--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writers are such phonies: they sometimes…" description: "\"Writers are such phonies: they sometimes have wise insights but they don't live by them at all. That's what writers are like...you think they know some..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/anne-sexton-645_insight_writers-are-such-phonies-they-sometimes_3147574.jpg" --- # Writers are such phonies: they sometimes have wise… ![“Writers are such phonies: they sometimes have wise insights but they don't live by them at all. That's what writers are like...you think they know something, but usually they are just messes.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/anne-sexton-645_insight_writers-are-such-phonies-they-sometimes_3147574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/anne-sexton-645_insight_writers-are-such-phonies-they-sometimes_3147574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/anne-sexton-645_insight_writers-are-such-phonies-they-sometimes_3147574.jpg) > “Writers are such phonies: they sometimes have wise insights but they don't live by them at all. That's what writers are like...you think they know something, but usually they are just messes.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often claim insight yet fail to practice it, revealing a gap between theory and lived experience. **In simple terms:** Writers claim wisdom but don't follow it. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between saying and doing. Themes hypocrisy selfawareness creative struggle Mood skeptical reflective Type critical observational When to use this quote - publishing - personal growth - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts cognitive dissonance authenticity Questions to Reflect On - Do you separate a creator's work from their personal actions? - How does this affect your trust in their message? A Different Perspective Writers may be constrained by external expectations or personal fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Live by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-by/) [Live Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-writers-3637662/) [Mess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) [Phonies Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phonies-wise-5636547/) [Phony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phony/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-like/) [Writers Phonies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-phonies-5636546/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Don't live with writers. 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Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Insight quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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