--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether you are a good or bad writer is…" description: "\"“Whether you are a good or bad writer is an irrelevancy when you first begin. What's important is that you write, you get up in the morning and you say..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/clive-barker-773_blue-moon_whether-you-are-a-good-or-bad-writer-is_1084357.png" --- # Whether you are a good or bad writer is an irrelevancy… ![“Whether you are a good or bad writer is an irrelevancy when you first begin. What's important is that you write, you get up in the morning and you say, "I'm going to treat this like a job and I'm not going to just do this when I feel like it. I'm going to really get to work on making this the best…” quote by Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/clive-barker-773_blue-moon_whether-you-are-a-good-or-bad-writer-is_1084357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/clive-barker-773_blue-moon_whether-you-are-a-good-or-bad-writer-is_1084357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/clive-barker-773_blue-moon_whether-you-are-a-good-or-bad-writer-is_1084357.png) > ““Whether you are a good or bad writer is an irrelevancy when you first begin. What's important is that you write, you get up in the morning and you say, "I'm going to treat this like a job and I'm not going to just do this when I feel like it. I'm going to really get to work on making this the best I can make it, and work hard to achieve something". You can't sit around waiting for inspiration to strike like lightning, cause you'll wait around for a long time. Maybe once every blue moon a piece of lightning will strike, but most of the time you'll wait around twiddling your thumbs. What you have to do is just get on with it, and write whatever comes out and not worry over much about whether the punctuation is right or the spelling is right or even if the order of the words is right, but just get on with it. "You have to go after, seek after the things which are truthful to you. And I mean truthful. If you don't believe in Christ, then don't have a hero whipping out holy water when it suits him, because you're not telling the truth about what you believe about the world. If you don't believe that the image of Christ is ethicasy in the world, then don't have your hero use it in such a way. All you doing is accessing a series of cliches from somebody else's work. If you're gay, write about gay characters. If you're straight, write about straight characters. If you're straight and confused, write about straight and confused characters. If your passion is about painting and football, write about painting and football. Write about your mother, write about your father, write about things you know, and then let your imagination lurk on those things and develop them into something new and fresh even for you. Surprise yourself, astonish yourself, and tell the truth. ”” [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is a disciplined craft; treat it like a job, show up daily, and focus on truth and personal experience rather than perfection or borrowed clichés. **In simple terms:** Write consistently, truthfully, and from personal experience. Key Takeaway Show up and write daily. Themes discipline authenticity creativity Mood motivational reflective Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - daily writing routine - first drafts - character development - genre exploration Key Concepts craft truth personal voice Questions to Reflect On - What truth do you avoid writing about? - How can routine improve your craft? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress and dilute voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blue moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-moon/) [Gay Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-write-463221/) [Holy water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-water/) [Just Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-write/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-gay-2286088/) [Write Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-things/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My readers are 90 percent gay, and it's who I write for. I am not here to entertain straight people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/my-readers-are-90-percent-gay-and-it-s-who-i-write-for-i-am-not-here/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-don-t-buy-into-the-idea-that-an-irish-writer-should-write-about/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [A straight writer can write a gay novel and not worry about it, and a gay novelist can write about straight people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/a-straight-writer-can-write-a-gay-novel-and-not-worry-about-it-and-a/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When I started, you couldn't do anything. A gay person trying to write a gay character in 1998 - it was so difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/when-i-started-you-couldn-t-do-anything-a-gay-person-trying-to-write/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [I don't buy into the idea that an Irish writer should write about Ireland, or a gay writer should write about being gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-don-t-buy-into-the-idea-that-an-irish-writer-should-write-about-2/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [For writers, you just have to have the ability to not restrict your imagination. Men can write about women; women can write about men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-o-malley/for-writers-you-just-have-to-have-the-ability-to-not-restrict-your/) [Mike O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-o-malley/) > [You just write about things that happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jackson/you-just-write-about-things-that-happen/) [Alan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jackson/) > [You can’t just write and write and put things in a drawer. They wither without the warm sun of someone else’s appreciation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/you-can-t-just-write-and-write-and-put-things-in-a-drawer-they-wither/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [My music is a mix of everything, mostly my own life. I just write about things that mean something and that I can write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-may/my-music-is-a-mix-of-everything-mostly-my-own-life-i-just-write-about/) [Imelda May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-may/) > [Life without sex might be safer but it would be unbearably dull. It is the sex instinct which makes women seem beautiful, which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/life-without-sex-might-be-safer-but-it-would-be-unbearably-dull-it-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Now as the rain falls like shattered pieces of glass from the sky, we bleed like water colors and drunken pastels down the stairways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/now-as-the-rain-falls-like-shattered-pieces-of-glass-from-the-sky-we/) [REAM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [It's hard to see your dad once in a blue moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/it-s-hard-to-see-your-dad-once-in-a-blue-moon/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [Today's reason for everything...It only happens once in a blue moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-s-reason-for-everything-it-only-happens-once-in-a-blue-moon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The "new evangelical" wears skinny jeans and earrings made from recycled beer caps. After all, she is acquiring a taste for Blue Moon and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addie-zierman/the-new-evangelical-wears-skinny-jeans-and-earrings-made-from/) [Addie Zierman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addie-zierman/) > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) [Frederic Lawrence Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-lawrence-knowles/) ## More by Clive Barker > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I dreamt a limitless book, A book unbound, Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance On every line there was a new horizon drawn, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-dreamt-a-limitless-book-a-book-unbound-its-leaves-scattered-in/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Only when they have outrun the all-too-eager shadows of the Canyon and they are back in the glare of the billboards on Sunset Boulevard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/only-when-they-have-outrun-the-all-too-eager-shadows-of-the-canyon/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I firmly believe that a story is only as good as the villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-firmly-believe-that-a-story-is-only-as-good-as-the-villain/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Pleasure is a reward, given to the human system by evolution in return for services rendered to the preservation and increase of the species.