--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot be a good writer of serious…" description: "\"You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg" --- # You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are… ![“You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg) > “You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Serious writing often stems from deep emotional struggle, especially depression. **In simple terms:** Depression fuels serious art. Key Takeaway Channel pain into craft. Themes creativity mental health authenticity Mood somber thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - novel writing - poetry workshops - therapy sessions Key Concepts artistic expression emotional depth psychology Questions to Reflect On - Is sadness necessary for art? - How can writers find balance? A Different Perspective Romanticizing depression can be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think I had actually served my apprenticeship as a writer of fiction by writing all those songs. I had already been through phases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-i-had-actually-served-my-apprenticeship-as-a-writer-of/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Im not depressed. Just stressed and confused. Im not happy at all. I smile sometimes. And I laugh most times. I honestly dont know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-not-depressed-just-stressed-and-confused-im-not-happy-at-all-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The earth rests on three whales: On the deeds of heroes. On the prayers of believers. On the toasts of drunkards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-earth-rests-on-three-whales-on-the-deeds-of-heroes-on-the-prayers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writing - the act of one person giving a piece of their soul to another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-the-act-of-one-person-giving-a-piece-of-their-soul-to-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I still maintain that the times get precisely the literature that they deserve, and that if the writing of this period is gloomy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-still-maintain-that-the-times-get-precisely-the-literature-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The vital power of an imaginative work demands a diversity within its unity; and the stronger the diversity the more massive the unity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vital-power-of-an-imaginative-work-demands-a-diversity-within-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to be an honest man and a good writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-be-an-honest-man-and-a-good-writer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A good writer knew when not to write. Anybody could type. Not that I was a good typist; also I couldn’t spell and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-writer-knew-when-not-to-write-anybody-could-type-not-that-i-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A good writer is a word fertilizer, a thought sanitizer...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-writer-is-a-word-fertilizer-a-thought-sanitizer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last day of being a teenager! I've never been more depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/last-day-of-being-a-teenager-i-ve-never-been-more-depressed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm slowly giving up, depressed, angry and tired and done. when you're in a public place and you're just fading into the background. my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-slowly-giving-up-depressed-angry-and-tired-and-done-when-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is this big difference between being depressed and heartbroken...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-this-big-difference-between-being-depressed-and-heartbroken/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I ask my friend -what is your story?- because I want to give the answer of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ask-my-friend-what-is-your-story-because-i-want-to-give-the-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is to short to being living with stress I'm to young to be all depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-to-short-to-being-living-with-stress-i-m-to-young-to-be-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hurt all the time. I don't want to cry for the way I feel inside. I just want someone to hold me... I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-hurt-all-the-time-i-don-t-want-to-cry-for-the-way-i-feel-inside-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Depressed quotes > [I get very anti-social, depressed and irritable with people. I don't have time for them. I can't make phone calls and stuff. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-get-very-anti-social-depressed-and-irritable-with-people-i-don-t/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [Most people do surprisingly poorly when dealing with a relative who is hurting, depressed, or anxious - we get defensive and try to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/most-people-do-surprisingly-poorly-when-dealing-with-a-relative-who/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/like-everybody-you-get-nights-where-you-feel-completely-depressed-you/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I was always very depressed, even when I was a youngster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-hatton/i-was-always-very-depressed-even-when-i-was-a-youngster/) [Ricky Hatton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-hatton/) > [I'm hurt all the time. I don't want to cry for the way I feel inside. I just want someone to hold me... I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-hurt-all-the-time-i-don-t-want-to-cry-for-the-way-i-feel-inside-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me being depressed means you can spend all day in bed, and still not get a good night's rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/for-me-being-depressed-means-you-can-spend-all-day-in-bed-and-still/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [I don't think I suffered with depression, I don't think I'm a depressed type of person - I just think I suffered a depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-o-sullivan/i-don-t-think-i-suffered-with-depression-i-don-t-think-i-m-a/) [Ronnie O'Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-o-sullivan/) > [Im not depressed. Just stressed and confused. Im not happy at all. I smile sometimes. And I laugh most times. I honestly dont know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-not-depressed-just-stressed-and-confused-im-not-happy-at-all-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is to short to being living with stress I'm to young to be all depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-to-short-to-being-living-with-stress-i-m-to-young-to-be-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've definitely had times in my life where I've been depressed and not able to do anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-lynskey/i-ve-definitely-had-times-in-my-life-where-i-ve-been-depressed-and/) [Melanie Lynskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-lynskey/) > [I got really depressed when Sidney Moncrief lost to Larry Bird. That really depressed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-besser/i-got-really-depressed-when-sidney-moncrief-lost-to-larry-bird-that/) [Matt Besser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-besser/) > [I got into the music business thinking it was really radical, that it wasn't really a business at all, that it was a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-got-into-the-music-business-thinking-it-was-really-radical-that-it/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [I was depressed. I knew I was lost, but I had no idea how to find myself again. It was as though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/i-was-depressed-i-knew-i-was-lost-but-i-had-no-idea-how-to-find/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [If I don't do high-intensity interval training classes for an hour every morning and yoga a few days a week, I get depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davinia-taylor/if-i-don-t-do-high-intensity-interval-training-classes-for-an-hour/) [Davinia Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davinia-taylor/) [Browse all 1,033 Depressed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-fiction-if-you-are-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depressed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-fiction-if-you-are-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/anonymous-1_depression_you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-f_1273592.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You cannot be a good writer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-fiction-if-you-are-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-be-a-good-writer-of-serious-fiction-if-you-are-not/#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 } } ] } ```