--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing about the future and the past is…" description: "\"Writing about the future and the past is less a way of dramatizing change than of showing, by way of contrast, what abides.\" — Walter Kirn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png" --- # Writing about the future and the past is less a way of… ![“Writing about the future and the past is less a way of dramatizing change than of showing, by way of contrast, what abides.” quote by Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png) > “Writing about the future and the past is less a way of dramatizing change than of showing, by way of contrast, what abides.” [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that contrasting past and future reveals enduring truths more than dramatizing change. **In simple terms:** Contrast shows what stays the same. Key Takeaway Use contrast to uncover lasting values. Themes history future continuity Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - writing - teaching - strategic planning Key Concepts philosophy of time literary technique Questions to Reflect On - What enduring truths emerge in your life? - How can contrast improve your storytelling? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think all actors have a strange quirk about them. They're different than the usual run of people. They have a way of dramatizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-moorehead/i-think-all-actors-have-a-strange-quirk-about-them-they-re-different/) [Agnes Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-moorehead/) > [“You’re writing someone’s ‘future’ favorite book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-kirin/you-re-writing-someone-s-future-favorite-book/) [M. Kirin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-kirin/) > [My hope is that I can continue writing and, in the future, I can just be Maya Soetoro-Ng.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-soetoro-ng/my-hope-is-that-i-can-continue-writing-and-in-the-future-i-can-just/) [Maya Soetoro-Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-soetoro-ng/) > [“We know that to give writing its future, it is necessary to overthrow the myth: the birth of the reader must be at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/we-know-that-to-give-writing-its-future-it-is-necessary-to-overthrow/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Does fiction, artistic writing, have much of a future? I must say it's on the way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/does-fiction-artistic-writing-have-much-of-a-future-i-must-say-it-s/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [There's no such thing as writing about the future. The future hasn't happened yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/there-s-no-such-thing-as-writing-about-the-future-the-future-hasn-t/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“I'm happy when I write. I've written my first novel, my pencil is down. My last work has been written. No turning back. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-salick/i-m-happy-when-i-write-i-ve-written-my-first-novel-my-pencil-is-down/) Missy Salick > [Science fiction is a great way to pretend you are writing about the future when in reality you are attacking the recent past and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/science-fiction-is-a-great-way-to-pretend-you-are-writing-about-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“We are writing the future in Letters of Fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-are-writing-the-future-in-letters-of-fire/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Hope abides; therefore I abide. Countless frustrations have not cowed me. I am still alive, vibrant with life. 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They'd breed with the others I'd heard and hatch new monsters, because there was no such thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-just-wasn-t-ready-for-his-stories-they-d-breed-with-the-others-i-d/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“For time to pass it would have to go somewhere, and where would that be? Time sits. We move, it sits. 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Countless frustrations have not cowed me. I am still alive, vibrant with life. The black cloud will disappear, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/hope-abides-therefore-i-abide-countless-frustrations-have-not-cowed/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [“The simple rule to abide by and become excellent is that “Don’t see what you have achieved yesterday with the same pleasure eyes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-simple-rule-to-abide-by-and-become-excellent-is-that-don-t-see/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Making improvements to our background check system and cracking down on illegal gun trafficking are common-sense ways to prevent violence without punishing law abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heinrich/making-improvements-to-our-background-check-system-and-cracking-down/) [Martin Heinrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heinrich/) > [Things well fitted abide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/things-well-fitted-abide/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The owners said that they wanted the salary cap and refused to promise that they would abide by the rules of the just-expired contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cone/the-owners-said-that-they-wanted-the-salary-cap-and-refused-to/) [David Cone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cone/) > [It matters not to me what I do, or what I suffer, so long as I abide loveingly united to God's will - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-lawrence/it-matters-not-to-me-what-i-do-or-what-i-suffer-so-long-as-i-abide/) [Brother Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-lawrence/) > [At 86, I can easily look back to the last eight decades. 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Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/if-we-do-not-abide-in-prayer-we-will-abide-in-temptation/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [My abiding theme is separations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-rossner/my-abiding-theme-is-separations/) [Judith Rossner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-rossner/) > [Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-francis-lyte/abide-with-me-fast-falls-the-eventide-the-darkness-deepens-lord-with/) [Henry Francis Lyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-francis-lyte/) Browse all 104 Abide quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing about the future and the past is less a way of dramatizing change than of showing, by way of contrast, what abides.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Kirn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is-less-a-way-of-dramatizing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abide" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is-less-a-way-of-dramatizing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/walter-kirn-2189_abide_writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is_576763.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing about the future and the past is less a way of dramatizing change than of showing, by way of…” — Walter Kirn", "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": "Walter Kirn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing about the future and the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is-less-a-way-of-dramatizing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/writing-about-the-future-and-the-past-is-less-a-way-of-dramatizing/#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 } } ] } ```