--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that there are fiction writers…" description: "\"I think that there are fiction writers for whom that works well. I could never do it. I feel as if, by the time I see that it's a poem, it's almost wri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/sharon-olds-8682_almost_i-think-that-there-are-fiction-writers-f_1859720.jpg" --- # I think that there are fiction writers for whom that works… ![“I think that there are fiction writers for whom that works well. I could never do it. I feel as if, by the time I see that it's a poem, it's almost written in my head somewhere.” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/sharon-olds-8682_almost_i-think-that-there-are-fiction-writers-f_1859720.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/sharon-olds-8682_almost_i-think-that-there-are-fiction-writers-f_1859720.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/sharon-olds-8682_almost_i-think-that-there-are-fiction-writers-f_1859720.jpg) > “I think that there are fiction writers for whom that works well. I could never do it. I feel as if, by the time I see that it's a poem, it's almost written in my head somewhere.” [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some writers intuitively know their poems before fully forming them. **In simple terms:** Intuition guides poetic creation. Key Takeaway Trust your creative intuition. Themes creativity intuition writing Mood inquisitive inspirational Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal reflection - creative blocks Key Concepts poetic process authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on intuition or structure? - How can you cultivate poetic intuition? A Different Perspective May not apply to all writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writers/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Where are they, the American fiction writers whose works are interested in the question “What do these people have to do with us?” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-are-they-the-american-fiction-writers-whose-works-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like to think of myself as a fiction writer who liked art enough to write about it for a while, and then went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-a-fiction-writer-who-liked-art-enough-to/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I think fiction writers write what they do because no one else has written it and they want to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cheuse/i-think-fiction-writers-write-what-they-do-because-no-one-else-has/) Alan Cheuse > [“An author has to fit into the skin of her characters, to imagine being trapped by unfortunate and sometimes violent circumstances she herself has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-h-marion/an-author-has-to-fit-into-the-skin-of-her-characters-to-imagine-being/) Loretta H. Marion > [In terms of writing, I think what most fiction writers treasure more than anything is the feeling that they're living for the length of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/in-terms-of-writing-i-think-what-most-fiction-writers-treasure-more/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [Because a poem is not written while running or while answering the phone. It's written in whatever minutes one has. Sometimes you have half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/because-a-poem-is-not-written-while-running-or-while-answering-the/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Every writer has something to say, but those writers whose works endure have dared to say something about the things that frighten them, confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/every-writer-has-something-to-say-but-those-writers-whose-works/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Lunatics are writers whose works write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/lunatics-are-writers-whose-works-write-them/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I know a lot of writers, and everyone works differently, but this is something that we truly have in common across all genres -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-and-everyone-works-differently-but-this-is/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I can appreciate other writers' works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-can-appreciate-other-writers-works/) [Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/) > [I'd seen all the great entertainers by the time I was 14 or 15. My mother was artistic. My father was a bookmaker, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lainie-kazan/i-d-seen-all-the-great-entertainers-by-the-time-i-was-14-or-15-my/) [Lainie Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lainie-kazan/) > [My theory is that poems are written because of a state of emotional irritation. It may be present for some time before the poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/my-theory-is-that-poems-are-written-because-of-a-state-of-emotional/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [“14kt. woman you are a poem written in ink derived from gold”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-sin/14kt-woman-you-are-a-poem-written-in-ink-derived-from-gold/) [R.H. Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-sin/) > [No poem was ever written by a drinker of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-poem-was-ever-written-by-a-drinker-of-water/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ I did a film recently in the Republic of Georgia \[upcoming 'Halo of Stars'\] which was based on a long poem written by the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/i-did-a-film-recently-in-the-republic-of-georgia-upcoming-halo-of/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“How do they do it, the ones who make love without love? How do they come to the come to the come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/how-do-they-do-it-the-ones-who-make-love-without-love-how-do-they/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [She'd crack A joke sharp as a tin lid Hot from the teeth of the can-opener, And cackle her crack-corn laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/she-d-crack-a-joke-sharp-as-a-tin-lid-hot-from-the-teeth-of-the-can/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If I wrote in a sonnet form, I would be distorting. Or if I had some great new idea for line breaks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/if-i-wrote-in-a-sonnet-form-i-would-be-distorting-or-if-i-had-some/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Many poets write books. 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I think for many years I was aware of the need, in dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-we-can-use-a-metaphor-for-it-out-of-dance-i-think-for-many/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Who wants to put together something that will bear some relationship to the vision or memory or experience or story or idea or dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/who-wants-to-put-together-something-that-will-bear-some-relationship/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“...the liquor like fire in his hand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/the-liquor-like-fire-in-his-hand/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm probably so out of it at my age that I don't know what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-probably-so-out-of-it-at-my-age-that-i-don-t-know-what-people/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“Some people think I should be over my ex by now — maybe I thought I might have been over him more by now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/some-people-think-i-should-be-over-my-ex-by-now-maybe-i-thought-i/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe in order to understand sex fully/one has to risk being destroyed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-in-order-to-understand-sex-fully-one-has-to-risk-being/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) [Explore all 78 Sharon Olds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## More Almost quotes > [My mother worked in the white world, but I lived almost exclusively in a black world. 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