--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a fight to be productive, or at least…" description: "\"For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant, writers should fight over different demands they put upon writing (as an individual, private act) a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg" --- # For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant… ![“For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant, writers should fight over different demands they put upon writing (as an individual, private act) and literature (a network of relations in which we are all involved).” quote by Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg) > “For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant, writers should fight over different demands they put upon writing (as an individual, private act) and literature (a network of relations in which we are all involved).” [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should argue over the differing expectations placed on personal expression versus collective literature. **In simple terms:** Writers must balance personal and social demands. Key Takeaway Recognize and negotiate conflicting writing pressures. Themes creativity conflict literature individualism social responsibility Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - editorial meetings - public debates Key Concepts authorial intent network theory dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What tensions exist between personal voice and cultural expectations? - How can writers mediate these demands? A Different Perspective Focusing on conflict may overlook collaboration benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Demands Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demands-writing-3063437/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Fight Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-different-515249/) [Fight Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-productive-4817835/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Relevant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relevant/) [Relevant Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relevant-writers-4817836/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-fight-4817834/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“...the demands of writing and of real life are not always similar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-demands-of-writing-and-of-real-life-are-not-always-similar/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Writers, and particularly female writers, have to fight for the conditions they need to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/writers-and-particularly-female-writers-have-to-fight-for-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“there is a great deal at stake here, many writers fight this battle and most lose it. what is at stake for the writer?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/there-is-a-great-deal-at-stake-here-many-writers-fight-this-battle/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Each person may see a fight in different ways... They can see more to a primal way. Others they can see in a pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-gracie/each-person-may-see-a-fight-in-different-ways-they-can-see-more-to-a/) [Roger Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-gracie/) > [Some guys may try to pick a fight with you because you're different. Take the high road and just walk away. It's that easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-guys-may-try-to-pick-a-fight-with-you-because-you-re-different/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To live is to fight. We just fight in different arenas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashad-evans/to-live-is-to-fight-we-just-fight-in-different-arenas/) [Rashad Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashad-evans/) > [Do you want to be famous, or do you want to have actual money to take care of your family down the line? I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benson-henderson/do-you-want-to-be-famous-or-do-you-want-to-have-actual-money-to-take/) [Benson Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benson-henderson/) > [Ali could only fight a couple of ways. I can fight five or six different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseem-hamed/ali-could-only-fight-a-couple-of-ways-i-can-fight-five-or-six/) [Naseem Hamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseem-hamed/) > [I don't get too tired in the gym as I do in the fight. The fight is different, so you have to concentrate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauricio-rua/i-don-t-get-too-tired-in-the-gym-as-i-do-in-the-fight-the-fight-is/) [Mauricio Rua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauricio-rua/) > [When you have power, that's your confessional booth - you can go in there and confess and be cleaned of all sins. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/when-you-have-power-that-s-your-confessional-booth-you-can-go-in/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [All men have talents. Some build, some paint, some write, some fight. For me it is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/all-men-have-talents-some-build-some-paint-some-write-some-fight-for/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I think every fight is different based on who is fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-dos-anjos/i-think-every-fight-is-different-based-on-who-is-fighting/) [Rafael dos Anjos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-dos-anjos/) > [We are all fighters, every single person who walks this earth is a fighter, everything that lives. To live is to fight. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashad-evans/we-are-all-fighters-every-single-person-who-walks-this-earth-is-a/) [Rashad Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashad-evans/) > [I think with every heavyweight, there's a style that makes for a different fight with different fighters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-nelson/i-think-with-every-heavyweight-there-s-a-style-that-makes-for-a/) [Roy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-nelson/) > [I don't know how to fight at a different pace than going out there and really pushing the pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-luque/i-don-t-know-how-to-fight-at-a-different-pace-than-going-out-there/) [Vicente Luque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-luque/) ## More by Aleksandar Hemon > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [To me there's no difference between a book of stories and a novel - they're just slightly different shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/to-me-there-s-no-difference-between-a-book-of-stories-and-a-novel/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Lord, why did you leave me in these woods?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/lord-why-did-you-leave-me-in-these-woods/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I want to change something. I want to stop the germs from attacking my daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-want-to-change-something-i-want-to-stop-the-germs-from-attacking-my/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I know a lot of people in the city, at all levels, horizontally and vertically - and that to me is a privilege, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-know-a-lot-of-people-in-the-city-at-all-levels-horizontally-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [What fiction and art can do, particularly narrative art, is construct consciousness - in a sense, we have to do it for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/what-fiction-and-art-can-do-particularly-narrative-art-is-construct/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I read everything I could find in English - Twain, Henry James, Hemingway, really everything. And then after a while I started writing shorter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-read-everything-i-could-find-in-english-twain-henry-james-hemingway/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [It was always clear to me that I would have to earn my readers, some I would have to find, some to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/it-was-always-clear-to-me-that-i-would-have-to-earn-my-readers-some-i/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I never thought of myself as an outsider. Because outside of what? You would have to give advantage to this space where you're not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-never-thought-of-myself-as-an-outsider-because-outside-of-what-you/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [There are studies that have shown that we make decisions, ethical and otherwise, based on the way we imagine ourselves as characters in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/there-are-studies-that-have-shown-that-we-make-decisions-ethical-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I long for, not a writer's retreat - I can write in any situation - but a reader's retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-long-for-not-a-writer-s-retreat-i-can-write-in-any-situation-but-a/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I much preferred winning to thinking and I didn't like losing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-much-preferred-winning-to-thinking-and-i-didn-t-like-losing-at-all/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Memory narrativises itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/memory-narrativises-itself/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) [Explore all 236 Aleksandar Hemon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant, writers should fight over different demands they put upon writing (as an individual, private act) and literature (a network of relations in which we are all involved).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aleksandar Hemon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least-relevant-writers-should/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least-relevant-writers-should/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/aleksandar-hemon-1490_books_for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least_1386290.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For a fight to be productive, or at least relevant, writers should fight over different demands they put…” — Aleksandar Hemon", "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": "Aleksandar Hemon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For a fight to be productive,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least-relevant-writers-should/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/for-a-fight-to-be-productive-or-at-least-relevant-writers-should/#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 } } ] } ```