--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only way to write a great book is to…" description: "\"The only way to write a great book is to write it with the eyes of a child who sees things for the first time.\" — Arnold Bennett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png" --- # The only way to write a great book is to write it with the… ![“The only way to write a great book is to write it with the eyes of a child who sees things for the first time.” quote by Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png) > “The only way to write a great book is to write it with the eyes of a child who sees things for the first time.” [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing with childlike wonder captures fresh perspective and authenticity, making the work feel new and vivid. **In simple terms:** Write with fresh, childlike eyes. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and novelty. Themes creativity authenticity perspective Mood inspired playful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing a novel - teaching children - marketing a product - design brainstorming Key Concepts childlike wonder freshness authentic voice Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance childlike wonder with mature insight? - When does novelty hinder depth? A Different Perspective May become overly naive, missing depth or expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Eyes of a child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-of-a-child/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Children are always looking at the world as if it was for the first time in their lives. So, we should always look to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/children-are-always-looking-at-the-world-as-if-it-was-for-the-first/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [How sad if we pass through life and never see it with the eyes of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/how-sad-if-we-pass-through-life-and-never-see-it-with-the-eyes-of-a/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [See the world as if for the first time; see it through the eyes of a child, and you will suddenly find that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/see-the-world-as-if-for-the-first-time-see-it-through-the-eyes-of-a/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Look at everything as though you are seeing it for the first time, with eyes of a child, fresh with wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cornell/look-at-everything-as-though-you-are-seeing-it-for-the-first-time/) [Joseph Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cornell/) > [Try to look at everything through the eyes of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-draper/try-to-look-at-everything-through-the-eyes-of-a-child/) [Ruth Draper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-draper/) > [What are so mysterious as the eyes of a child?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/what-are-so-mysterious-as-the-eyes-of-a-child/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is the purest joy that anyone can experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-zimmer/seeing-the-world-through-the-eyes-of-a-child-is-the-purest-joy-that/) [Constance Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-zimmer/) > [“The most beautiful things cannot be written, unfortunately. Fortunately. We would have to be able to write with our eyes, with wild eyes, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/the-most-beautiful-things-cannot-be-written-unfortunately-fortunately/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-writer-should-write-with-his-eyes-and-a-painter-paint-with-his-ears/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Write with your eyes like painters, with your ears like musicians, with your feet like dancers. You are the truthsayer with quill and torch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/write-with-your-eyes-like-painters-with-your-ears-like-musicians-with/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [To me, writing is about how we see. The writers I want to read teach me how to see-see the world differently. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-me-writing-is-about-how-we-see-the-writers-i-want-to-read-teach-me/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Do not set out to write with your eyes on the box office. It can't be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/do-not-set-out-to-write-with-your-eyes-on-the-box-office-it-can-t-be/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I have not forgotten you — the nights are long and difficult. You too know that all my eyes see, all touch with myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-have-not-forgotten-you-the-nights-are-long-and-difficult-you-too/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [A lot of times it's the child that sees something and not the grownup. I love that because, when readers get older, they start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/a-lot-of-times-it-s-the-child-that-sees-something-and-not-the-grownup/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [Every common miracle which the child sees with his own eyes makes of him for the moment another Newton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/every-common-miracle-which-the-child-sees-with-his-own-eyes-makes-of/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) ## More by Arnold Bennett > [The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-chances-are-that-you-have-already-come-to-believe-that-happiness/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-parents-exist-to-teach-the-child-but-also-they-must-learn-what/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/a-man-of-sixty-has-spent-twenty-years-in-bed-and-over-three-years-in/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“What then? Are we only to buy the books that we read? The question has merely to be thus bluntly put, and it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/what-then-are-we-only-to-buy-the-books-that-we-read-the-question-has/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [The most important preliminary to the task of arranging one's life so that one may live fully and comfortably within one's daily budget of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-most-important-preliminary-to-the-task-of-arranging-one-s-life-so/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [You are not in charge of the universe; you are in charge of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/you-are-not-in-charge-of-the-universe-you-are-in-charge-of-yourself/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“When one has thoroughly got imbued into one's head the leading truth that nothing happens without a cause, one grows not only large-minded, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/when-one-has-thoroughly-got-imbued-into-one-s-head-the-leading-truth/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/any-change-even-a-change-for-the-better-is-always-accompanied-by/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“The public is a great actuality, like war. If you are a creative and creating artist, you cannot ignore it, though it can ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-public-is-a-great-actuality-like-war-if-you-are-a-creative-and/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“Good clothes, when put to the test, survive a change in fortune, as a Roman arch survives the luxury of departed empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-clothes-when-put-to-the-test-survive-a-change-in-fortune-as-a/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Ninety percent of the friction of daily life is caused by tone of voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/ninety-percent-of-the-friction-of-daily-life-is-caused-by-tone-of/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [During a long and varied career as a bachelor, I have noticed that marriage is the death of politeness between a man and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/during-a-long-and-varied-career-as-a-bachelor-i-have-noticed-that/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) [Explore all 133 Arnold Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only way to write a great book is to write it with the eyes of a child who sees things for the first time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arnold Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to-write-it-with-the-eyes-of-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to-write-it-with-the-eyes-of-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86e/arnold-bennett-3325_book_the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to_2153187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only way to write a great book is to write it with the eyes of a child who sees things for the first time.” — Arnold Bennett", "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": "Arnold Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only way to write a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to-write-it-with-the-eyes-of-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-only-way-to-write-a-great-book-is-to-write-it-with-the-eyes-of-a/#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 } } ] } ```