--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would be writing and trying to write…" description: "\"I would be writing and trying to write like Joan Didion. Or if I was reading Raymond Carver. You know, strong stylists. But that's how you find your vo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/david-sedaris-333_carver_i-would-be-writing-and-trying-to-write-l_1192828.png" --- # I would be writing and trying to write like Joan Didion… ![“I would be writing and trying to write like Joan Didion. Or if I was reading Raymond Carver. You know, strong stylists. But that's how you find your voice, is imitating other people. So things like that didn't embarrass me, because I thought, well, that's how it goes. That's how everyone learns.” quote by David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/david-sedaris-333_carver_i-would-be-writing-and-trying-to-write-l_1192828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/david-sedaris-333_carver_i-would-be-writing-and-trying-to-write-l_1192828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/david-sedaris-333_carver_i-would-be-writing-and-trying-to-write-l_1192828.png) > “I would be writing and trying to write like Joan Didion. Or if I was reading Raymond Carver. You know, strong stylists. But that's how you find your voice, is imitating other people. So things like that didn't embarrass me, because I thought, well, that's how it goes. That's how everyone learns.” [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding one's unique voice often starts by mimicking admired writers before developing personal style. **In simple terms:** Imitate to discover your own voice. Key Takeaway Copy to learn, then innovate. Themes writing learning voice imitation growth Mood reflective inspirational Type advice literary. When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - reading classics - mentor feedback Key Concepts literary influence creative development identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance imitation and originality? - What writers have shaped your style? A Different Perspective Imitation may limit originality if not followed by personal reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carver/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joan-didion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raymond-carver/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Stylists Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stylists-voice-3545931/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-write/) [Write Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-like/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-trying-269581/) ## Related quotes > [I like Raymond Carver's poetry a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gord-downie/i-like-raymond-carver-s-poetry-a-lot/) [Gord Downie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gord-downie/) > [From a literary standpoint, I've been loving Raymond Carver's short stories, William Carlos Williams' poems, Richard Siken's 'Crush', John Fante, and Jim Harrison's book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-salpeter/from-a-literary-standpoint-i-ve-been-loving-raymond-carver-s-short/) [Greta Salpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-salpeter/) > [Raymond Carver is good. I think he'll be appreciated more and more. He's an easy writer to imitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/raymond-carver-is-good-i-think-he-ll-be-appreciated-more-and-more-he/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [It's not a terribly original thing to say, but I love Raymond Carver. For one thing, he's fun to read out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/it-s-not-a-terribly-original-thing-to-say-but-i-love-raymond-carver/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [That became my aesthetic - a very Chekhovian, American realist aesthetic in the tradition of Raymond Carver, Richard Ford, and Tobias Wolff. The perfectible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/that-became-my-aesthetic-a-very-chekhovian-american-realist-aesthetic/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [Raymond Carver had the quote that I loved about how he felt that a short story was the moment right before someone's life was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-antopol/raymond-carver-had-the-quote-that-i-loved-about-how-he-felt-that-a/) [Molly Antopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-antopol/) > [I'm interested in dismantling the distinction between masculine and feminine writing both because I think it's a false distinction and, I think, ultimately an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/i-m-interested-in-dismantling-the-distinction-between-masculine-and/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [I love fiction. I like reading short stories. Cupcakes, pop songs, Polaroids, and short stories. They all raise and answer questions in a short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/i-love-fiction-i-like-reading-short-stories-cupcakes-pop-songs/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [I'm so old that when I started keeping a diary they were in actual books, and I think that's one the reasons that I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-m-so-old-that-when-i-started-keeping-a-diary-they-were-in-actual/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I like to reserve the right to write about whatever I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-like-to-reserve-the-right-to-write-about-whatever-i-like/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I am really into how words sound out loud, so I was always the kid who would, like, read the page of the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-am-really-into-how-words-sound-out-loud-so-i-was-always-the-kid-who/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [“One more nice thing about short stories is that you can create a story out of the smallest details -an idea that springs up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-more-nice-thing-about-short-stories-is-that-you-can-create-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [John Dos Passos, Raymond Carver, Flaubert and William Maxwell were all very influential when I first started writing. Now, the writers I'm most interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/john-dos-passos-raymond-carver-flaubert-and-william-maxwell-were-all/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [I read a lot of short fiction, like Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Carver and Wells Tower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-read-a-lot-of-short-fiction-like-kurt-vonnegut-and-raymond-carver/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [I still love Carson McCullers and Raymond Carver and Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-still-love-carson-mccullers-and-raymond-carver-and-toni-morrison/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## More by David Sedaris > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“never fall asleep in a Dumpster, never underestimate a bee, never drive a convertible behind a flatbed truck, never get old, never get drunk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/never-fall-asleep-in-a-dumpster-never-underestimate-a-bee-never-drive/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“It was a father, one hand resting teapot-style on his hip, and the other - what would be the spout - formed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-was-a-father-one-hand-resting-teapot-style-on-his-hip-and-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“A Japanese woman we’d met in Paris came to the apartment yesterday and spent several hours explaining our appliances. The microwave, the water