Certain Quote by Patti Smith
“I watch a lot of crime shows. The head investigator always said to the crime solver, "What do you say?" And inevitably the other has to say something like, "Well I'm thinking he was shot in the neck with a certain gun and he seemed to be running." The solver has to picture what he's seeing first, and then express his own observations. The writer does the same.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Patti Smith on Writing, Rolling Stone, 2015
Writers must first visualize the scene before describing it, mirroring detectives who observe before hypothesizing.
In simple terms: See first, then write.
Key Takeaway
Observe before you write.
Themes
creativity
observation
process
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
creative
inspirational
When to use this quote
- fiction writing
- screenwriting
- journalism
- crime drama analysis
Key Concepts
visualization
deductive reasoning
narrative construction
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance observation with imagination?
- What role does intuition play in writing?
A Different Perspective
May overlook spontaneous inspiration that comes after writing begins.
![“Sometimes [people] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c73/patti-smith-394_cursing_sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-ou_28268.jpg)
