--- title: "20 Ifs Quotes By Annie Dillard" description: "20 Ifs quotes by Annie Dillard. Plus more from Annie Dillard and more Ifs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/annie-dillard-509_death_write-as-if-you-are-dying-3039932_3039932.jpg" --- > [Write as if you are dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/write-as-if-you-are-dying/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/annie-dillard-509_death_write-as-if-you-are-dying-3039932_3039932.jpg) > [We wake, if ever at all, to mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/annie-dillard-509_ifs_we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery-293430_293430.jpg) > [Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-beauty-laid-bare-life-heightened-3/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/annie-dillard-509_beauty_why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-bea_2119060.jpg) > [If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sense-or-likelihood-we-wouldn-t/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/annie-dillard-509_atheism_if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sen_1382391.jpg) > [If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair... or go into business. You’ve got to jump off cliffs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-listened-to-our-intellect-we-d-never-have-a-love-affair-or-go/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/989/annie-dillard-509_affair_if-we-listened-to-our-intellect-we-d-nev_316161.jpg) > [No one can help you if you're stuck in a work. Only you can figure a way out, because only you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/no-one-can-help-you-if-you-re-stuck-in-a-work-only-you-can-figure-a/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a3/annie-dillard-509_figures_no-one-can-help-you-if-you-re-stuck-in-a_516789.jpg) > [The creative process obtains in all creative acts. So if I'm painting suddenly I'll see something that I didn't see before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creative-process-obtains-in-all-creative-acts-so-if-i-m-painting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/annie-dillard-509_artist_the-creative-process-obtains-in-all-crea_450741.jpg) > [Time is the continuous loop, the snakeskin with scales endlessly overlapping without beginning or end, or time is an ascending spiral if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/time-is-the-continuous-loop-the-snakeskin-with-scales-endlessly/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/annie-dillard-509_ascending_time-is-the-continuous-loop-the-snakeski_1783621.jpg) > [If I actually believed that the progress of human understanding depended on our crop of contemporary novelists, I would shoot myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-i-actually-believed-that-the-progress-of-human-understanding/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/annie-dillard-509_contemporary_if-i-actually-believed-that-the-progress_1541804.jpg) > [poetry has been able to function quite directly as human interpretation of the raw, loose universe. It is a mixture, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/poetry-has-been-able-to-function-quite-directly-as-human/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/annie-dillard-509_able_poetry-has-been-able-to-function-quite-d_2772274.jpg) > [Even if things are as bad as they could possible be, and as meaningless, then matters of truth are themselves indifferent; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could-possible-be-and-as/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/annie-dillard-509_bucks_even-if-things-are-as-bad-as-they-could_2263018.jpg) > [It could be that our faithlessness is a cowering cowardice born of our very smallness, a massive failure of imagination... If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-could-be-that-our-faithlessness-is-a-cowering-cowardice-born-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ac/annie-dillard-509_believe_it-could-be-that-our-faithlessness-is-a_2751862.jpg) > [Your freedom as a writer is not freedom of expression in the sense of wild blurting; you may not let rip. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/your-freedom-as-a-writer-is-not-freedom-of-expression-in-the-sense-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/annie-dillard-509_able_your-freedom-as-a-writer-is-not-freedom_2260926.jpg) > [Just once I wanted a task that required all the joy I had. Day after day I had noticed that if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/just-once-i-wanted-a-task-that-required-all-the-joy-i-had-day-after/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/annie-dillard-509_enough_just-once-i-wanted-a-task-that-required_794231.jpg) > [Cruelty is a mystery, and the waste of pain. But if we describe a word to compass these things, a world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/cruelty-is-a-mystery-and-the-waste-of-pain-but-if-we-describe-a-word/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/annie-dillard-509_brutes_cruelty-is-a-mystery-and-the-waste-of-pa_1705019.jpg) > [You are wrong if you think that you can in any way take the vision and tame it... The vision is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-that-you-can-in-any-way-take-the-vision-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/annie-dillard-509_changelings_you-are-wrong-if-you-think-that-you-can_1501421.jpg) > [Nature seems to exult in abounding radicality, extremism, anarchy. If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nature-seems-to-exult-in-abounding-radicality-extremism-anarchy-if-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/annie-dillard-509_anarchy_nature-seems-to-exult-in-abounding-radic_866251.jpg) > [Writing a book is like rearing children -- willpower has very little to do with it. If you have a little baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/writing-a-book-is-like-rearing-children-willpower-has-very-little-to/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/annie-dillard-509_baby_writing-a-book-is-like-rearing-children_974356.jpg) > [Learn punctuation; it is your little drum set, one of the few tools oyu have to signal the reader where the beats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/learn-punctuation-it-is-your-little-drum-set-one-of-the-few-tools-oyu/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/annie-dillard-509_beats_learn-punctuation-it-is-your-little-drum_3070264.jpg) > [Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-that-the-writer-will-magnify-and/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/annie-dillard-509_bewildered_why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-that-t_256433.jpg) ## Other authors on Ifs ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/annie-dillard/#itemlist", "name": "20 Ifs Quotes By Annie Dillard", "numberOfItems": 20, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Write as if you are dying.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/write-as-if-you-are-dying/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/annie-dillard-509_death_write-as-if-you-are-dying-3039932_3039932.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/annie-dillard-509_death_write-as-if-you-are-dying-3039932_3039932.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/annie-dillard-509_death_write-as-if-you-are-dying-3039932_3039932.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Write as if you are dying.” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We wake, if ever at all, to mystery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/annie-dillard-509_ifs_we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery-293430_293430.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/annie-dillard-509_ifs_we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery-293430_293430.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/annie-dillard-509_ifs_we-wake-if-ever-at-all-to-mystery-293430_293430.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We wake, if ever at all, to mystery.” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-beauty-laid-bare-life-heightened-3/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/annie-dillard-509_beauty_why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-bea_2119060.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/annie-dillard-509_beauty_why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-bea_2119060.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/annie-dillard-509_beauty_why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-of-bea_2119060.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sense-or-likelihood-we-wouldn-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/annie-dillard-509_atheism_if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sen_1382391.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/annie-dillard-509_atheism_if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sen_1382391.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/annie-dillard-509_atheism_if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-common-sen_1382391.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed.” — Annie Dillard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair... or go into business. 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