--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Somehow writing has always seemed to me…" description: "\"Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element of performance.\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg" --- # Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element… ![“Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element of performance.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg) > “Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element of performance.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing blends storytelling with performance, making the act itself a public display. **In simple terms:** Writing feels like performing for an audience. Key Takeaway Recognize the performative aspect of writing to engage readers. Themes creativity performance literature self‑expression Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - creative workshops - author readings Key Concepts narrative voice audience awareness artistic authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does performance influence a writer’s style? - Can awareness of audience improve or limit authenticity? A Different Perspective Focusing on performance may distract from content depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You have to give an element of performance on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/you-have-to-give-an-element-of-performance-on-television/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [The clothes chosen for me as a child had a strong element of the Pre-Raphaelite, muted greens and ivories, dusty rose, what seems in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-clothes-chosen-for-me-as-a-child-had-a-strong-element-of-the-pre/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [There is certainly a part of my filmmaking that harkens to a more simpler commercial kind of taste, but then with this theres certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-chandor/there-is-certainly-a-part-of-my-filmmaking-that-harkens-to-a-more/) [J. C. Chandor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-chandor/) > [I lived for 10 years in Los Angeles, and the one element that surpasses everything else - that you are very conscious of -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/i-lived-for-10-years-in-los-angeles-and-the-one-element-that/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [In every character you play, as much as you hate to admit it as an actor, but there's an element of you that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-montgomery/in-every-character-you-play-as-much-as-you-hate-to-admit-it-as-an/) [Janet Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-montgomery/) > [There is no realism without an element of idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/there-is-no-realism-without-an-element-of-idealism/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/contentment-with-our-lot-is-an-element-of-happiness/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Your potentials contain local elements that can react with your passion to produce global compounds for the solution of the world’s problems. Go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/your-potentials-contain-local-elements-that-can-react-with-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [It's always fun messing around with costumes and stuff. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/performance-capture-is-a-tool-that-young-actors-will-need-in-the-next/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [The best thing about the term 'performance artist' is that it includes just about everything you might want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/the-best-thing-about-the-term-performance-artist-is-that-it-includes/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Element quotes > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. 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It's, like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelis/i-ve-done-a-lot-of-different-tours-for-me-i-try-to-go-on-tours-that-i/) [Kelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelis/) > [I don't think there's any show comparable to 'Game of Thrones' in terms of the way it does the fantasy element to such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-show-comparable-to-game-of-thrones-in-terms/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [This 'Making Mirrors' album is far more personal, even if there's a character element to the sounds I'm working with. Every song on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/this-making-mirrors-album-is-far-more-personal-even-if-there-s-a/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [Time is the most elastic element in the world. It increases minutes when we are waiting and decreases hours when we are enjoying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-the-most-elastic-element-in-the-world-it-increases-minutes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think actors tend to be in their element when they are pushed out of their comfort zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lewis/i-think-actors-tend-to-be-in-their-element-when-they-are-pushed-out/) [Matthew Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lewis/) > [“Your potentials contain local elements that can react with your passion to produce global compounds for the solution of the world’s problems. Go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/your-potentials-contain-local-elements-that-can-react-with-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [On the contrary, the characteristic element of the present situation is that economic questions have finally and irrevocably invaded the domain of public life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-henderson/on-the-contrary-the-characteristic-element-of-the-present-situation/) [Arthur Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-henderson/) > [No one doubts the enormity of the social challenges we face around the world but one critical element of our response must be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/no-one-doubts-the-enormity-of-the-social-challenges-we-face-around/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [I want to keep looking for roles that have an element of surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-raj-bhasin/i-want-to-keep-looking-for-roles-that-have-an-element-of-surprise/) [Tahir Raj Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-raj-bhasin/) > [I want to do some bigger films, so long as there's some sort of exciting creative element or a good filmmaker behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-want-to-do-some-bigger-films-so-long-as-there-s-some-sort-of/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) Browse all 318 Element quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element of performance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-have-an-element-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Element" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-have-an-element-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/joan-didion-497_element_somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me_2753872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Somehow writing has always seemed to me to have an element of performance.” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Somehow writing has always seemed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-have-an-element-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/somehow-writing-has-always-seemed-to-me-to-have-an-element-of/#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 } } ] } ```