--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's true that some of us become better…" description: "\"It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. The trick is to die in between.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/don-delillo-294_dies_it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better_611151.jpg" --- # It's true that some of us become better writers by living… ![“It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. The trick is to die in between.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/don-delillo-294_dies_it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better_611151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/don-delillo-294_dies_it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better_611151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/don-delillo-294_dies_it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better_611151.jpg) > “It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. The trick is to die in between.” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experience and time can improve writing, but stagnation can also degrade it; renewal requires letting go of past selves. **In simple terms:** Writing improves with life, but also decays without renewal. Key Takeaway Refresh your perspective regularly. Themes creativity aging renewal Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - career breaks - travel - new hobbies Key Concepts literary craft personal growth lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance growth and consistency? - When is it time to reinvent your voice? A Different Perspective Changing style may alienate existing audience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Living long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-long/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Find tricks to keep yourself going,” William Least Heat Moon once advised a group of aspiring writers. “Anything you can do to trick yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-keyes/find-tricks-to-keep-yourself-going-william-least-heat-moon-once/) [Ralph Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-keyes/) > [I do think that the modern India does belong to writers who are living in India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-desai/i-do-think-that-the-modern-india-does-belong-to-writers-who-are/) [Kiran Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-desai/) > [Luckily I haven't fallen into the trap, which has claimed so many writers, of living from day to day thinking 'Ah, I'll write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelie-nothomb/luckily-i-haven-t-fallen-into-the-trap-which-has-claimed-so-many/) [Amelie Nothomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelie-nothomb/) > [While writing, writers are living inside a character or characters, and when the book ekes into the world, writers are living inside the reader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/while-writing-writers-are-living-inside-a-character-or-characters-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [The ability to be present with every single person and engage was a great model for me of the work that a writer needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/the-ability-to-be-present-with-every-single-person-and-engage-was-a/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [You become a serious novelist by living long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/you-become-a-serious-novelist-by-living-long-enough/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Rock and roll stars have it much better than writers when they're on a tour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/rock-and-roll-stars-have-it-much-better-than-writers-when-they-re-on/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I think my interviews were much better than what some of the writers wrote. I just wanted the truth out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/i-think-my-interviews-were-much-better-than-what-some-of-the-writers/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I place a lot of emphasis on process and revision because I believe that all of my students can become better writers through hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/i-place-a-lot-of-emphasis-on-process-and-revision-because-i-believe/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you-can-tell-because-there-ll/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I think that children who read are better writers, and children who tell stories appreciate books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-walton-hamilton/i-think-that-children-who-read-are-better-writers-and-children-who/) [Emma Walton Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-walton-hamilton/) > [“How come you write the way you do?” an apprentice writer in my Johns Hopkins workshop once disingenuously asked Donald Barthelme, who was visiting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/how-come-you-write-the-way-you-do-an-apprentice-writer-in-my-johns/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“From The Red Sox Reader: "The Yankees may have always had the better players, but the Red Sox always had the better writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-riley/from-the-red-sox-reader-the-yankees-may-have-always-had-the-better/) Dan Riley > [If people want to be better writers, they can't just read the blogs! You've got to look at something that's outside this rushing world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/if-people-want-to-be-better-writers-they-can-t-just-read-the-blogs/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Dies quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) Michelle Blanchard > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) Browse all 7,484 Dies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. 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