--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that you have to keep the reader…" description: "\"I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre if you're going to write something that people are going to love and be entertained by.\" — El..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png" --- # I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre… ![“I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre if you're going to write something that people are going to love and be entertained by.” quote by Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png) > “I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre if you're going to write something that people are going to love and be entertained by.” [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## 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 prioritize the reader's experience to create engaging, beloved work. **In simple terms:** Put readers first in writing. Key Takeaway Center the reader in your storytelling. Themes writing reader focus engagement creativity entertainment Mood thoughtful creative encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - blogging - marketing copy Key Concepts Narrative design user experience storytelling techniques Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance reader appeal with artistic integrity? - What techniques keep readers emotionally invested? A Different Perspective Risk of sacrificing artistic vision for popularity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [There's no way I'm going to write for other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fallon/there-s-no-way-i-m-going-to-write-for-other-people/) [Brian Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fallon/) > [“I think about the reader. I care about the reader. Not “audience.” Not “readership.” Just the reader. That one person, alone in a room,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-think-about-the-reader-i-care-about-the-reader-not-audience-not/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [In the most self-protective of ways, I don't think about the reader when I'm writing - I just think about the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/in-the-most-self-protective-of-ways-i-don-t-think-about-the-reader/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I think when a reader reads a whole book - which takes six to ten hours - that’s kind of a gift to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/i-think-when-a-reader-reads-a-whole-book-which-takes-six-to-ten-hours/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) > [I do think of my reader, or listener, really, more often, if I give a lecture, for example, and I know that I'm talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/i-do-think-of-my-reader-or-listener-really-more-often-if-i-give-a/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [In general, I think, less is more, and that if a reader stops reading because a book is too icky then I've failed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/in-general-i-think-less-is-more-and-that-if-a-reader-stops-reading/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [I don't think about the reader in any conscious way that impacts the writing, as far as, Hey, most readers would like this! But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brandon/i-don-t-think-about-the-reader-in-any-conscious-way-that-impacts-the/) [John Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brandon/) > [I think that the reader should enrich what he is reading. He should misunderstand the text; he should change it into something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-think-that-the-reader-should-enrich-what-he-is-reading-he-should/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [There are so many fun things that you live that you can write about and people of all ages can connect to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maren-morris/there-are-so-many-fun-things-that-you-live-that-you-can-write-about/) [Maren Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maren-morris/) > [Don't try to write what other people are writing - write what is true to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/don-t-try-to-write-what-other-people-are-writing-write-what-is-true/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. 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We would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/we-spend-our-entire-lives-thinking-about-death-without-that-project/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“own reputation, by associating himself with a story of cuckoldry, blackmail, murder, and revenge, and nor did he spare a thought for how Balfour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/own-reputation-by-associating-himself-with-a-story-of-cuckoldry/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“In my experience people are rarely contented to end up where they started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/in-my-experience-people-are-rarely-contented-to-end-up-where-they/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“His temperament was deeply nostalgic, not for for his own past, but for past ages; he was cynical of the present, fearful of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-temperament-was-deeply-nostalgic-not-for-for-his-own-past-but-for/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“What was glimpsed in Aquarius—what was envisioned, believed in, prophesied, predicted, doubted, and forewarned—is made, in Pisces, manifest. Those solitary visions that, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/what-was-glimpsed-in-aquarius-what-was-envisioned-believed-in/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“Gaining control isn't the exciting part. Sleeping with a minor isn't exciting because you get to boss them around. It's exciting because you're risking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/gaining-control-isn-t-the-exciting-part-sleeping-with-a-minor-isn-t/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Astrology's a moving system that depends on where you're looking at it from on Earth. My horoscope here in London would be completely different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/astrology-s-a-moving-system-that-depends-on-where-you-re-looking-at/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [As an artist, you need to be not at all entitled in your relation with the work. So money is kind of worrying. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/as-an-artist-you-need-to-be-not-at-all-entitled-in-your-relation-with/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The nice thing about the zodiac as a system is it is quite comprehensive as a range of impulses and psychological states it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/the-nice-thing-about-the-zodiac-as-a-system-is-it-is-quite/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“True feeling is always circular - either circular, or paradoxical - simply because its cause and its expression are tow halves of the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/true-feeling-is-always-circular-either-circular-or-paradoxical-simply/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“he built his persona as a shield around his person, because he knew very well how little his person could withstand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/he-built-his-persona-as-a-shield-around-his-person-because-he-knew/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“It must have been unpleasant to be discussed as a curiosity, spoken about over breakfast, and between rounds at billiards, as if one's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/it-must-have-been-unpleasant-to-be-discussed-as-a-curiosity-spoken/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Theatre is a concentrate of life as normal. Theatre is a purified version of real life, an extraction, an essence of human behaviour that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/theatre-is-a-concentrate-of-life-as-normal-theatre-is-a-purified/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) [Explore all 168 Eleanor Catton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre if you're going to write something that people are going to love and be entertained by.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eleanor Catton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader-front-and-centre-if-you-re/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader-front-and-centre-if-you-re/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/eleanor-catton-2384_books_i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader_1245577.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that you have to keep the reader front and centre if you're going to write something that people are…” — Eleanor Catton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eleanor Catton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that you have to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader-front-and-centre-if-you-re/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-think-that-you-have-to-keep-the-reader-front-and-centre-if-you-re/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```