--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The true writer must write not the…" description: "\"The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.\" — David Mamet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg" --- # The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true. ![“The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg) > “The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True writing prioritizes authenticity over acceptability. **In simple terms:** Write truth, not just what pleases. Key Takeaway Choose honesty over popularity. Themes authenticity writing truth Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - fiction - personal essays Key Concepts Artistic integrity creative courage Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you avoiding? - How does authenticity affect your audience? A Different Perspective Truth may be unpopular and risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptable/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [True Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-writer-675148/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Acceptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-acceptable-557781/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The music is the main thing and it's just as easy to write acceptable words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-haley/the-music-is-the-main-thing-and-it-s-just-as-easy-to-write-acceptable/) [Bill Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-haley/) > [“A writer writes regardless... even though... notwithstanding... despite... at any rate... anyhow... nevertheless... in the face of... undeterred by... heedless of... and because. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-writer-writes-regardless-even-though-notwithstanding-despite-at-any/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [If you wish to be a writer, write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-wish-to-be-a-writer-write/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“If you wish to be a writer– then write, and don’t allow anyone to tell you that you’re on the ‘wrong’ path. You know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-kirin/if-you-wish-to-be-a-writer-then-write-and-don-t-allow-anyone-to-tell/) [M. Kirin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-kirin/) > [The writer will write in his or her words, but the readers, even when they are not reading you, will take it elsewhere entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/the-writer-will-write-in-his-or-her-words-but-the-readers-even-when/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [“Write. If you've always dreamed of being a writer, write. Even if you think what you write is crap, write. You might be surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-woods/write-if-you-ve-always-dreamed-of-being-a-writer-write-even-if-you/) [Stephen Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-woods/) > [“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/advice-i-don-t-have-advice-stop-aspiring-and-start-writing-if-you-re/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write-write-and-write-and-write-if-you/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I have had a lot of dreams come true as a writer... I've gotten to work with artists I adored as a reader; I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simone/i-have-had-a-lot-of-dreams-come-true-as-a-writer-i-ve-gotten-to-work/) [Gail Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simone/) > [A lot of writers ... sit in a log cabin by the lake and put their feet up by the fire in the silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-auchincloss/a-lot-of-writers-sit-in-a-log-cabin-by-the-lake-and-put-their-feet-up/) [Louis Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-auchincloss/) > [“A true writer does not seek wealth or fame does seek to find himself in each of his readers souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-joanne-black/a-true-writer-does-not-seek-wealth-or-fame-does-seek-to-find-himself/) [Julia Joanne Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-joanne-black/) > [The talent of a true writer and poet is in the ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/the-talent-of-a-true-writer-and-poet-is-in-the-ear/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [We never know how much has been missing from our lives until a true writer comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/we-never-know-how-much-has-been-missing-from-our-lives-until-a-true/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [“He, the true writer, is the department store dummy at the very center of the whole establishment, the one left alone on display all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-gurganus/he-the-true-writer-is-the-department-store-dummy-at-the-very-center/) [Allan Gurganus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-gurganus/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Acceptable quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [THE REAL PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST REVISIONISM IS TO MAKE NATIONAL SOCIALISM AN ACCEPTABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE AGAIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-covington/the-real-purpose-of-holocaust-revisionism-is-to-make-national/) [Harold Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-covington/) > [The government has once again made the right socially acceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/the-government-has-once-again-made-the-right-socially-acceptable/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) > [The study of Freemasonry is the study of man as a candidate for a blessed eternity. It furnishes examples of holy living, and displays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/the-study-of-freemasonry-is-the-study-of-man-as-a-candidate-for-a/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [If a man is pictured chopping off a woman's breast, it only gets an R rating; but if, God forbid, a man is pictured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-struthers/if-a-man-is-pictured-chopping-off-a-woman-s-breast-it-only-gets-an-r/) [Sally Struthers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-struthers/) > [We cannot guess the outcome of our actions... Which is why our actions must always be acceptable in themselves, and not as strategies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-heilbrun/we-cannot-guess-the-outcome-of-our-actions-which-is-why-our-actions/) [Carolyn Heilbrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-heilbrun/) > [In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elections-like-2008-just-are/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [It's horrible how money and fame can make you acceptable while, if you're not famous or rich, you're not acceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/it-s-horrible-how-money-and-fame-can-make-you-acceptable-while-if-you/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [I disagree with the prevailing point of view of some black leaders that special treatment for blacks is acceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/i-disagree-with-the-prevailing-point-of-view-of-some-black-leaders/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [We get used to a certain kind of colour of form or format, and it's acceptable. And to puncture that is sticking your neck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/we-get-used-to-a-certain-kind-of-colour-of-form-or-format-and-it-s/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) [Browse all 750 Acceptable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-acceptable-but-the-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acceptable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-acceptable-but-the-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65b/david-mamet-1178_acceptable_the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-accep_2252662.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.” — David Mamet", "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": "David Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The true writer must write not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-acceptable-but-the-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-true-writer-must-write-not-the-acceptable-but-the-true/#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 } } ] } ```