--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is a form of personal freedom. It…" description: "\"“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/don-delillo-294_freedom_writing-is-a-form-of-personal-freedom-it_1929549.jpg" --- # Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from… ![“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals. — Don DeLillo” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/don-delillo-294_freedom_writing-is-a-form-of-personal-freedom-it_1929549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/don-delillo-294_freedom_writing-is-a-form-of-personal-freedom-it_1929549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/don-delillo-294_freedom_writing-is-a-form-of-personal-freedom-it_1929549.jpg) > ““Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals. — Don DeLillo”” [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. Writing grants personal autonomy, allowing individuals to break free from collective conformity and preserve their unique identity. **In simple terms:** Writing gives personal freedom and self‑preservation. Key Takeaway Write to protect your individuality. Themes freedom individuality creativity Mood reflective defiant Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journaling - fiction writing - personal essays - therapy - activism Key Concepts self‑expression identity autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does writing help you maintain your sense of self? - What risks arise when you suppress personal expression? A Different Perspective Writing alone cannot change systemic oppression; community action may be needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Personal freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-freedom/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“It is so much simpler to bury reality than it is to dispose of dreams. ― Don DeLillo, Americana (ACTES SUD; 0 edition, August 10, 1993)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/it-is-so-much-simpler-to-bury-reality-than-it-is-to-dispose-of-dreams-2/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/writing-is-a-form-of-personal-freedom-it-frees-us-from-the-mass/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [Writers write. Everyone else makes excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-bickham/writers-write-everyone-else-makes-excuses/) Jack Bickham > [You call this a script? Give me a couple of 5,000-dollar-a-week writers and I will write it myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pasternak/you-call-this-a-script-give-me-a-couple-of-5-000-dollar-a-week/) Joe Pasternak > [All those writers who write about their own childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/all-those-writers-who-write-about-their-own-childhood-gentle-god-if-i/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I'm an author. And writers write books. And writing books is a full-time career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-m-an-author-and-writers-write-books-and-writing-books-is-a-full/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Most American writers don't get asked their opinion on current affairs, whereas in Europe and England, we still do. There are writers here who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/most-american-writers-don-t-get-asked-their-opinion-on-current/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I won't read a book that starts with a description of the weather. 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I thought there were some beautiful things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-guess-of-all-those-novels-don-delillo-s-falling-man-is-the-one-i/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Wallace’s philosophy in The Pale King (TPK 546) is that we can ride out waves of boredom and oblivion into bliss and conscious (re)discovery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-carlisle/wallace-s-philosophy-in-the-pale-king-tpk-546-is-that-we-can-ride-out/) Greg Carlisle > [There's always a host of voices you're inspired by. I love Don DeLillo, and I love Isaac Bashevis Singer, and I love Beckett, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/there-s-always-a-host-of-voices-you-re-inspired-by-i-love-don-delillo/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) ## 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 Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. 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