--- title: "19 Write Quotes By Anne Lamott" description: "19 Write quotes by Anne Lamott. Plus more from Anne Lamott and more Write sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/anne-lamott-188_dead_write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead-103968_103968.png" --- > [Write as if your parents are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/anne-lamott-188_dead_write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead-103968_103968.png) > [You just have to keep getting out of your own way so that whatever it is that wants to be written can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-your-own-way-so-that-whatever-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/anne-lamott-188_use_you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-you_2037450.png) > [I write because writing is the gift God has given me to help people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god-has-given-me-to-help-people/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/anne-lamott-188_gift_i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god_3217285.png) > [You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves in your heart--your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-are-going-to-feel-like-hell-if-you-never-write-the-stuff-that-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/anne-lamott-188_born_you-are-going-to-feel-like-hell-if-you-n_2952928.png) > [Try to write in a directly emotional way, instead of being too subtle or oblique. Don't be afraid of your material or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/try-to-write-in-a-directly-emotional-way-instead-of-being-too-subtle/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/anne-lamott-188_done_try-to-write-in-a-directly-emotional-way_472175.jpg) > [I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-all-compelled-to-write-to-do-so/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93e/anne-lamott-188_compelled_i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-al_2006471.jpg) > [Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Don't worry about appearing sentimental. Worry about being unavailable; worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/write-straight-into-the-emotional-center-of-things-write-toward/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/anne-lamott-188_absent_write-straight-into-the-emotional-center_190549.png) > [“... writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-are-a-species-that-needs-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/anne-lamott-188_telling-the-truth_writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-ar_223890.png) > [We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-there-is-one-door-in-the-castle/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png) > [“I want people who write to crash or dive below the surface, where life is so cold and confusing and hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive-below-the-surface-where-life/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/anne-lamott-188_grief_i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive_205807.png) > [For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-know-writing-is-not-rapturous/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/anne-lamott-188_facts_for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-k_2810198.png) > [“Writing: shitty first drafts. Butt in chair. Just do it. You own everything that happened to you. You are going to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chair-just-do-it-you-own/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/anne-lamott-188_dreams_writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chai_2328506.png) > [We write to expose the unexposed. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer's job is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-human-beings-are-dedicated-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/anne-lamott-188_behinds_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-hu_188226.jpg) > [If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-will-probably-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/anne-lamott-188_emotion_if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-wi_2687596.png) > [The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-students-on-the-first-day-of-a/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/anne-lamott-188_figures_the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-stude_61345.jpg) > [ I don't know where to start," one \[writing student\] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing-student-will-wail-start-with/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/anne-lamott-188_childhood_i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing_3064070.jpg) > [“Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Don’t worry about appearing sentimental. Worry about being unavailable; worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/write-straight-into-the-emotional-center-of-things-write-toward-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/anne-lamott-188_moral-obligation_write-straight-into-the-emotional-center_328298.jpg) > [I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-all-compelled-to-write-to-do-so-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/anne-lamott-188_being-the-best_i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-al_2036519.png) > [You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you-tell-your-stories-if-people/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/anne-lamott-188_people_you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you_2332747.png) ## Other authors on Write ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/anne-lamott/#itemlist", "name": "19 Write Quotes By Anne Lamott", "numberOfItems": 19, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Write as if your parents are dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/anne-lamott-188_dead_write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead-103968_103968.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/anne-lamott-188_dead_write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead-103968_103968.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/anne-lamott-188_dead_write-as-if-your-parents-are-dead-103968_103968.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Write as if your parents are dead.” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You just have to keep getting out of your own way so that whatever it is that wants to be written can use you to write it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-your-own-way-so-that-whatever-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/anne-lamott-188_use_you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-you_2037450.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/anne-lamott-188_use_you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-you_2037450.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1de/anne-lamott-188_use_you-just-have-to-keep-getting-out-of-you_2037450.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You just have to keep getting out of your own way so that whatever it is that wants to be written can use…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write because writing is the gift God has given me to help people in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god-has-given-me-to-help-people/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/anne-lamott-188_gift_i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god_3217285.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/anne-lamott-188_gift_i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god_3217285.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/anne-lamott-188_gift_i-write-because-writing-is-the-gift-god_3217285.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write because writing is the gift God has given me to help people in the world.” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves in your heart--your stories, visions, memories, songs: your truth, your version of things, in your voice. 