--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a horrible historian. My memory is…" description: "\"I'm a horrible historian. My memory is bad. I read things and then I forget them. I can't understand dates and I can't measure time. Time is confusing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/lucy-corin-23165_book_i-m-a-horrible-historian-my-memory-is-ba_1566055.jpg" --- # I'm a horrible historian. My memory is bad. I read things… ![“I'm a horrible historian. My memory is bad. I read things and then I forget them. I can't understand dates and I can't measure time. Time is confusing to me. That's why I do a lot of manipulations of time in my books, in part because an orderly time is physically difficult for me to conceive of in…” quote by Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/lucy-corin-23165_book_i-m-a-horrible-historian-my-memory-is-ba_1566055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/lucy-corin-23165_book_i-m-a-horrible-historian-my-memory-is-ba_1566055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/lucy-corin-23165_book_i-m-a-horrible-historian-my-memory-is-ba_1566055.jpg) > “I'm a horrible historian. My memory is bad. I read things and then I forget them. I can't understand dates and I can't measure time. Time is confusing to me. That's why I do a lot of manipulations of time in my books, in part because an orderly time is physically difficult for me to conceive of in my brain.” [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal difficulty perceiving linear time leads to narrative experiments with temporal structure. **In simple terms:** Time feels confusing, so she reshapes it in stories. Key Takeaway Explore non‑linear storytelling techniques. Themes memory time perception creativity Mood reflective curious Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - experimental fiction - personal journaling Key Concepts neuroscience narrative structure psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does altered time affect character development? - What tools help readers track shifting timelines? A Different Perspective Readers may find non‑linear narratives challenging to follow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [“You spend way too much time confusing silence with strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-stewart/you-spend-way-too-much-time-confusing-silence-with-strength/) [Leah Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-stewart/) > [“And the things you can’t remember tell the things you can’t forget that history puts a saint in every dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/and-the-things-you-can-t-remember-tell-the-things-you-can-t-forget/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The golden moment when I’m not yet awake enough to remember that there are things I would rather forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-sones/the-golden-moment-when-i-m-not-yet-awake-enough-to-remember-that/) [Sonya Sones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-sones/) > [I am very scatty, I don't follow things through, I forget things. 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Life can only be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/when-life-gets-stressful-we-often-forget-the-things-we-should/) Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom > [Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it's not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, it's gone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/some-things-you-forget-other-things-you-never-do-but-it-s-not-places/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More by Lucy Corin > [There were a lot of apocalypses that didn't make it into this assemblage because they didn't suit the world. And defining that world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-corin/there-were-a-lot-of-apocalypses-that-didn-t-make-it-into-this/) [Lucy Corin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-corin/) > [Ideologically, I have a lot of problems with that, especially when people toss around that form of story as realism. 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