--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into…" description: "\"Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into something and I'll still be calling a character \"X.\" I don't have a very clear idea of who the characters are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/joan-didion-497_book_sometimes-i-ll-be-fifty-sixty-pages-into_1945924.jpg" --- # Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into something and… ![“Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into something and I'll still be calling a character "X." I don't have a very clear idea of who the characters are until they start talking. Then I start to love them. By the time I finish the book, I love them so much that I want to stay with them. I don't…” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/joan-didion-497_book_sometimes-i-ll-be-fifty-sixty-pages-into_1945924.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/joan-didion-497_book_sometimes-i-ll-be-fifty-sixty-pages-into_1945924.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/joan-didion-497_book_sometimes-i-ll-be-fifty-sixty-pages-into_1945924.jpg) > “Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into something and I'll still be calling a character "X." I don't have a very clear idea of who the characters are until they start talking. Then I start to love them. By the time I finish the book, I love them so much that I want to stay with them. I don't want to leave them ever.” [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. She explains discovering characters through dialogue, growing attached and reluctant to part with them. **In simple terms:** Characters become real as they speak. Key Takeaway Listen to your characters to understand them. Themes character development dialogue attachment Mood introspective empathetic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - fiction writing - screenwriting - character workshops - editing Key Concepts narrative voice empathy Questions to Reflect On - What does your character say about you? - How do you handle characters you dislike? A Different Perspective Relying solely on dialogue may miss non‑verbal cues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-love/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Characters Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-start-1070604/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Finish Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-book/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Sixty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixty/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have a very clear idea of who the characters are until they start talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-don-t-have-a-very-clear-idea-of-who-the-characters-are-until-they/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [When you're really young, you tend to fall in love with characters. If you start seeing the same type of character everywhere and realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-marie-tran/when-you-re-really-young-you-tend-to-fall-in-love-with-characters-if/) [Kelly Marie Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-marie-tran/) > [I'm waiting for the Times Square characters to start dressing as me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-rogowsky/i-m-waiting-for-the-times-square-characters-to-start-dressing-as-me/) [Scott Rogowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-rogowsky/) > [That's the moment you look for as a writer, when the characters start telling you what they are doing rather than you telling them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bartlett/that-s-the-moment-you-look-for-as-a-writer-when-the-characters-start/) [Mike Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-bartlett/) > [“Writing a book with completely fictitious characters is like running a democracy, centered around a capital state. You constantly live with the fear &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shomprakash-sinha-roy/writing-a-book-with-completely-fictitious-characters-is-like-running/) [Shomprakash Sinha Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shomprakash-sinha-roy/) > [I'll often dream about characters before I start writing their stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/i-ll-often-dream-about-characters-before-i-start-writing-their-stories/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [Sometimes female characters start out as the wife or girlfriend, but then I realize, 'No, she's the book,' and she becomes a main character.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/sometimes-female-characters-start-out-as-the-wife-or-girlfriend-but/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [When you start, it's very cold, an impossible task. But then maybe the characters start to take on a little bit of life, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/when-you-start-it-s-very-cold-an-impossible-task-but-then-maybe-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You eventually come to the conclusion that there's only so much you can do with these established characters, and you start wondering who among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/you-eventually-come-to-the-conclusion-that-there-s-only-so-much-you/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [My characters all start with rhythms and sounds. Once I hear the voice and get into the rhythm, the attitude and the physicality just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/my-characters-all-start-with-rhythms-and-sounds-once-i-hear-the-voice/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [You set up the story, but the characters start talking, and they go places that you didn't expect. You have to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-kazan/you-set-up-the-story-but-the-characters-start-talking-and-they-go/) [Zoe Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-kazan/) > [One of the things I really love about TV is this symbiotic relationship you can get between the writers and the actors, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-gugino/one-of-the-things-i-really-love-about-tv-is-this-symbiotic/) [Carla Gugino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-gugino/) > [My characters always start well in movies. Almost every movie I've done starts with a happy marriage, it's all beautiful, wealthy, whatever... and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-bouquet/my-characters-always-start-well-in-movies-almost-every-movie-i-ve/) [Carole Bouquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-bouquet/) > [My characters often start out with a loss of some sort, usually a loss of emotion or purpose or hope. What I do in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/my-characters-often-start-out-with-a-loss-of-some-sort-usually-a-loss/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I don't start with the characters. I start with the series of events that will provide the conflict and how it can be resolved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/i-don-t-start-with-the-characters-i-start-with-the-series-of-events/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) ## 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. 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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 Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes I'll be fifty, sixty pages into something and I'll still be calling a character \"X.\" I don't have a very clear idea of who the characters are until they start talking. 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