--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Authors are magpies, echoing each other's…" description: "\"Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.\" — Bergen Evans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg" --- # Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and… ![“Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.” quote by Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg) > “Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.” [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authors copy and build on each other's ideas, chasing shiny concepts. **In simple terms:** Writers borrow and chase trends. Key Takeaway Recognize and credit influences. Themes creativity influence originality Mood analytical critical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - academic writing - blogging - novel writing - media criticism Key Concepts intertextuality cultural memetics Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate inspiration from plagiarism? - What value lies in shared ideas? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on novelty can ignore depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Magpies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-magpies-5756963/) [Avidly Glitters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avidly-glitters-5756966/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Glitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glitter/) [Glitters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glitters/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Magpies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magpies/) [Seizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seizing/) [Seizing Avidly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seizing-avidly-5756965/) [Words Seizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-seizing-5756964/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have a magpie mind. I like anything that glitters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-magpie-mind-i-like-anything-that-glitters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything that glitters is not gold but everything that is gold should glitter golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-knight/everything-that-glitters-is-not-gold-but-everything-that-is-gold/) [Kevin Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-knight/) > [“Everything that glitters more than gold is not gold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/everything-that-glitters-more-than-gold-is-not-gold/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“D.L Sparks author of All That Glitters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-mechelle/d-l-sparks-author-of-all-that-glitters/) [Angel Mechelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-mechelle/) > [All That GLITTERS is NOT GOLD. So, Do Not Be Deceived By Things Or Offers That Appear To Be Attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-so-do-not-be-deceived-by-things-or/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [All that glitters is not gold, at times it's a diamond !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuxga/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-at-times-it-s-a-diamond/) [Nuxga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuxga/) > [A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/a-medal-glitters-but-it-also-casts-a-shadow/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Since a child I was told all that glitters aint gold, got lost in the moment tryin to find what I wanted and Ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-songz/since-a-child-i-was-told-all-that-glitters-aint-gold-got-lost-in-the/) [Trey Songz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-songz/) > [“For you may palm upon us new for old: All, as they say, that glitters, is not gold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/for-you-may-palm-upon-us-new-for-old-all-as-they-say-that-glitters-is/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [All that glitters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life has sold But my outside to behold:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-often-have-you-heard-that-told-many-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [What glitters may not be gold; and even wolves may smile; and fools will be led by promises to their deaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/what-glitters-may-not-be-gold-and-even-wolves-may-smile-and-fools/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Ain't all glitters are gold neither nor all gods are God.So not all problems are problems.Be all that you are and reach for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-freshfeelin/ain-t-all-glitters-are-gold-neither-nor-all-gods-are-god-so-not-all/) [Mc FreshFeelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-freshfeelin/) > [Everything that's good to you ain't good for you and everything that glitters ain't gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jjadedluver/everything-that-s-good-to-you-ain-t-good-for-you-and-everything-that/) [Jjadedluver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jjadedluver/) > [Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-minds-are-like-crows-they-pick-up-everything-that-glitters-no/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [All that glitters is not gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Bergen Evans > [Many studies have established the fact that there is a high correlation between vocabulary and intelligence and that the ability to increase one's vocabulary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/many-studies-have-established-the-fact-that-there-is-a-high/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [We see what we want to see, and observation conforms to hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-see-what-we-want-to-see-and-observation-conforms-to-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Legislators who are of even average intelligence stand out among their colleagues. . . . A cultured college president has become as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/legislators-who-are-of-even-average-intelligence-stand-out-among/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Stoicism is the wisdom of madness and cynicism the madness of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/stoicism-is-the-wisdom-of-madness-and-cynicism-the-madness-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning, and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/wisdom-is-meaningless-until-your-own-experience-has-given-it-meaning/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [It (the dash ) is a comfortable punctuation mark since even the most rigorous critic can seldom claim that any particular example of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/it-the-dash-is-a-comfortable-punctuation-mark-since-even-the-most/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [“We may be done with the past but the past is not done with us. Show more Show less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/we-may-be-done-with-the-past-but-the-past-is-not-done-with-us-show/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [There is wisdom in the selection of wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-wisdom-in-the-selection-of-wisdom/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/there-is-no-necessary-connection-between-the-desire-to-lead-and-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [That is the essence of a witch-hunt, that any questioning of the evidence or the procedures in itself constitutes proof of complicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/that-is-the-essence-of-a-witch-hunt-that-any-questioning-of-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Leadership is more likely to be assumed by the aggressive than by the able, and those who scramble to the top are more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/leadership-is-more-likely-to-be-assumed-by-the-aggressive-than-by-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [The mere abhorrence of vice is not a virtue at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/the-mere-abhorrence-of-vice-is-not-a-virtue-at-all/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [“Euphemisms persist because lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/euphemisms-persist-because-lying-is-an-indispensable-part-of-making/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [An honorable man will not be bullied by a hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/an-honorable-man-will-not-be-bullied-by-a-hypothesis/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [Speech is highly elliptical. It would scarcely be endurable otherwise. Ellipsis is indispensable to the writer or speaker who wants to be brief and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/speech-is-highly-elliptical-it-would-scarcely-be-endurable-otherwise/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) [Explore all 24 Bergen Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) ## 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. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bergen Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s-words-and-seizing-avidly-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s-words-and-seizing-avidly-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96a/bergen-evans-24643_books_authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s_2356645.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.” — Bergen Evans", "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": "Bergen Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Authors are magpies, echoing each other's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s-words-and-seizing-avidly-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/authors-are-magpies-echoing-each-other-s-words-and-seizing-avidly-on/#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 } } ] } ```