it is very basic - but when you're a very young child, the stimuli around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/when-you-re-a-child-and-my-understanding-of-it-is-very-basic-but-when/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [I've been writing ever since I was a child: I used to give my English teacher extra homework and say, 'What do you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-hope-fletcher/i-ve-been-writing-ever-since-i-was-a-child-i-used-to-give-my-english/) [Carrie Hope Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-hope-fletcher/) > [From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing-child-i-wrote-little-novels/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [I began writing after my child was seriously hurt in a day care center accident, and I wanted to come home to be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-banks/i-began-writing-after-my-child-was-seriously-hurt-in-a-day-care/) [Leslie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-banks/) > [I started writing as a child. But I didn't think of myself actually writing until I was in college. And I had gone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-started-writing-as-a-child-but-i-didn-t-think-of-myself-actually/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [First rule of writing: When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/first-rule-of-writing-when-still-a-child-make-sure-you-read-a-lot-of/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [The success of 'The Widow' meant there were expectations for the second book from the first word, and it has created a completely different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/the-success-of-the-widow-meant-there-were-expectations-for-the-second/) [Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/) > [Here is something you have to understand about stories: They point you in the right direction but they can't take you all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/here-is-something-you-have-to-understand-about-stories-they-point-you/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. Storytellers give people structure with which they can begin to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harley/we-understand-ourselves-through-stories-by-making-stories-out-of-our/) Bill Harley > [Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/those-who-truly-understand-their-faiths-understand-the-stories-are/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The comfortable way to deal with these stories is to say they are about them The way to understand these stories is to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bowden/the-comfortable-way-to-deal-with-these-stories-is-to-say-they-are/) [Charles Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bowden/) > [Opera is something you have to educate yourself about. You have to make sure you understand the stories, what was happening politically, socially during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-hashimoto/opera-is-something-you-have-to-educate-yourself-about-you-have-to/) [Jacob Hashimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-hashimoto/) > [Behind a woman's smile there is a lot of pain you will never come to understand and stories only she can be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-pheona/behind-a-woman-s-smile-there-is-a-lot-of-pain-you-will-never-come-to/) [Mercy Pheona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-pheona/) ## More by Gregory Allen Howard > [I love the idea of literature as a room or series of rooms that allow you to be present as it slowly unfolds itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-love-the-idea-of-literature-as-a-room-or-series-of-rooms-that-allow/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [“People say that it can't work, black and white. Here, we make it work every day. We still have our disagreements, of course, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/people-say-that-it-can-t-work-black-and-white-here-we-make-it-work/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [I know that as a writer I'm trying to, in some small way, return the gift that I got, and maybe provide a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-know-that-as-a-writer-i-m-trying-to-in-some-small-way-return-the/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [Sometimes I think of writing as becoming this antenna that picks up the vibrations all around me in order to find out how and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/sometimes-i-think-of-writing-as-becoming-this-antenna-that-picks-up/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [One of the things I prize most about being a writer is its license - you could even say injunction - to be curious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/one-of-the-things-i-prize-most-about-being-a-writer-is-its-license/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) > [Home is a complex and resonant idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/home-is-a-complex-and-resonant-idea/) [Gregory Allen Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) [Explore all 7 Gregory Allen Howard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/) ## More Around the corner quotes > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [You'll never see me coming around the corner not smiling... I mean, I enjoy every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/you-ll-never-see-me-coming-around-the-corner-not-smiling-i-mean-i/) [Shaquem Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquem-griffin/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'd never think of taking a cab if you had to walk a mile down Chicago's Michigan Avenue. But in a bad city you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-jahn/you-d-never-think-of-taking-a-cab-if-you-had-to-walk-a-mile-down/) [Helmut Jahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-jahn/) > [With the great people that you work with, it's that they're never giving up and they're never thinking something's finished until they've really, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-price/with-the-great-people-that-you-work-with-it-s-that-they-re-never/) [Steven Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-price/) > [At some point during almost every romantic comedy, the female lead suddenly trips and falls, stumbling helplessly over something ridiculous like a leaf, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/at-some-point-during-almost-every-romantic-comedy-the-female-lead/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [“A courteous war mage. The world really was coming to an end. And then Pritkin ran back around the corner followed by half a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/a-courteous-war-mage-the-world-really-was-coming-to-an-end-and-then/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [You don't know what's coming for you in life, and you don't know what's around the corner. When you're in a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-wyman/you-don-t-know-what-s-coming-for-you-in-life-and-you-don-t-know-what/) [J.H. Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-wyman/) > [Brooklyn, where I grew up, is a competitive burg - there's always a pretty boy around the corner there, and you gotta look better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/brooklyn-where-i-grew-up-is-a-competitive-burg-there-s-always-a/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) > [One thing that's certain: around the corner from every ugly thing, there's something really beautiful. If we stop at every bitter interaction; we'll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/one-thing-that-s-certain-around-the-corner-from-every-ugly-thing/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [“job 14:1 man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of troubles "If that isn't your experience now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/job-14-1-man-who-is-born-of-a-woman-is-few-of-days-and-full-of/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. ... The unexpected around the corner gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/many-live-in-dread-of-what-is-coming-why-should-we-the-unknown-puts/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [And as I reinvent myself and I'm constantly curious about everything, I can't wait to see what's around the corner in newfound art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-grier/and-as-i-reinvent-myself-and-i-m-constantly-curious-about-everything/) [Pam Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-grier/) > [I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keegan/i-know-what-is-around-the-corner-i-just-don-t-know-where-the-corner-is/) [Kevin Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keegan/) > [I love being the age I am, because if there's enough pain or grief, I have enough experience now to realize that there's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gilbert/i-love-being-the-age-i-am-because-if-there-s-enough-pain-or-grief-i/) [Sara Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gilbert/) Browse all 569 Around the corner quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in fragments, whispers, viewed from around corners - and it seemed to me a child would try to understand it through stories and games, which distort and change the experience, then become the experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory Allen Howard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-understanding-of-a-cataclysmic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Around the corner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-understanding-of-a-cataclysmic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db1/gregory-allen-howard-50030_around-the-corner_i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-un_325317.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was interested in writing a child's understanding of a cataclysmic event - something experienced in…” — Gregory Allen Howard", "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": "Gregory Allen Howard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-allen-howard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was interested in writing a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-understanding-of-a-cataclysmic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-allen-howard/i-was-interested-in-writing-a-child-s-understanding-of-a-cataclysmic/#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 } } ] } ```