--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're going to write, don't pretend…" description: "\"If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down. It's going to be the best you can do, and it's the fact that it's the best you can do that kills..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/dorothy-parker-700_writing_if-you-re-going-to-write-don-t-pretend-t_1245227.jpg" --- # If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down… ![“If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down. It's going to be the best you can do, and it's the fact that it's the best you can do that kills you.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/dorothy-parker-700_writing_if-you-re-going-to-write-don-t-pretend-t_1245227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/dorothy-parker-700_writing_if-you-re-going-to-write-don-t-pretend-t_1245227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/780/dorothy-parker-700_writing_if-you-re-going-to-write-don-t-pretend-t_1245227.jpg) > “If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down. It's going to be the best you can do, and it's the fact that it's the best you can do that kills you.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing should be authentic; pretending to write perfect prose hinders genuine expression. **In simple terms:** Pretending to write perfect prose stifles authenticity. Key Takeaway Write honestly, not perfectly. Themes writing authenticity creativity self‑criticism Mood introspective motivational Type creative psychological When to use this quote - Creative workshops - personal journals - writing retreats - editorial feedback Key Concepts Artistic integrity psychology of perfectionism Questions to Reflect On - What does “pretending to write” mean to you? - How can you embrace imperfection in your drafts? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can cause paralysis and self‑doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have a hundred things I'm dying to do. Make that a hundred and four. I'm going to write for a while. Going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hughes/i-have-a-hundred-things-i-m-dying-to-do-make-that-a-hundred-and-four/) [John Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hughes/) > [I'm just going to write whatever I'm going to write, and whatever shelf or section they end up on at the bookstore is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/i-m-just-going-to-write-whatever-i-m-going-to-write-and-whatever/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [If you're going to write something, that's going to be read by people, a lot of people, you hope it will not only entertain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/if-you-re-going-to-write-something-that-s-going-to-be-read-by-people/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [If you're going to write, you're going to have to force yourself to really study the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/if-you-re-going-to-write-you-re-going-to-have-to-force-yourself-to/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [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/) > [My first album, I had to write everything. Nobody was going to send me stuff just because I had a little success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-swindell/my-first-album-i-had-to-write-everything-nobody-was-going-to-send-me/) [Cole Swindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-swindell/) > [“I am not going to pretend to write a love letter to another man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-donaldson/i-am-not-going-to-pretend-to-write-a-love-letter-to-another-man/) [Julianne Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-donaldson/) > [I do not pretend to write much of a letter. You know under what circumstances I am writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-pretend-to-write-much-of-a-letter-you-know-under-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, I would definitely give up performing... But I would still sit down in an office and pretend to write with Dawn, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/well-i-would-definitely-give-up-performing-but-i-would-still-sit-down/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [That's what I do. Watch movies and read. Sometimes I even pretend to write, but I'm not fooling anyone. Oh, and I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/that-s-what-i-do-watch-movies-and-read-sometimes-i-even-pretend-to/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Its funny when you pretend to write something when the teacher is coming closer while you cheating on exam..and when they cross you without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghav-singh/its-funny-when-you-pretend-to-write-something-when-the-teacher-is/) [Raghav Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghav-singh/) > [Whatever you have lived, you can write & by hard work & a genuine apprenticeship, you can learn to write well; but what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/whatever-you-have-lived-you-can-write-by-hard-work-a-genuine/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“No man has your love at heart, they all pretend to be what they are not. They would rather write you out of relevance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayode-ojo/no-man-has-your-love-at-heart-they-all-pretend-to-be-what-they-are/) [Bayode Ojo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayode-ojo/) > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Write quotes > [I feel like the future is unwritten. 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You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [You make me want to write bad poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-want-to-write-bad-poetry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I write my story in my books, It show that your name filled in my books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-my-story-in-my-books-it-show-that-your-name-filled-in-my-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) Browse all 9,848 Write quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down. 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