--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we had to say what writing is, we…" description: "\"If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.\" — Cynthia Ozick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png" --- # If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define… ![“If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.” quote by Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png) > “If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.” [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing demands bravery because it reveals inner truths and risks judgment. **In simple terms:** Writing is an act of bravery. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability in writing. Themes courage expression literature Mood introspective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journaling - publishing personal essays - sharing drafts with peers - public readings Key Concepts authenticity risk‑taking creative honesty Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you afraid to write? - How can you protect yourself while being honest? A Different Perspective Fear of criticism can inhibit honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acts of courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-courage/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [It is an act of courage to acknowledge our own uncertainty and sit with it for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/it-is-an-act-of-courage-to-acknowledge-our-own-uncertainty-and-sit/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [The greatest act of courage is not falling in love But, despite everything, falling in love again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wayne-bailey/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-not-falling-in-love-but-despite/) Robin Wayne Bailey > [It will take an unprecedented act of courage, on a grand scale. You may have to do something virtually unknown in the annals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-will-take-an-unprecedented-act-of-courage-on-a-grand-scale-you-may/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Excessive caution destroys the soul and the heart, because living is an act of courage, and an act of courage is always an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/excessive-caution-destroys-the-soul-and-the-heart-because-living-is/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-a-personal-act-of-courage-something-one-human-does-that/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Summoning up the courage to take action is always the same regardless of how seemingly big or small the challenge. What may look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichiren/summoning-up-the-courage-to-take-action-is-always-the-same-regardless/) [Nichiren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichiren/) > [Education is an act of love, and thus an act of courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/education-is-an-act-of-love-and-thus-an-act-of-courage/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [A single act of courage is often the tipping point for extraordinary change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/a-single-act-of-courage-is-often-the-tipping-point-for-extraordinary/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [To set and work toward any goal is an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-set-and-work-toward-any-goal-is-an-act-of-courage/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Motherhood is always an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/motherhood-is-always-an-act-of-courage/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/i-am-convinced-that-the-truest-act-of-courage-the-strongest-act-of/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [It is an extraordinary act of courage,' said Tulas Shorn, 'to come to know a stranger's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-is-an-extraordinary-act-of-courage-said-tulas-shorn-to-come-to/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/what-really-counts-is-not-the-immediate-act-of-courage-or-of-valor/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Art is a personal act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-a-personal-act-of-courage/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Cynthia Ozick > [History ... isn't simply what has happened. It's a judgment on what has happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/history-isn-t-simply-what-has-happened-it-s-a-judgment-on-what-has/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Advances in technology neither impede nor augment literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/advances-in-technology-neither-impede-nor-augment-literature/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [To desire to be what one can be is purpose in life. There are no exterior forces. There are only interior forces. Who squanders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/to-desire-to-be-what-one-can-be-is-purpose-in-life-there-are-no/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Imagine an American Hans Christian Andersen, conceive of the Brothers Grimm living in Missouri, and you will approximate Howard Schwartz, a fable-maker and fable-gatherer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/imagine-an-american-hans-christian-andersen-conceive-of-the-brothers/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [literature is an instrument of a culture, not a summary of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/literature-is-an-instrument-of-a-culture-not-a-summary-of-it/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I don't agree with the sentiment 'write what you know.'... I think one should write what one doesn't know. The world is bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-don-t-agree-with-the-sentiment-write-what-you-know-i-think-one/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [An essay is a thing of the imagination. If there is information in an essay, it is by-the-by, and if there is an opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/an-essay-is-a-thing-of-the-imagination-if-there-is-information-in-an/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [There was a period... when I used to say, with as much ferocity as I could muster, 'I hate Henry James, and I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/there-was-a-period-when-i-used-to-say-with-as-much-ferocity-as-i/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Godlessness invariably produces vulgarity. Civilization is the product of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/godlessness-invariably-produces-vulgarity-civilization-is-the-product/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Dedication to one's work in the world is the only possible sanctifica-tion. Religion in all its forms is dedication to Someone Else's work, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/dedication-to-one-s-work-in-the-world-is-the-only-possible-sanctifica/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [What was lost in the European cataclysm was not only the Jewish past--the whole life of a civilization--but also a major share ofthe Jewish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/what-was-lost-in-the-european-cataclysm-was-not-only-the-jewish-past/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/we-take-for-granted-the-very-things-that-most-deserve-our-gratitude/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) [Explore all 144 Cynthia Ozick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## More Acts of courage quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [Discipline is built by consistently performing small acts of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/discipline-is-built-by-consistently-performing-small-acts-of-courage/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [It is an act of courage to acknowledge our own uncertainty and sit with it for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/it-is-an-act-of-courage-to-acknowledge-our-own-uncertainty-and-sit/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/we-become-just-by-the-practice-of-just-actions-self-controlled-by/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/what-really-counts-is-not-the-immediate-act-of-courage-or-of-valor/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [It is an extraordinary act of courage,' said Tulas Shorn, 'to come to know a stranger's pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-is-an-extraordinary-act-of-courage-said-tulas-shorn-to-come-to/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/i-am-convinced-that-the-truest-act-of-courage-the-strongest-act-of/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/a-most-insidious-form-of-fear-is-that-which-masquerades-as-common/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [Motherhood is always an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/motherhood-is-always-an-act-of-courage/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [It’s precisely the people who are considered the least ‘likely’ leaders who end up inspiring others the most. Everyday people and everyday acts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-jen-poo/it-s-precisely-the-people-who-are-considered-the-least-likely-leaders/) [Ai-jen Poo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-jen-poo/) > [Crossing the starting line may be an act of courage, but crossing the finish line is an act of faith. Faith is what kepes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/crossing-the-starting-line-may-be-an-act-of-courage-but-crossing-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To set and work toward any goal is an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-set-and-work-toward-any-goal-is-an-act-of-courage/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [A single act of courage is often the tipping point for extraordinary change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/a-single-act-of-courage-is-often-the-tipping-point-for-extraordinary/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [A spontaneous act of generosity, performed with unselfish grace is an example of moral beauty, as are certain acts of courage; genuine modesty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yi-fu-tuan/a-spontaneous-act-of-generosity-performed-with-unselfish-grace-is-an/) [Yi-Fu Tuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yi-fu-tuan/) > [Education is an act of love, and thus an act of courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/education-is-an-act-of-love-and-thus-an-act-of-courage/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) [Browse all 58 Acts of courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cynthia Ozick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-would-have-to-define-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acts of courage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-would-have-to-define-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/cynthia-ozick-2945_acts-of-courage_if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-woul_2513121.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.” — Cynthia Ozick", "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": "Cynthia Ozick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we had to say what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-would-have-to-define-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/if-we-had-to-say-what-writing-is-we-would-have-to-define-it/#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 } } ] } ```