--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writers, because they write, are…" description: "\"Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be readers of their own stories...The memory of first putting a story into words will always preven..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png" --- # Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be… ![“Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be readers of their own stories...The memory of first putting a story into words will always prevent writers from reading their work as an ordinary reader would.” quote by Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png) > “Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be readers of their own stories...The memory of first putting a story into words will always prevent writers from reading their work as an ordinary reader would.” [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers lose the ordinary reader’s perspective because creating a story changes how they view it. **In simple terms:** Writing changes perception, preventing writers from reading like normal readers. Key Takeaway Remember to view your work with fresh eyes. Themes creativity self‑reflection perception Mood reflective analytical Type literary self‑critical When to use this quote - editing - peer review - writing workshops - self‑critique Key Concepts literary theory authorial distance Questions to Reflect On - How can you reread your work objectively? - What strategies help separate creator from consumer? A Different Perspective Even writers may struggle to regain objectivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Condemned Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned-readers-4360106/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Prevent Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevent-writers-4360105/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-reading/) [Writers Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pasternak/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Writers write. Everyone else makes excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-bickham/writers-write-everyone-else-makes-excuses/) [Jack Bickham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-bickham/) > [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/) > [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 tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/i-tell-writers-to-keep-reading-reading-reading-read-widely-and-deeply/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [As an actor, I know immediately if I'm saying a word that doesn't feel right coming out of my mouth, and I know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-foley/as-an-actor-i-know-immediately-if-i-m-saying-a-word-that-doesn-t-feel/) [Scott Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-foley/) > [When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/when-i-look-back-i-am-so-impressed-again-with-the-life-giving-power/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/you-must-find-time-for-reading-or-surrender-yourself-to-self-chosen/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“For most writers, reading is also a very intense experience; they don’t read so much as compete. The writer measure’s himself against every text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/for-most-writers-reading-is-also-a-very-intense-experience-they-don-t/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [Books are the quietest and most constant of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-eliot/books-are-the-quietest-and-most-constant-of-friends/) [Charles William Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-william-eliot/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“All of us are writers reading other people's writing, turning pages or clicking to the next screen with pleasure and admiration. All of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-paul/all-of-us-are-writers-reading-other-people-s-writing-turning-pages-or/) [Pamela Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-paul/) ## More by Elena Ferrante > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“Quanto a mim, várias vezes ao dia me acontece de gostar de alguém. Você não? Durante pouco tempo, depois passa.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/quanto-a-mim-v-rias-vezes-ao-dia-me-acontece-de-gostar-de-algu-m-voc/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“Svakog dana sam sebi ponavljala: to sam što sam, i nema mi druge nego da se s tim pomirim; takva sam rođena, u ovom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/svakog-dana-sam-sebi-ponavljala-to-sam-to-sam-i-nema-mi-druge-nego-da/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“We have too much stuff inside and it swells us, breaks us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/we-have-too-much-stuff-inside-and-it-swells-us-breaks-us/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“To be born in that city is useful for only one thing: to have always known, almost instinctively, what today, with endless fine distinctions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/to-be-born-in-that-city-is-useful-for-only-one-thing-to-have-always/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [As a girl - twelve, thirteen years old - I was absolutely certain that a good book had to have a man as its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/as-a-girl-twelve-thirteen-years-old-i-was-absolutely-certain-that-a/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“Religion will disappear from men's consciousness when, finally, we have constructed a world of equals, without class distinctions, and with a sound of scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/religion-will-disappear-from-men-s-consciousness-when-finally-we-have/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [Elena Ferrante is the author of several novels. There is nothing mysterious about her, given how she manifests herself - perhaps even too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/elena-ferrante-is-the-author-of-several-novels-there-is-nothing/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [Women, in all fields - whether mothers or not - still encounter an extraordinary number of obstacles. They have to hold too many things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/women-in-all-fields-whether-mothers-or-not-still-encounter-an/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“Once, she closed the book abruptly and said with annoyance, "That's enough." "Why?" "Because I've had it, it's always the same story: inside something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/once-she-closed-the-book-abruptly-and-said-with-annoyance-that-s/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“She became transparent skin over bones, her eyes drowning in violet wells, her hands damp spider webs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/she-became-transparent-skin-over-bones-her-eyes-drowning-in-violet/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“When you haven’t been in the world long, it’s hard to comprehend what disasters are at the origin of a sense of disaster: maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/when-you-haven-t-been-in-the-world-long-it-s-hard-to-comprehend-what/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“As long as one writes only for oneself, writing is a free act by means of which, to use an oxymoron, one secretly opens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/as-long-as-one-writes-only-for-oneself-writing-is-a-free-act-by-means/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“We had the same sensitivity to beautiful things, the same need to enjoy them, the same need to search for the right words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/we-had-the-same-sensitivity-to-beautiful-things-the-same-need-to/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“Falei de como tinha tentado desde sempre, a fim de me impor, ser um homem na inteligência - percebi-me inventada pelos homens, colonizada por…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/falei-de-como-tinha-tentado-desde-sempre-a-fim-de-me-impor-ser-um/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) [Explore all 122 Elena Ferrante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) ## 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. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be readers of their own stories...The memory of first putting a story into words will always prevent writers from reading their work as an ordinary reader would.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elena Ferrante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/writers-because-they-write-are-condemned-never-to-be-readers-of-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/writers-because-they-write-are-condemned-never-to-be-readers-of-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/elena-ferrante-2338_books_writers-because-they-write-are-condemned_515664.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writers, because they write, are condemned never to be readers of their own stories...The memory of first…” — Elena Ferrante", "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": "Elena Ferrante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writers, because they write, are condemned...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/writers-because-they-write-are-condemned-never-to-be-readers-of-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/writers-because-they-write-are-condemned-never-to-be-readers-of-their/#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 } } ] } ```