--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [I]t is the writer's duty to write…" description: "\"“[I]t is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes virtue, the good, the beautiful, and above all, the true. ... It is the writer's duty to hat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/edward-abbey-254_character_i-t-is-the-writer-s-duty-to-write-fictio_2428868.jpg" --- # \[I\]t is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes… ![“[I]t is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes virtue, the good, the beautiful, and above all, the true. ... It is the writer's duty to hate injustice, to defy the powerful, and to speak for the voiceless. To be ... the severest critics of our own societies.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/edward-abbey-254_character_i-t-is-the-writer-s-duty-to-write-fictio_2428868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/edward-abbey-254_character_i-t-is-the-writer-s-duty-to-write-fictio_2428868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/edward-abbey-254_character_i-t-is-the-writer-s-duty-to-write-fictio_2428868.jpg) > ““\[I\]t is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes virtue, the good, the beautiful, and above all, the true. ... It is the writer's duty to hate injustice, to defy the powerful, and to speak for the voiceless. To be ... the severest critics of our own societies.”” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## 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 create stories that champion moral values, expose wrongdoing, challenge authority, and give voice to the marginalized. **In simple terms:** Writers must promote good, truth, and justice. Key Takeaway Write with purpose and courage. Themes morality justice voice critique courage Mood passionate defiant hopeful Type ethical activist inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - fiction writing - activism - education - policy advocacy Key Concepts ethical responsibility social criticism empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can writers inspire change without preaching? - What responsibilities do artists have to society? A Different Perspective Balancing artistic freedom with didacticism can limit creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“But it is a writer's duty to write and speak and record the truth, always the truth, no matter whom may be offended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-it-is-a-writer-s-duty-to-write-and-speak-and-record-the-truth/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-poet-s-the-writer-s-duty-is-to-write-about-these-things-it-is-his/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“You give me the duty to write about love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-an/you-give-me-the-duty-to-write-about-love/) [Nicola An](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-an/) > [“READERS ARE MY FAMILY AND IT IS MY DUTY TO WRITE FOR THEM.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahendra-trivedi/readers-are-my-family-and-it-is-my-duty-to-write-for-them/) Mahendra Trivedi > [I feel a duty to write because I can write songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hayward/i-feel-a-duty-to-write-because-i-can-write-songs/) [Justin Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hayward/) > [What rare days were those, When my chief duty was to write a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arnold/what-rare-days-were-those-when-my-chief-duty-was-to-write-a-song/) [George Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arnold/) > [As a writer you have a duty to be a messenger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/as-a-writer-you-have-a-duty-to-be-a-messenger/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [A writer's duty is to register what it is like for him or her to be in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-writer-s-duty-is-to-register-what-it-is-like-for-him-or-her-to-be/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“There's an enormous difference between being a story writer and being a regular person. As a person, it's your duty to stay on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/there-s-an-enormous-difference-between-being-a-story-writer-and-being/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [“...a writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-has-the-duty-to-be-good-not-lousy-true-not-false-lively-not/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [a writer's first duty is to be clear. Clarity is an excellent virtue. Like all virtues it can be pursued at ruinous cost. Paid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/a-writer-s-first-duty-is-to-be-clear-clarity-is-an-excellent-virtue/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) > [I think it's a short story writer's duty, as well as writing well about emotions and characters, to write story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-brown/i-think-it-s-a-short-story-writer-s-duty-as-well-as-writing-well/) [Eric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-brown/) > [If you’re a writer, your first duty, a duty you owe to yourself and your readers, and to your writing itself, is to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/if-you-re-a-writer-your-first-duty-a-duty-you-owe-to-yourself-and/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [The writer's duty is to keep on writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/the-writer-s-duty-is-to-keep-on-writing/) [William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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