--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is not a searching about in the…" description: "\"Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience for apt similes and pretty thoughts and images… It is not a conscious recording of the day’s e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/william-carlos-williams-1841_appearance_writing-is-not-a-searching-about-in-the_2690932.jpg" --- # Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience… ![“Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience for apt similes and pretty thoughts and images… It is not a conscious recording of the day’s experiences ‘freshly and with the appearance of reality’… The writer of imagination would find himself released from observing things for the…” quote by William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/william-carlos-williams-1841_appearance_writing-is-not-a-searching-about-in-the_2690932.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/william-carlos-williams-1841_appearance_writing-is-not-a-searching-about-in-the_2690932.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/william-carlos-williams-1841_appearance_writing-is-not-a-searching-about-in-the_2690932.jpg) > “Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience for apt similes and pretty thoughts and images… It is not a conscious recording of the day’s experiences ‘freshly and with the appearance of reality’… The writer of imagination would find himself released from observing things for the purpose of writing them down later. He would be there to enjoy, to taste, to engage the free world, not a world which he carries like a bag of food, always fearful lest he drop something or someone get more than he.” [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing should be lived, not merely recorded; imagination frees the writer to experience directly rather than cataloging. **In simple terms:** Write by living, not just noting. Key Takeaway Engage fully with life before writing. Themes creativity experience imagination Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - travel - artistic practice - mindful observation Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How does direct experience shape your writing? - Can you balance observation with imagination? A Different Perspective Living fully can be exhausting and may limit reflective depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) [Bags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bags/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful/) [Free world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-world/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Observing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-writing-853310/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-writer-1945027/) [Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simile/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Writer Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-imagination-433900/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“According to my present theme the writer of imagination would attain closest to the conditions of music not when his words are dissassociated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/according-to-my-present-theme-the-writer-of-imagination-would-attain/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The reality of a serious writer is a reality of many voices, some of them belonging to the writer, some of them belonging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/the-reality-of-a-serious-writer-is-a-reality-of-many-voices-some-of/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [“Maybe Laura’s real problem came in admitting this: there was nothing new under the sun. 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Sudler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-sudler/) > [“What I do in writing of any character is to try to enter into the mind, heart, and skin of a human being who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/what-i-do-in-writing-of-any-character-is-to-try-to-enter-into-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“The blank page, otherwise known as the vast playground of the writer's imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-bond/the-blank-page-otherwise-known-as-the-vast-playground-of-the-writer-s/) [J.L. Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-bond/) > [What I do in the writing of any character is to try to enter into the mind, heart and skin of a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/what-i-do-in-the-writing-of-any-character-is-to-try-to-enter-into-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Then there was Clark Ashton Smith, who wrote for Weird Tales and who had a wild imagination. He wasn't a very talented writer, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/then-there-was-clark-ashton-smith-who-wrote-for-weird-tales-and-who/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“The beauty of fiction is it need not be factual and the writer's imagination can travel as far from reality as he or she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-friedman/the-beauty-of-fiction-is-it-need-not-be-factual-and-the-writer-s/) [Sheldon Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-friedman/) > [All you have is the writer's imagination. You have a very limited time to take this imaginary person and bring the details of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/all-you-have-is-the-writer-s-imagination-you-have-a-very-limited-time/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/description-begins-in-the-writer-s-imagination-but-should-finish-in/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [That's why I love being a writer. My imagination can take me places I may never see except in my mind's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-cleage/that-s-why-i-love-being-a-writer-my-imagination-can-take-me-places-i/) [Pearl Cleage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-cleage/) > [My husband says I have too much imagination, but I don't think a writer can have too much imagination!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/my-husband-says-i-have-too-much-imagination-but-i-don-t-think-a/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) ## More by William Carlos Williams > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Death will be late to bring us aid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/death-will-be-late-to-bring-us-aid/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [What power has love but forgiveness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/what-power-has-love-but-forgiveness/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-think-all-writing-is-a-disease-you-can-t-stop-it/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“You're a romanticist. What do you think a man is, a papaya? To digest your dinner? In pill form?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/you-re-a-romanticist-what-do-you-think-a-man-is-a-papaya-to-digest/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Imagination though it cannot wipe out the sting of remorse can instruct the mind in its proper uses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/imagination-though-it-cannot-wipe-out-the-sting-of-remorse-can/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“Fools have big wombs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/fools-have-big-wombs/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“It's just a moment, we die every night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-s-just-a-moment-we-die-every-night/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [A new music is a new mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/a-new-music-is-a-new-mind/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [A new world is only a new mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/a-new-world-is-only-a-new-mind/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [A poem is this:/A nuance of sound/delicately operating/upon a cataract of sense/...the particulars/of a song waking/upon a bed of sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/a-poem-is-this-a-nuance-of-sound-delicately-operating-upon-a-cataract/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Prose may carry a load of ill-defined matters like a ship. But poetry is the machine which drives it, pruned to a perfect economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/prose-may-carry-a-load-of-ill-defined-matters-like-a-ship-but-poetry/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [It is not what you say that matters but the manner in which you say it; there lies the secret of the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-is-not-what-you-say-that-matters-but-the-manner-in-which-you-say/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“And a church spire sketched on the sky, of sheet metal and open beams, to resemble a church spire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/and-a-church-spire-sketched-on-the-sky-of-sheet-metal-and-open-beams/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) [Explore all 204 William Carlos Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) ## More Appearance quotes > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [You can have a nice body, dress with the latest fashion. But if you don't have self-confidence sweetheart, forget about looking sexy, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/you-can-have-a-nice-body-dress-with-the-latest-fashion-but-if-you-don/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I'm OK with my appearance. I have made my peace with it after a long and frankly exhausting battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-m-ok-with-my-appearance-i-have-made-my-peace-with-it-after-a-long/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Appearance records are pretty special. Mine means a lot to me, not only because I love stats, but because it shows that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/appearance-records-are-pretty-special-mine-means-a-lot-to-me-not-only/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. 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People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Browse all 2,446 Appearance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience for apt similes and pretty thoughts and images… It is not a conscious recording of the day’s experiences ‘freshly and with the appearance of reality’… The writer of imagination would find himself released from observing things for the purpose of writing them down later. 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