--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suggestion is a literary strategy." description: "\"Suggestion is a literary strategy.\" — Samuel R. Delany" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/samuel-r-delany-2591_inspirational_suggestion-is-a-literary-strategy-189120_1891207.png" --- # Suggestion is a literary strategy. ![“Suggestion is a literary strategy.” quote by Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/samuel-r-delany-2591_inspirational_suggestion-is-a-literary-strategy-189120_1891207.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/samuel-r-delany-2591_inspirational_suggestion-is-a-literary-strategy-189120_1891207.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/samuel-r-delany-2591_inspirational_suggestion-is-a-literary-strategy-189120_1891207.png) > “Suggestion is a literary strategy.” [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The claim that suggestion itself can be used as a literary device, shaping narrative and reader interpretation. **In simple terms:** Suggestion is a tool in writing. Key Takeaway Use suggestion to guide reader perception. Themes literature technique craft Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational technical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - poetry workshops Key Concepts implied meaning narrative strategy reader response Questions to Reflect On - How does suggestion affect storytelling? - When is explicit description preferable? A Different Perspective Overreliance on suggestion may obscure clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Suggestions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggestions/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy is the suggestion box for slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/democracy-is-the-suggestion-box-for-slaves/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [The most welcome guest in society will ever be the one to whose mind everything is a suggestion, and whose words suggest something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/the-most-welcome-guest-in-society-will-ever-be-the-one-to-whose-mind/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [I took his suggestion to heart and went from a "know-it-all" to a "learn-it-all."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/i-took-his-suggestion-to-heart-and-went-from-a-know-it-all-to-a-learn/) [T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/) > [Are you at work?" I asked. Not precisely, but that's a good suggestion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-richardson/are-you-at-work-i-asked-not-precisely-but-that-s-a-good-suggestion/) [Kat Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-richardson/) > [From our birth to our death we are all the slaves of suggestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-coue/from-our-birth-to-our-death-we-are-all-the-slaves-of-suggestion/) [Emile Coue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-coue/) > [ \[To the suggestion that Great Britain might someday want a Republic:\] We'll go quietly. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-elizabeth-ii/to-the-suggestion-that-great-britain-might-someday-want-a-republic-we/) [Queen Elizabeth II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-elizabeth-ii/) > [I think a dream is just a suggestion to start something out, do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-sanders/i-think-a-dream-is-just-a-suggestion-to-start-something-out-do/) [Colonel Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-sanders/) > [There is no suggestion box in the Psych Ward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilie-autumn/there-is-no-suggestion-box-in-the-psych-ward/) [Emilie Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilie-autumn/) > [All of the great leaders down through history have told us we become what we think about. In fact, they have been in complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/all-of-the-great-leaders-down-through-history-have-told-us-we-become/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [My suggestion would be to walk away from the 90% who don't and join the 10% who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/my-suggestion-would-be-to-walk-away-from-the-90-who-don-t-and-join/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If you're going to knock down my suggestion, you'd better have one to replace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/if-you-re-going-to-knock-down-my-suggestion-you-d-better-have-one-to/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [A great photograph needs no explanation; it functions by suggestion. There is no need to be explicit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/a-great-photograph-needs-no-explanation-it-functions-by-suggestion/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I have always believed that if you need to take your clothes off to get your man, you've begun to lose the battle. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bipasha-basu/i-have-always-believed-that-if-you-need-to-take-your-clothes-off-to/) [Bipasha Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bipasha-basu/) > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [That's my suggestion for kids who want to act, by the way: Make sure it's really your choice, get out of it when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/that-s-my-suggestion-for-kids-who-want-to-act-by-the-way-make-sure-it/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) ## More by Samuel R. Delany > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. 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