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Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-are-a-species-that-needs-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/anne-lamott-188_telling-the-truth_writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-ar_223890.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/anne-lamott-188_telling-the-truth_writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-ar_223890.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2c/anne-lamott-188_telling-the-truth_writing-is-about-telling-the-truth-we-ar_223890.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. The writer's job is to turn the unspeakable into words - not just into any words, but if we can, into rhythm and blues.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-there-is-one-door-in-the-castle/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I want people who write to crash or dive below the surface, where life is so cold and confusing and hard to see. Your anger and damage and grief are the way to the truth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive-below-the-surface-where-life/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/anne-lamott-188_grief_i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive_205807.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/anne-lamott-188_grief_i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive_205807.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/anne-lamott-188_grief_i-want-people-who-write-to-crash-or-dive_205807.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I want people who write to crash or dive below the surface, where life is so cold and confusing and hard to…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-know-writing-is-not-rapturous/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/anne-lamott-188_facts_for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-k_2810198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/anne-lamott-188_facts_for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-k_2810198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/anne-lamott-188_facts_for-me-and-most-of-the-other-writers-i-k_2810198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing: shitty first drafts. Butt in chair. Just do it. You own everything that happened to you. You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves in your heart–your stories, visions, memories, songs: your truth, your version of things, in your voice. That is really all you have to offer us, and it’s why you were born”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chair-just-do-it-you-own/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/anne-lamott-188_dreams_writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chai_2328506.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/anne-lamott-188_dreams_writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chai_2328506.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/anne-lamott-188_dreams_writing-shitty-first-drafts-butt-in-chai_2328506.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing: shitty first drafts. Butt in chair. Just do it. You own everything that happened to you. You are…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We write to expose the unexposed. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer's job is to see what's behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words - not just into any words but if we can, into rhythm and blues. You can't do this without discovering your own true voice, and you can't find your true voice and peer behind the door and report honestly and clearly to us if your parents are reading over your shoulder.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-human-beings-are-dedicated-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/anne-lamott-188_behinds_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-hu_188226.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/anne-lamott-188_behinds_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-hu_188226.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/anne-lamott-188_behinds_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-hu_188226.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We write to expose the unexposed. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act—truth is always subversive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-will-probably-find-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/anne-lamott-188_emotion_if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-wi_2687596.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/anne-lamott-188_emotion_if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-wi_2687596.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/anne-lamott-188_emotion_if-something-inside-of-you-is-real-we-wi_2687596.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-students-on-the-first-day-of-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/anne-lamott-188_figures_the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-stude_61345.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/anne-lamott-188_figures_the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-stude_61345.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/anne-lamott-188_figures_the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-stude_61345.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't know where to start,\" one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O' Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. Maybe your childhood was grim and horrible, but grim and horrible is Okay if it is well done. Don't worry about doing it well yet, though. Just get it down.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing-student-will-wail-start-with/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/anne-lamott-188_childhood_i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing_3064070.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/anne-lamott-188_childhood_i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing_3064070.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/anne-lamott-188_childhood_i-don-t-know-where-to-start-one-writing_3064070.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't know where to start,\" one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Don’t worry about appearing sentimental. Worry about being unavailable; worry about being absent or fraudulent. Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act - truth is always subversive.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/write-straight-into-the-emotional-center-of-things-write-toward-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/anne-lamott-188_moral-obligation_write-straight-into-the-emotional-center_328298.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/anne-lamott-188_moral-obligation_write-straight-into-the-emotional-center_328298.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/anne-lamott-188_moral-obligation_write-straight-into-the-emotional-center_328298.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Don’t worry about appearing…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do---the actual act of writing---turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-all-compelled-to-write-to-do-so-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/anne-lamott-188_being-the-best_i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-al_2036519.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/anne-lamott-188_being-the-best_i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-al_2036519.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/anne-lamott-188_being-the-best_i-still-encourage-anyone-who-feels-at-al_2036519.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you-tell-your-stories-if-people/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/anne-lamott-188_people_you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you_2332747.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/anne-lamott-188_people_you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you_2332747.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/anne-lamott-188_people_you-own-everything-that-happened-to-you_2332747.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. 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