--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I'm trying to write truthfully…" description: "\"I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. It's not the way people ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/wallace-shawn-7437_conventions_i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-a_403053.jpg" --- # I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and… ![“I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. It's not the way people talk in life at all.” quote by Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/wallace-shawn-7437_conventions_i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-a_403053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/wallace-shawn-7437_conventions_i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-a_403053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/wallace-shawn-7437_conventions_i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-a_403053.jpg) > “I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. It's not the way people talk in life at all.” [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that cinematic dialogue is a stylized convention, not a reflection of everyday speech. **In simple terms:** Movie talk is scripted, not real life. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between art and reality. Themes art authenticity communication Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - screenwriting - acting - daily conversation - media analysis Key Concepts cinema naturalism dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How does this affect audience expectations? - Can we create more authentic scripts? A Different Perspective Real life speech is messy and unscripted, limiting direct translation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Naturalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. The way I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-about-life-and-naturalism-or-the-way/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [A common and usually unfortunate answer is “Write about what you know.” Nothing can be more limiting to the imagination, nothing is quicker to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/a-common-and-usually-unfortunate-answer-is-write-about-what-you-know/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“Our willingness to write truthfully brings the story to life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watt/our-willingness-to-write-truthfully-brings-the-story-to-life/) [Alan Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watt/) > [“Stephen King: If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afiena-kamminga/stephen-king-if-you-intend-to-write-as-truthfully-as-you-can-your/) Afiena Kamminga > [If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-expect-to-succeed-as-a-writer-rudeness-should-be-the-second-to-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's great to be able to write songs and draw on life, to write truthfully, and to be able to do that, it's good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/it-s-great-to-be-able-to-write-songs-and-draw-on-life-to-write/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) > [If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-intend-to-write-as-truthfully-as-you-can-your-days-as-a-member-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [If there is poetry in my book about the sea, it is not because I deliberately put it there, but because no one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/if-there-is-poetry-in-my-book-about-the-sea-it-is-not-because-i/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“To write truthfully you must live, and you must feel what you are living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-barea/to-write-truthfully-you-must-live-and-you-must-feel-what-you-are/) Arturo Barea > [“You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so. 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It is the final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/what-makes-today-s-popular-atheism-so-depressing-is-neither-its/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) ## More by Wallace Shawn > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [You can go to a play that is enjoyable because it's funny, and then on the next night you can go to a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/you-can-go-to-a-play-that-is-enjoyable-because-it-s-funny-and-then-on/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [The actor's role in the community is quite unlike anyone else's. Businessmen, for example, don't take their clothes off or cry in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-actor-s-role-in-the-community-is-quite-unlike-anyone-else-s/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [From being a writer of plays, it was not that surprising that somebody thought of giving me a job as an actor. After I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/from-being-a-writer-of-plays-it-was-not-that-surprising-that-somebody/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I have more free time than a lot of individuals, so, instead of talking, I sometimes write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-have-more-free-time-than-a-lot-of-individuals-so-instead-of-talking/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [My personal life is lived as 'me,' but my professional life is lived as other people. 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When adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-always-feel-that-people-were-hiding-things/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Even with my wife, I find sharing soup is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/even-with-my-wife-i-find-sharing-soup-is-hard/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) [Explore all 91 Wallace Shawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## More Conventions quotes > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [ \[James\] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. 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