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/pleasure-is-a-reward-given-to-the-human-system-by-evolution-in-return/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I love meeting people who've read my books. The prime reason to be on the planet is to make things I can show to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-love-meeting-people-who-ve-read-my-books-the-prime-reason-to-be-on/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Nothing happens carelessly. We’re not brought into the world without reason, even though we may never understand the reason. An infant that lives an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/nothing-happens-carelessly-we-re-not-brought-into-the-world-without/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Despite his intent, tears sprang to his eyes, and he went into her embrace, both of them sobbing freely, like enemies joined by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/despite-his-intent-tears-sprang-to-his-eyes-and-he-went-into-her/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Always, worlds within worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/always-worlds-within-worlds/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“I'm an inclusionist. I've always divided up (very, very broadly, I admit) the artistic instincts into the inclusionist and the exclusionist. The exclusionist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-m-an-inclusionist-i-ve-always-divided-up-very-very-broadly-i-admit/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I think I'm less and less labelled a 'horror writer'. The books tend not to go on horror shelves any more, and when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-i-m-less-and-less-labelled-a-horror-writer-the-books-tend-not/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Horror shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely-illusory/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Explore all 365 Clive Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## More Blue moon quotes > [The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-lawrence-knowles/the-night-walked-down-the-sky-with-the-moon-in-her-hand/) [Frederic Lawrence Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-lawrence-knowles/) > [“The "new evangelical" wears skinny jeans and earrings made from recycled beer caps. After all, she is acquiring a taste for Blue Moon and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addie-zierman/the-new-evangelical-wears-skinny-jeans-and-earrings-made-from/) [Addie Zierman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addie-zierman/) > [Today's reason for everything...It only happens once in a blue moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-s-reason-for-everything-it-only-happens-once-in-a-blue-moon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's hard to see your dad once in a blue moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/it-s-hard-to-see-your-dad-once-in-a-blue-moon/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [Now as the rain falls like shattered pieces of glass from the sky, we bleed like water colors and drunken pastels down the stairways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/now-as-the-rain-falls-like-shattered-pieces-of-glass-from-the-sky-we/) [REAM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [Life without sex might be safer but it would be unbearably dull. It is the sex instinct which makes women seem beautiful, which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/life-without-sex-might-be-safer-but-it-would-be-unbearably-dull-it-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“In America the magazines in which one can frequently publish stories or poems about Negroes are very few, and most of these do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/in-america-the-magazines-in-which-one-can-frequently-publish-stories/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“I hardly saw Osbert that week because he went to school, unlike Isaac and Edmond and Piper, who were supposed to be homeschooled, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-hardly-saw-osbert-that-week-because-he-went-to-school-unlike-isaac/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“I mean it, guys," I said. "Why don't you play Two Foot Trivia instead? It's just as fun and much safer." "First of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ponti/i-mean-it-guys-i-said-why-don-t-you-play-two-foot-trivia-instead-it-s/) [James Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ponti/) > [I don't use Facebook or Twitter, and I email once in a blue moon, as I'm a rather slow typist and prefer to pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-whitfield/i-don-t-use-facebook-or-twitter-and-i-email-once-in-a-blue-moon-as-i/) [June Whitfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-whitfield/) > [I smoke a blunt once every blue moon. But hey, the moon looks kinda blue tonight...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-moss/i-smoke-a-blunt-once-every-blue-moon-but-hey-the-moon-looks-kinda/) [Randy Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-moss/) > [Once in a blue moon someone like you comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/once-in-a-blue-moon-someone-like-you-comes-along/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [The silver friend knows your present and the gold friend knows all of your past dirt and glories. Once in a blue moon there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mccorkle/the-silver-friend-knows-your-present-and-the-gold-friend-knows-all-of/) [Jill McCorkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-mccorkle/) > [“If only you could see me as the Devil does: palatable & raw; chasing a chance blue moon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-petrucci/if-only-you-could-see-me-as-the-devil-does-palatable-raw-chasing-a/) [Virginia Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-petrucci/) > [The best things in life only come once every blue moon, so when it come remember to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levita-charin/the-best-things-in-life-only-come-once-every-blue-moon-so-when-it/) [Levita Charin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levita-charin/) [Browse all 65 Blue moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whether you are a good or bad writer is an irrelevancy when you first begin. What's important is that you write, you get up in the morning and you say, \"I'm going to treat this like a job and I'm not going to just do this when I feel like it. I'm going to really get to work on making this the best I can make it, and work hard to achieve something\". You can't sit around waiting for inspiration to strike like lightning, cause you'll wait around for a long time. Maybe once every blue moon a piece of lightning will strike, but most of the time you'll wait around twiddling your thumbs. What you have to do is just get on with it, and write whatever comes out and not worry over much about whether the punctuation is right or the spelling is right or even if the order of the words is right, but just get on with it. \"You have to go after, seek after the things which are truthful to you. And I mean truthful. If you don't believe in Christ, then don't have a hero whipping out holy water when it suits him, because you're not telling the truth about what you believe about the world. If you don't believe that the image of Christ is ethicasy in the world, then don't have your hero use it in such a way. All you doing is accessing a series of cliches from somebody else's work. If you're gay, write about gay characters. If you're straight, write about straight characters. If you're straight and confused, write about straight and confused characters. If your passion is about painting and football, write about painting and football. Write about your mother, write about your father, write about things you know, and then let your imagination lurk on those things and develop them into something new and fresh even for you. 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