kettle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/a-japanese-woman-we-d-met-in-paris-came-to-the-apartment-yesterday/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [When you read comic material and people aren't laughing how do you know they're listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/when-you-read-comic-material-and-people-aren-t-laughing-how-do-you/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“You have how many children in your family?" the teacher would ask. "I'm guessing you must be Catholic, am I right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-have-how-many-children-in-your-family-the-teacher-would-ask-i-m/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“Like most seasoned phonies, I roundly suspect that everyone is as disingenuous as I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/like-most-seasoned-phonies-i-roundly-suspect-that-everyone-is-as/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [As a child I assumed that when I reached adulthood, I would have grown-up thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/as-a-child-i-assumed-that-when-i-reached-adulthood-i-would-have-grown/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [“You just take and take don´t you? Out there with your thumb in the air—not a care in the world, just grabbing whatever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-just-take-and-take-don-t-you-out-there-with-your-thumb-in-the-air/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [In other parts of the country people tried to stay together for the sake of the children. In New York they tried to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/in-other-parts-of-the-country-people-tried-to-stay-together-for-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [My boyfriend got me a computer three years ago. I'll admit it does make things a lot easier. When I was working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/my-boyfriend-got-me-a-computer-three-years-ago-i-ll-admit-it-does/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I spent months searching for some secret code before I realized that common sense has nothing to do with it. Hysteria, psychosis, torture, depression:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-spent-months-searching-for-some-secret-code-before-i-realized-that/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I hated leaving a hole in the smoking world, and so I recruited someone to take my place. People have given me a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-hated-leaving-a-hole-in-the-smoking-world-and-so-i-recruited/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Write relentlessly, until you find your voice. Then, use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/write-relentlessly-until-you-find-your-voice-then-use-it/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) [Explore all 667 David Sedaris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More Carver quotes > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [It was stone carvers in ancient Rome, scribes in the Middle Ages, all the way through Gutenberg to the present day. That's a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/it-was-stone-carvers-in-ancient-rome-scribes-in-the-middle-ages-all/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [We're doing Circle of Snakes, we open up with Skin Carver and we are throwing in Skull Forest later on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-danzig/we-re-doing-circle-of-snakes-we-open-up-with-skin-carver-and-we-are/) [Glenn Danzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-danzig/) > [I will try not to panic, to keep my standard of living modest and to work steadily, even shyly, in the spirit of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-will-try-not-to-panic-to-keep-my-standard-of-living-modest-and-to/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I read Carver. Julio Cortazar. Amis's essays. Baldwin. Lorrie Moore. Capote. Saramago. Larkin. Wodehouse. Anything, anything at all, that doesn't sound like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-read-carver-julio-cortazar-amis-s-essays-baldwin-lorrie-moore/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Carved with figures strange and sweet, All made out of the carver's brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/carved-with-figures-strange-and-sweet-all-made-out-of-the-carver-s/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Carver's best book yet! FROM A CHANGELING STAR combines deft characterization and fascinating extrapolation into a complex, compulsively readable thriller. I wish all science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-shaw-gardner/carver-s-best-book-yet-from-a-changeling-star-combines-deft/) [Craig Shaw Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-shaw-gardner/) > [Jeffrey Carver imagines wonders and allows us to share his vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-carr/jeffrey-carver-imagines-wonders-and-allows-us-to-share-his-vision/) [Terry Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-carr/) > [“Cal Carver’s last day on Earth started badly, improved momentarily, then rapidly went downhill. It began with him being sentenced to two years in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-j-hutchison/cal-carver-s-last-day-on-earth-started-badly-improved-momentarily/) [Barry J. Hutchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-j-hutchison/) > [That became my aesthetic - a very Chekhovian, American realist aesthetic in the tradition of Raymond Carver, Richard Ford, and Tobias Wolff. The perfectible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/that-became-my-aesthetic-a-very-chekhovian-american-realist-aesthetic/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [“I don't know much about him. He is a carver in our bishop's city, a days journey from here; he has a great reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-don-t-know-much-about-him-he-is-a-carver-in-our-bishop-s-city-a/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Raymond Carver had the quote that I loved about how he felt that a short story was the moment right before someone's life was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-antopol/raymond-carver-had-the-quote-that-i-loved-about-how-he-felt-that-a/) [Molly Antopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-antopol/) > [“I did not have to learn to love you: You were chosen for me. I knew that the first time I saw you. —George…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-nelson/i-did-not-have-to-learn-to-love-you-you-were-chosen-for-me-i-knew/) [Marilyn Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-nelson/) > [“As a panting Tracy Ferris scrambled into the life-pod, this thought was precisely what was running through her already agitated mind. From the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/as-a-panting-tracy-ferris-scrambled-into-the-life-pod-this-thought/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [A parable: A man was examining the construction of a cathedral. He asked a stone mason what he was doing chipping the stones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hamming/a-parable-a-man-was-examining-the-construction-of-a-cathedral-he/) [Richard Hamming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hamming/) [Browse all 40 Carver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carver/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would be writing and trying to write like Joan Didion. Or if I was reading Raymond Carver. You know, strong stylists. But that's how you find your voice, is imitating other people. So things like that didn't embarrass me, because I thought, well, that's how it goes. 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