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About this quote

What does it mean?
Major characters in writing must arise from the unconscious mind.
In plain terms
Big characters come from the unconscious.
What can you take from it?
Great characters emerge from the unconscious.

Where it applies

  • writing fiction
  • character development

Putting it to work

  • write deeply
  • explore unconscious

Questions to consider

  • Do characters arise naturally?
  • Is planning enough?

Another view

Some characters are planned consciously.

More from Graham Greene

  1. That instinct for human character that is perhaps inherent in an imaginative writer.

    Permalink to quote #14
  2. The moment comes when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about. At that moment he's alive and you leave it to him.

    Permalink to quote #16
  3. The world is not black and white. More like black and grey.

    Permalink to quote #13

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