--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: we write as if our lives depended upon…" description: "\"we write as if our lives depended upon it. They do.\" — Erica Jong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/erica-jong-445_depended_we-write-as-if-our-lives-depended-upon-i_2914972.jpg" --- # we write as if our lives depended upon it. They do. ![“we write as if our lives depended upon it. They do.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/erica-jong-445_depended_we-write-as-if-our-lives-depended-upon-i_2914972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/erica-jong-445_depended_we-write-as-if-our-lives-depended-upon-i_2914972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/erica-jong-445_depended_we-write-as-if-our-lives-depended-upon-i_2914972.jpg) > “we write as if our lives depended upon it. They do.” [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 quote stresses the urgency and dedication writers feel, implying their work is vital for survival. **In simple terms:** Writing feels essential, like survival. Key Takeaway Write with purpose and urgency. Themes creativity dedication urgency Mood intense reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - writing deadlines - personal expression - publishing pressures Key Concepts existentialism artistic drive Questions to Reflect On - How does urgency affect your creative process? - What would change if you felt less pressure? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overstate the literal stakes of writing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depended/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Lives Depended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-depended-2569055/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-lives-1485353/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We need to respect the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/we-need-to-respect-the-oceans-and-take-care-of-them-as-if-our-lives/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [If all human lives depended upon their usefulness - as might be judged by certain standards - there would be a sudden and terrific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/if-all-human-lives-depended-upon-their-usefulness-as-might-be-judged/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [“I wonder why people you have to meet have to be such liars. They lie as if their lives depended on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryu-murakami/i-wonder-why-people-you-have-to-meet-have-to-be-such-liars-they-lie/) [Ryū Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryu-murakami/) > [“Story is the bandage of the broken. Sutures of the shattered. The tapestry upon which we write our lives. Upon which we lay the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-martin/story-is-the-bandage-of-the-broken-sutures-of-the-shattered-the/) [Charles Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-martin/) > [“If I could sum up the lives of people like me—people whose parents don’t write books, whose aunties and cousins don’t step onto college…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-hernandez/if-i-could-sum-up-the-lives-of-people-like-me-people-whose-parents/) [Daisy Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-hernandez/) > [“Julian curses his fixation: Ultimately, he should have his time writing down the conversations that floated up from the bar beneath the apartment he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-zambra/julian-curses-his-fixation-ultimately-he-should-have-his-time-writing/) [Alejandro Zambra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-zambra/) > [I travel, I read, I write, I have other lives. But when I have a camera, I know that's my country, my island.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leos-carax/i-travel-i-read-i-write-i-have-other-lives-but-when-i-have-a-camera-i/) [Leos Carax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leos-carax/) > [“There’s always an end. But the end is always the beginning of something else. The periods we write into our lives are always provisional,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/there-s-always-an-end-but-the-end-is-always-the-beginning-of/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Of the six million species on the planet, only man makes language. Words. What's more--in evidence of the Divine--we string those symbols together and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-martin/of-the-six-million-species-on-the-planet-only-man-makes-language/) [Charles Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-martin/) > [Taking the time to write in our lives gives us the time of our lives. As we describe our environments, we begin to savor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/taking-the-time-to-write-in-our-lives-gives-us-the-time-of-our-lives/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [When we write about our lives we respond to them. As we respond to them we are rendered more fluid, more centered, more agile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/when-we-write-about-our-lives-we-respond-to-them-as-we-respond-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“And then I realize I am the writer. I don't mean because I write. I mean because we all write our own lives. Scheherazade's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-ellis/and-then-i-realize-i-am-the-writer-i-don-t-mean-because-i-write-i/) [Samantha Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-ellis/) > [We write our lives indeed, But in a cipher none can read, Except the author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-ridley-havergal/we-write-our-lives-indeed-but-in-a-cipher-none-can-read-except-the/) [Frances Ridley Havergal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-ridley-havergal/) > [I write because the lives of all of us are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-lester/i-write-because-the-lives-of-all-of-us-are-stories-if-enough-of-those/) [Julius Lester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-lester/) > [I'm always suspicious of celebrities that write about their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-m-always-suspicious-of-celebrities-that-write-about-their-lives/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) ## 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 Depended quotes > [“The fate of many men depended on the fate of this one. And this one I could help”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/the-fate-of-many-men-depended-on-the-fate-of-this-one-and-this-one-i/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [If I depended on critics and children to make a living I'd grow broke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/if-i-depended-on-critics-and-children-to-make-a-living-i-d-grow-broke/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Cherish your friends and family as if your life depended on it. Because it does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/cherish-your-friends-and-family-as-if-your-life-depended-on-it/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [What we wanted from an agent depended on what he brought in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/what-we-wanted-from-an-agent-depended-on-what-he-brought-in/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [For me, my training is a key part of my work as so often my life has depended on being able to move fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/for-me-my-training-is-a-key-part-of-my-work-as-so-often-my-life-has/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) > [“Relationships were never equivalent: that was why it was so hard to find permanent ones. When two people depended on each other, they each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-freudenberger/relationships-were-never-equivalent-that-was-why-it-was-so-hard-to/) [Nell Freudenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-freudenberger/) > [I always knew I took care of more than myself from a young age. People depended on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deandre-hopkins/i-always-knew-i-took-care-of-more-than-myself-from-a-young-age-people/) [DeAndre Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deandre-hopkins/) > [You couldn't just pick and choose at will when someone depended on you, or loved you. It wasn't like a light switch, easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-couldn-t-just-pick-and-choose-at-will-when-someone-depended-on/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Once you lose your parents, you get this numbness, this feeling of having to really be able to connect yourself with someone. I depended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-beach/once-you-lose-your-parents-you-get-this-numbness-this-feeling-of/) [Adam Beach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-beach/) > [Oh God, my choice of film has never depended on the hero. In fact, you will see that some of my categorical mistakes had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/oh-god-my-choice-of-film-has-never-depended-on-the-hero-in-fact-you/) [Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/) > [“The other principle we depended on was “Trust the Process.” We liked this one because it was so reassuring: While there are inevitably difficulties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-catmull/the-other-principle-we-depended-on-was-trust-the-process-we-liked/) [Ed Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-catmull/) > [You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/you-must-write-and-read-as-if-your-life-depended-on-it/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I have always believed that all things depended upon Fortune, and nothing upon ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-have-always-believed-that-all-things-depended-upon-fortune-and/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do... HOW WOULD I BE?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-success-or-failure-of-this-planet-and-of-human-beings-depended-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I made depended on what I found on the street. At least in the beginning, my materials came from the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/what-i-made-depended-on-what-i-found-on-the-street-at-least-in-the/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) [Browse all 80 Depended quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depended/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "we write as if our lives depended upon it. 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