--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each piece of writing I undertake…" description: "\"Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.\" — Norman Lock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg" --- # Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel… ![“Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.” quote by Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg) > “Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.” [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing starts from a vivid mental picture that anchors the narrative and guides its development. **In simple terms:** Image‑first writing Key Takeaway Visual seed drives story Themes creativity visualization narrative structure inspiration Mood focused imaginative Type advice process When to use this quote - drafting a novel - composing a poem - storyboarding a play Key Concepts image as catalyst mental framing Practical Applications - creative writing workshops - visual brainstorming sessions Questions to Reflect On - How does a visual cue shape your plot? - What happens when the image changes mid‑process? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins/) [Begins Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-image-1119717/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Piece Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-writing-243747/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Poem Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-begins-873274/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A book begins with an image or character or situation that I care about deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/a-book-begins-with-an-image-or-character-or-situation-that-i-care/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [A poem begins with a lump in the throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-poem-begins-with-a-lump-in-the-throat/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-poem-begins-as-a-lump-in-the-throat-a-sense-of-wrong-a-homesickness/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“The poem begins, “About suffering they were never wrong, / The Old Masters: how well they understood / Its human position; how it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/the-poem-begins-about-suffering-they-were-never-wrong-the-old-masters/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [A poet must never make a statement simply because it sounds poetically exciting; he must also believe it to be true." - W. H.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-poet-must-never-make-a-statement-simply-because-it-sounds/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“Since when," he asked, "Are the first line and last line of any poem Where the poem begins and ends?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/since-when-he-asked-are-the-first-line-and-last-line-of-any-poem/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-poem-begins-in-delight-and-ends-in-wisdom/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“A poem begins as I look into your eyes, as I kiss your lips, as I grasp your hair, a sense of happiness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-perez/a-poem-begins-as-i-look-into-your-eyes-as-i-kiss-your-lips-as-i-grasp/) [Alejandro Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-perez/) > [A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a homesickness or a love sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/a-poem-begins-with-a-lump-in-the-throat-a-homesickness-or-a-love/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [From a writing point of view, you now have teams of screenwriters working with a director. What's lost in the process is the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-eszterhas/from-a-writing-point-of-view-you-now-have-teams-of-screenwriters/) [Joe Eszterhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-eszterhas/) > [The characters created cannot just be a mouthpiece for the writer. When you look at a piece of writing, and it's genuine and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/the-characters-created-cannot-just-be-a-mouthpiece-for-the-writer/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [When I visit schools and talk to students about writing, I give them one word of advice and I give it to them quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-konigsburg/when-i-visit-schools-and-talk-to-students-about-writing-i-give-them/) [E. L. Konigsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-konigsburg/) > [A student comes to me with a piece of writing, holds it out, says, 'Is this good?' A whole sequence of emergencies goes off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/a-student-comes-to-me-with-a-piece-of-writing-holds-it-out-says-is/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/a-problem-with-a-piece-of-writing-often-clarifies-itself-if-you-go/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [Once a piece of writing gets to a moment where it's not going to get much better than it already is, marinate it. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/once-a-piece-of-writing-gets-to-a-moment-where-it-s-not-going-to-get/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) ## More by Norman Lock > [I admitted that I did not understand life. What I meant was that I am bewildered by human hearts and motivations, including my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-admitted-that-i-did-not-understand-life-what-i-meant-was-that-i-am/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I had hoped to be a poet, and for a long time I tried to write poetry. My first published pieces were poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-had-hoped-to-be-a-poet-and-for-a-long-time-i-tried-to-write-poetry/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I find it only natural for a storyteller to be interested in storytelling and, for anyone who spends the better part of his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-find-it-only-natural-for-a-storyteller-to-be-interested-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I do seem to favor a deathbed confession as the occasion for my dramatic monologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-seem-to-favor-a-deathbed-confession-as-the-occasion-for-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I do believe we are actors in our own dramas, which, moment by moment, we ourselves write; that we are characters in