--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We write to expose the unexposed. If…" description: "\"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 un..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png" --- # We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in… ![“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.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anne-lamott-188_castles_we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-if-ther_505645.png) > “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.” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must confront hidden truths, turning difficult subjects into expressive, rhythmic language. **In simple terms:** Writers reveal hidden truths in compelling form. Key Takeaway Face the taboo, write with rhythm. Themes courage truth creativity expression Mood reflective determined Type inspirational creative When to use this quote - journalism - fiction writing - personal essays - activist literature Key Concepts Narrative honesty artistic rhythm ethical storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What taboo topic could you explore? - How can rhythm enhance difficult subjects? A Different Perspective Might oversimplify complex issues, risking sensationalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Castles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castles/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Rhythm and blues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm-and-blues/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [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…](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/) > [“The writer's job is to turn the unspeakable into words - not just any words, but, if you can, into rhythm and blues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-writer-s-job-is-to-turn-the-unspeakable-into-words-not-just-any/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-lamott/we-write-to-expose-the-unexposed-most-human-beings-are-dedicated-to-2/) Ann Lamott > [Some years ago, not long after I moved to Los Angeles from New York, I attended a television industry party. When a man asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-muske-dukes/some-years-ago-not-long-after-i-moved-to-los-angeles-from-new-york-i/) Carol Muske-Dukes > [“I once told a very serious writer/poet I knew about how obsessed I was with various women’s lives. I think I was talking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-zambreno/i-once-told-a-very-serious-writer-poet-i-knew-about-how-obsessed-i/) [Kate Zambreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-zambreno/) > [When I came to New York, I told everyone I was a writer/director, and they said, 'No.' There was a rule. You could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/when-i-came-to-new-york-i-told-everyone-i-was-a-writer-director-and/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [“There are many unspeakable words, forgotten, or forbidden. Great thanks to the poets who make them all become reachable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/there-are-many-unspeakable-words-forgotten-or-forbidden-great-thanks/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Somebody told me I'm a writer. I believed them. Now I regret it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefanos-livos/somebody-told-me-i-m-a-writer-i-believed-them-now-i-regret-it/) [Stefanos Livos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefanos-livos/) > [The third always speaks the unspeakable words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/the-third-always-speaks-the-unspeakable-words/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Through revision, I enter the realm of the unspeakable and find the words that have eluded me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/through-revision-i-enter-the-realm-of-the-unspeakable-and-find-the/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [This is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/this-is-what-separates-artists-from-ordinary-people-the-belief-deep/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique, irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago, he burst upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/elvis-presley-s-death-deprives-our-country-of-a-part-of-itself-he-was/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When I'm in Los Angeles, it's hard to be creative. For me, New Orleans is one of those places that's like a muse. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thomas-king/when-i-m-in-los-angeles-it-s-hard-to-be-creative-for-me-new-orleans/) Chris Thomas King > [I am so weak over love and heartbreak. My music is rhythm and blues and with that said, the blues element of it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-marcel/i-am-so-weak-over-love-and-heartbreak-my-music-is-rhythm-and-blues/) [Adrian Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-marcel/) > [I want to go back to the format that radio started with rock n' roll, with country artists and rhythm and blues with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfman-jack/i-want-to-go-back-to-the-format-that-radio-started-with-rock-n-roll/) [Wolfman Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfman-jack/) ## 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/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Castles quotes > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [You build a thousand castles, a thousand sanctuaries, you are nothing; you build a library, you are everything!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-build-a-thousand-castles-a-thousand-sanctuaries-you-are-nothing/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Sam loved to listen to music and make his own songs, to wear soft velvets, to play in the castle kitchen beside the cooks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-loved-to-listen-to-music-and-make-his-own-songs-to-wear-soft/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ideas were growing in all directions and dimensions; they were becoming a sculpture, or a castle. And then everyone left her, to return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/ideas-were-growing-in-all-directions-and-dimensions-they-were/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [My father said, ‘When in doubt, castle.’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-father-said-when-in-doubt-castle/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Why should we strive, with cynic frown, to knock their fairy castles down?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-cook/why-should-we-strive-with-cynic-frown-to-knock-their-fairy-castles/) [Eliza Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-cook/) > [When you meditate you feel joy, harmony, peace, stillness, ecstasy, laughter, certainty, courage, strength, awareness and immortality. In the beginning you will feel these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-you-meditate-you-feel-joy-harmony-peace-stillness-ecstasy/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Happiness is always the inaccessible castle which sinks in ruin when we set foot on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-houssaye/happiness-is-always-the-inaccessible-castle-which-sinks-in-ruin-when/) [Arsene Houssaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-houssaye/) > [Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty, is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle; and while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-otis/now-one-of-the-most-essential-branches-of-english-liberty-is-the/) [James Otis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-otis/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [This is not the way these tales end," Calliope said firmly. "This is not the way that things end when they get to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/this-is-not-the-way-these-tales-end-calliope-said-firmly-this-is-not/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/writing-a-first-draft-and-reminding-myself-that-i-m-simply-shoveling/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [I will build you a castle with a tower so high it reaches the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/i-will-build-you-a-castle-with-a-tower-so-high-it-reaches-the-moon/) [Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/) > [As a child I used to watch clouds, and in them, see faces, castles, animals, dragons, and giants. 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