--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The aim of my writing is to utterly…" description: "\"The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance between author and reader so that the book becomes a sort of semipermeable membrane through whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg" --- # The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance… ![“The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance between author and reader so that the book becomes a sort of semipermeable membrane through which feelings, ideas, nutrients pass.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg) > “The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance between author and reader so that the book becomes a sort of semipermeable membrane through which feelings, ideas, nutrients pass.” [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author seeks to eliminate distance between writer and reader, making the text a permeable membrane for emotions and ideas. **In simple terms:** She wants writing to share feelings and ideas directly. Key Takeaway Write to connect deeply with readers. Themes creativity communication empathy literature Mood reflective inspirational introspective Type literary philosophical educational When to use this quote - workshop teaching - author talks - writing guides - literary criticism Key Concepts narrative intimacy reader engagement emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What techniques can writers use to foster intimacy? - How does reader perception shape the 'membrane'? A Different Perspective Reader expectations can still create distance despite author intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Aim Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim-writing-3622677/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Distance Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance-author-3920392/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Membranes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/membranes/) [Nutrients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nutrients/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Remove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remove/) [Remove Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remove-distance-3920394/) [Utterly Remove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utterly-remove-3920393/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Utterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-utterly-1378225/) ## Related quotes > [I am constantly preoccupied with how to remove distance so that we can all come closer together, so that we can all begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-am-constantly-preoccupied-with-how-to-remove-distance-so-that-we/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [“It was evident to me then that I existed in the same manner as all other men, that I must grow old, that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/it-was-evident-to-me-then-that-i-existed-in-the-same-manner-as-all/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“To fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim... is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/to-fill-the-young-of-the-species-with-knowledge-and-awaken-their/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [My major aim in writing is to set out flags and issue wake-up calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-broughton/my-major-aim-in-writing-is-to-set-out-flags-and-issue-wake-up-calls/) [James Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-broughton/) > [The vestibule door opens onto a June morning so fine and scrubbed Classira pauses at the threshold as she would at the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-vestibule-door-opens-onto-a-june-morning-so-fine-and-scrubbed/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [We remake the world through our technologies, and these in turn remake and extend us, in ever spiraling lattices of complexity. McLuhan uncannily foresaw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-w-powe/we-remake-the-world-through-our-technologies-and-these-in-turn-remake/) [B. W. Powe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-w-powe/) > [Stories have a tendency to seep across the shining membrane walls separating the universes. They whisper and flutter like the feathers of birds, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-barnhill/stories-have-a-tendency-to-seep-across-the-shining-membrane-walls/) [Kelly Barnhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-barnhill/) > [There is no knowing beyond that membrane, the meniscus of death. What can be seen from here is distorted, refracted. All we can know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-is-no-knowing-beyond-that-membrane-the-meniscus-of-death-what/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg: she is a sealed vessel; she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-stands-and-moves-within-the-invisible-pentacle-of-her-own/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The distinguishing of the strata, or layers, in the embryonic membrane was a turning-point in the study of the history of evolution, and placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ernst-von-baer/the-distinguishing-of-the-strata-or-layers-in-the-embryonic-membrane/) [Karl Ernst von Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ernst-von-baer/) > [We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are. More than our parents/children/teachers think we are. We fear that we actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-fear-discovering-that-we-are-more-than-we-think-we-are-more-than/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Hell was a living place inside every membrane of flesh that temporarily passed itself off as human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/hell-was-a-living-place-inside-every-membrane-of-flesh-that/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [The world was full of beauty. She wanted to grab hold of it and take it down into her bones. Yet always it seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/the-world-was-full-of-beauty-she-wanted-to-grab-hold-of-it-and-take/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [The cause of Sense, is the External Body, or Object, which presseth the organ proper to each Sense, either immediately, as in theTaste and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/the-cause-of-sense-is-the-external-body-or-object-which-presseth-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [For some people, getting pregnant is as easy as catching cold." And there certainly was an analogy there: Colds and babies were both caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/for-some-people-getting-pregnant-is-as-easy-as-catching-cold-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Erica Jong > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-to-spend-my-declining-years-writing-poetry-and-teaching-but/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Naomi Wolf dares to explode the myth of 'victim feminism' and pleads for allowing women to be as full of good and bad desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/naomi-wolf-dares-to-explode-the-myth-of-victim-feminism-and-pleads/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I knew I was in England by the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-knew-i-was-in-england-by-the-smell/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-lives-of-great-men-are-more-oft-at-variance-with-their-profess-d/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Many, many people have done a lot more sexual experimentation than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/many-many-people-have-done-a-lot-more-sexual-experimentation-than-i/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Is life much too long for an immortal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/is-life-much-too-long-for-an-immortal/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Don't ye know that ev'ry Soul on Earth feels itself to be an Orphan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/don-t-ye-know-that-ev-ry-soul-on-earth-feels-itself-to-be-an-orphan/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) [Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 3,047 Aim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance between author and reader so that the book becomes a sort of semipermeable membrane through which feelings, ideas, nutrients pass.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erica Jong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remove-the-distance-between/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aim" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remove-the-distance-between/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/erica-jong-445_aim_the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remo_2869918.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The aim of my writing is to utterly remove the distance between author and reader so that the book becomes a…” — Erica Jong", "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": "Erica Jong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The aim of my writing is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remove-the-distance-between/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-aim-of-my-writing-is-to-utterly-remove-the-distance-between/#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 } } ] } ```