our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-believe-we-are-actors-in-our-own-dramas-which-moment-by-moment/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [The critique of social inequality, which is very much a part of my story, came about naturally from my recollection of Huck and Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/the-critique-of-social-inequality-which-is-very-much-a-part-of-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Theatre aside, my penchant for the extended monologue began with my reading of Browning's dramatic monologues, in high school. My inclination to adopt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/theatre-aside-my-penchant-for-the-extended-monologue-began-with-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [In nearly everything I write, I am like a ventriloquist, throwing my voice into my characters, animating them by the slightest twitch as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/in-nearly-everything-i-write-i-am-like-a-ventriloquist-throwing-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [It may be old hat, but I see no reason to close off what is for me a fruitful subject of inquiry, especially so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/it-may-be-old-hat-but-i-see-no-reason-to-close-off-what-is-for-me-a/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Emotional, physical, and spiritual estrangement and ontological and religious doubt inform my personality, my thoughts, and my characters, which are, more often than not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/emotional-physical-and-spiritual-estrangement-and-ontological-and/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Many of my short fictions use theatre as a metaphor for situations in which characters find themselves estranged from the larger, uncontrollable world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/many-of-my-short-fictions-use-theatre-as-a-metaphor-for-situations-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I used to teach writing in a federal prison, and for my students' benefit, I would liken the narrative use of this highly personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-used-to-teach-writing-in-a-federal-prison-and-for-my-students/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I haven't the stature to critique one of our literature's great novels, Tobias; and I'm not one of those who believe The Adventures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-haven-t-the-stature-to-critique-one-of-our-literature-s-great/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Eventually, I came to believe, stupidly, that I had exhausted that story's "original" form with its single use. I went on to other stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/eventually-i-came-to-believe-stupidly-that-i-had-exhausted-that-story/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) [Explore all 29 Norman Lock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## More Begins quotes > [When I was 3, my parents strapped on a pair of Playskool plastic roller skates to my feet, and that's where the story begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-celski/when-i-was-3-my-parents-strapped-on-a-pair-of-playskool-plastic/) [J. R. Celski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-celski/) > [Whether one is twenty, forty, or sixty; whether one has succeeded, failed or just muddled along; whether yesterday was full of sun or storm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-mitchell-hodges/whether-one-is-twenty-forty-or-sixty-whether-one-has-succeeded-failed/) [Leigh Mitchell Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-mitchell-hodges/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“healing begins the moment you want it to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayyirah-waheed/healing-begins-the-moment-you-want-it-to/) [Nayyirah Waheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayyirah-waheed/) > [Life begins when a person first realizes how soon it will end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelene-cox/life-begins-when-a-person-first-realizes-how-soon-it-will-end/) [Marcelene Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelene-cox/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-struggle-ends-when-the-gratitude-begins/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The longest journey begins with a single step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/the-longest-journey-begins-with-a-single-step/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [“Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-thomas/every-accomplishment-begins-with-the-decision-to-try/) [Esther Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-thomas/) > [Prayer begins where our power ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/prayer-begins-where-our-power-ends/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [“Civilization begins at 10 am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-n-peacock/civilization-begins-at-10-am/) [B.N. Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-n-peacock/) > [The end of the world begins in the sea we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/the-end-of-the-world-begins-in-the-sea-we-love/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [Remove the predators, and the whole ecosystem begins to crash like a house of cards. As the sharks disappear, the predator-prey balance dramatically shifts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/remove-the-predators-and-the-whole-ecosystem-begins-to-crash-like-a/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) > [“Making a dream into reality begins with what you have, not with what you are waiting on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/making-a-dream-into-reality-begins-with-what-you-have-not-with-what/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) [Browse all 499 Begins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Lock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Begins" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/norman-lock-21222_begins_each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whethe_89831.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.” — Norman Lock", "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": "Norman Lock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Each piece of writing I undertake,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/#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 } } ] } ```