--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was very little, four or five, I…" description: "\"When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip drawings, so my first novel had no words. I couldn't write and thought adult handwriting was a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/joyce-carol-oates-344_adults_when-i-was-very-little-four-or-five-i-di_1914995.png" --- # When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip… ![“When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip drawings, so my first novel had no words. I couldn't write and thought adult handwriting was a mysterious scribble. When I was 14, my grandmother gave me a typewriter and I started writing in a different way.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/joyce-carol-oates-344_adults_when-i-was-very-little-four-or-five-i-di_1914995.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/joyce-carol-oates-344_adults_when-i-was-very-little-four-or-five-i-di_1914995.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/joyce-carol-oates-344_adults_when-i-was-very-little-four-or-five-i-di_1914995.png) > “When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip drawings, so my first novel had no words. I couldn't write and thought adult handwriting was a mysterious scribble. When I was 14, my grandmother gave me a typewriter and I started writing in a different way.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early childhood fascination with visual storytelling led to a unique path to writing, overcoming perceived barriers of adult handwriting. **In simple terms:** Finding a voice through different mediums. Key Takeaway Embrace alternative routes to creativity. Themes creativity learning growth perseverance identity Mood reflective inspirational hopeful Type personal creative When to use this quote - childhood art projects - typewriter use - overcoming self‑doubt - creative breakthroughs Key Concepts visual art writing development self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How did the typewriter change your perception of writing? - What barriers have you transformed into strengths? A Different Perspective Some may view non‑traditional methods as less legitimate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic strip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-strip/) [Comic strips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-strips/) [Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother/) [Handwriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handwriting/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [As a child. I grew up on a small farm, so I did a lot of drawings of animals, chickens and people. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/as-a-child-i-grew-up-on-a-small-farm-so-i-did-a-lot-of-drawings-of/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A lot of times I'll doodle on something while I'm doing interviews, because sometimes I'm on the phone for three or four hours and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-coyne/a-lot-of-times-i-ll-doodle-on-something-while-i-m-doing-interviews/) [Wayne Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-coyne/) > [I can scarcely manage to scribble a tolerable English letter. I know that I am not a scholar, but meantime I am aware that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/i-can-scarcely-manage-to-scribble-a-tolerable-english-letter-i-know/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [Suggestions? Put it aside for a few days, or longer, do other things, try not to think about it. Then sit down and read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/suggestions-put-it-aside-for-a-few-days-or-longer-do-other-things-try/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [We have to make a mark, even if it's only a scribble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/we-have-to-make-a-mark-even-if-it-s-only-a-scribble/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I was really young, but I can't say that I wrote much of anything. I liked to scribble; I thought of it as that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/i-was-really-young-but-i-can-t-say-that-i-wrote-much-of-anything-i/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) > [The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus tickets, on the wall of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-true-writer-the-born-writer-will-scribble-words-on-scraps-of/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Hope bases vast premises upon foolish accidents and reads a word where, in fact, only a scribble exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/hope-bases-vast-premises-upon-foolish-accidents-and-reads-a-word/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Everybody knows by now that there's a gazillion books on me either out or coming out in the near future. So I'm encouraging anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/everybody-knows-by-now-that-there-s-a-gazillion-books-on-me-either/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Writing is the easiest thing in the world… Just try it sometime. I sit up with a pipe in my mouth and a board…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/writing-is-the-easiest-thing-in-the-world-just-try-it-sometime-i-sit/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Philosophers are often like little children, who first scribble random lines on a piece of paper with their pencils, and now ask an adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophers-are-often-like-little-children-who-first-scribble-random/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Write. Don't talk about writing. Don't tell me about your wonderful story ideas. Don't give me a bunch of "somedays." Plant your ass and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/write-don-t-talk-about-writing-don-t-tell-me-about-your-wonderful/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [We all scribble poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/we-all-scribble-poetry/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Twiddle-twiddle away at my softly clicky keyboard for a while, making twiddly adjustments all along- and then print what I have twiddled. Glare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/twiddle-twiddle-away-at-my-softly-clicky-keyboard-for-a-while-making/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [When in doubt, scribble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-wilson/when-in-doubt-scribble/) [Jean Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-wilson/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) K. 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As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip drawings, so my first novel had no words. I couldn't write and thought adult handwriting was a mysterious scribble. 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