--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a writer's job is to provoke…" description: "\"I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had - I don't know what - the literary e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/doris-lessing-501_book_i-think-a-writer-s-job-is-to-provoke-que_1992297.png" --- # I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to… ![“I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had - I don't know what - the literary equivalent of a shower. Something that would start them thinking in a slightly different way, perhaps. That's what I think writers are for.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/doris-lessing-501_book_i-think-a-writer-s-job-is-to-provoke-que_1992297.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/doris-lessing-501_book_i-think-a-writer-s-job-is-to-provoke-que_1992297.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/doris-lessing-501_book_i-think-a-writer-s-job-is-to-provoke-que_1992297.png) > “I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had - I don't know what - the literary equivalent of a shower. Something that would start them thinking in a slightly different way, perhaps. That's what I think writers are for.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should provoke thought, offering a mental “shower” that changes perspective. **In simple terms:** Writers aim to spark new ways of thinking. Key Takeaway Write to challenge and expand readers' minds. Themes writing provocation thought literature Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teaching - creative workshops - public speaking - literary criticism Key Concepts critical thinking creative expression reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - What questions do your works raise? - How can writers balance provocation with accessibility? 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I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-think-a-writer-s-job-is-to-provoke-questions-i-like-to-think-that/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I think I'm a writer, and it's my job. People in other professions are expected to do their jobs all the time. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-think-i-m-a-writer-and-it-s-my-job-people-in-other-professions-are/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [The writer’s job is to write with rigor, with commitment, to defend what they believe with all the talent they have. 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If they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-writers-or-anybody-would-sit-down-and-think-they-must/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think writers ought ever to sit down and think they must write about some cause, or theme, or something. If they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-writers-ought-ever-to-sit-down-and-think-they-must/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The writer who can't do his job looks to his editor to do it for him, though he won't dream of sharing his royalties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-writer-who-can-t-do-his-job-looks-to-his-editor-to-do-it-for-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A writer's job is to cultivate what can go wrong. You're always looking for that dramatic arc of where things can fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/a-writer-s-job-is-to-cultivate-what-can-go-wrong-you-re-always/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“It is the writer's job to craft a story so compelling that strangers will pay to hear it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seeley-james/it-is-the-writer-s-job-to-craft-a-story-so-compelling-that-strangers/) [Seeley James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seeley-james/) > [The writer's job is the job of a clown …the clown who also talks about sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzaburo-oe/the-writer-s-job-is-the-job-of-a-clown-the-clown-who-also-talks-about/) [Kenzaburo Oe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzaburo-oe/) > [The writer's job is to get naked...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/the-writer-s-job-is-to-get-naked/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [“A writer's job is never finished.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sai-marie-johnson/a-writer-s-job-is-never-finished/) [Sai Marie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sai-marie-johnson/) > [I think a writer's first job is to entertain, even in novels: to tell a compelling story that pulls the reader along toward an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/i-think-a-writer-s-first-job-is-to-entertain-even-in-novels-to-tell-a/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/grabbing-readers-by-the-imagination-is-a-writer-s-job/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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