--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't bend; don't water it down; don't…" description: "\"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/anne-rice-238_books_don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try_722021.jpg" --- # Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it… ![“Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. Only if you do that can you hope to make the reader feel every particle of what you, the writer, have known and feel compelled…” quote by Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/anne-rice-238_books_don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try_722021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/anne-rice-238_books_don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try_722021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/anne-rice-238_books_don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try_722021.jpg) > “Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. Only if you do that can you hope to make the reader feel every particle of what you, the writer, have known and feel compelled to share."---Forward to Kafka's Short stories” [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True writing demands raw, unfiltered passion, not conformity to trends or logic. **In simple terms:** Write with fierce authenticity. Key Takeaway Embrace your deepest obsessions. Themes authenticity creativity passion Mood intense defiant Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - personal essays - poetry - blogging - journalism Key Concepts existentialism artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - What obsession drives your writing? - How can you resist societal pressures? A Different Perspective Ignoring personal truth can alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessions/) [Particles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particles/) [Short stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-stories/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljs-2-motivate/don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try-to-make-it-logical-don-t-3/) LJS 2 Motivate > [“Kafka’s short story ‘Judgement’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabisankar-bal/kafka-s-short-story-judgement/) [Rabisankar Bal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabisankar-bal/) > [Follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/follow-your-most-intense-obsessions-mercilessly/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/don-t-bend-don-t-water-it-down-don-t-try-to-make-it-logical-don-t-4/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [That is the crowning evil, that we can even go so far as to love each other, you and I. And who else would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/that-is-the-crowning-evil-that-we-can-even-go-so-far-as-to-love-each/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Soon enough, we are all going to leave this earth for good. The thought of this alone should make us love deeply, and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/soon-enough-we-are-all-going-to-leave-this-earth-for-good-the-thought/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [People never cease to project on to God their individual and collective obsessions, so that they can appropriate and make use of him. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-clement/people-never-cease-to-project-on-to-god-their-individual-and/) [Olivier Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-clement/) > [“How much of our lives is spent in reverie, in wishing for what cannot be, in regretting what might have been avoided. These obsessions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-reynolds/how-much-of-our-lives-is-spent-in-reverie-in-wishing-for-what-cannot/) David K. Reynolds > [“Finally, Luther, Bunyan, and Thérèse all developed mature religious philosophies that differed from those of their communities because (from a psychiatric standpoint) each needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-osborn/finally-luther-bunyan-and-th-r-se-all-developed-mature-religious/) Ian Osborn > [“Peeves are like that: my peeves are law, yours are unhealthy obsessions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/peeves-are-like-that-my-peeves-are-law-yours-are-unhealthy-obsessions/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [One of my pet peeves, one of my obsessions, is litter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-wax/one-of-my-pet-peeves-one-of-my-obsessions-is-litter/) [Amy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-wax/) > [Love is an obsession. It has that quality to it. But there are healthy obsessions, and mine is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/love-is-an-obsession-it-has-that-quality-to-it-but-there-are-healthy/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [A people represents not so much an aggregate of ideas and theories as of obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/a-people-represents-not-so-much-an-aggregate-of-ideas-and-theories-as/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## More by Anne Rice > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“There had never been any talent, any talent to draw or paint or to make music or to write or to make any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/there-had-never-been-any-talent-any-talent-to-draw-or-paint-or-to/) [anne rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“there are only two things which I believe—the first is that no mortal can refuse the Dark Gift once he really knows what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/there-are-only-two-things-which-i-believe-the-first-is-that-no-mortal/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Lie quiet and you will lapse back into peace again. Be like the god Heimdall before the battle call, so still that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/lie-quiet-and-you-will-lapse-back-into-peace-again-be-like-the-god/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write-write-and-write-and-write-if-you/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [How can so much beauty hide such a bruised and steely heart, and why must I love him, why must I lean in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/how-can-so-much-beauty-hide-such-a-bruised-and-steely-heart-and-why/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“you do get wiser when you live for hundreds of years; but you also have more time to turn out as badly as your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/you-do-get-wiser-when-you-live-for-hundreds-of-years-but-you-also/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I never lie," I said offhand. "At least not to those I don't love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-never-lie-i-said-offhand-at-least-not-to-those-i-don-t-love/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I don't need to sleep to play. I'm crazy anyway. Being crazier still could only help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-don-t-need-to-sleep-to-play-i-m-crazy-anyway-being-crazier-still/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“what I felt was inexpressible gratitude for the music, that in this horror there could be something as beautiful as that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/what-i-felt-was-inexpressible-gratitude-for-the-music-that-in-this/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I stumble through a carnival of horrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-stumble-through-a-carnival-of-horrors/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Look up at heaven and hell in the sky, for the stars are balls of fire suspended there by the angels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/look-up-at-heaven-and-hell-in-the-sky-for-the-stars-are-balls-of-fire/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-do-not-allow-fan-fiction-the-characters-are-copyrighted-it-upsets/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/truth-is-a-risky-proposition-it-s-the-nature-of-mediocre-human-beings/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Explore all 826 Anne Rice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## 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. 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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 > [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": "Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. 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