--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a writer, you should not judge, you…" description: "\"As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/ernest-hemingway-83_judge_as-a-writer-you-should-not-judge-you-sho_2848001.jpg" --- # As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand. ![“As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/ernest-hemingway-83_judge_as-a-writer-you-should-not-judge-you-sho_2848001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/ernest-hemingway-83_judge_as-a-writer-you-should-not-judge-you-sho_2848001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c39/ernest-hemingway-83_judge_as-a-writer-you-should-not-judge-you-sho_2848001.jpg) > “As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## 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 prioritize empathy over criticism, seeking to understand subjects before forming judgments. **In simple terms:** Writers need empathy, not judgment. Key Takeaway Practice listening before evaluating. Themes writing empathy understanding Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - interviews - character development - editorial work - journalism Key Concepts perspective taking critical thinking creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can you deepen your empathy? - What barriers prevent true understanding? A Different Perspective Understanding may be limited by personal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge/) [Judge Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-understand-2005706/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-judge-3772984/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am a writer and not a judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-am-a-writer-and-not-a-judge/) [Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/) > [“You should not judge; you should understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-should-not-judge-you-should-understand/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [If you would judge, understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-would-judge-understand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For people to judge me, I understand. There's nothing I can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cora/for-people-to-judge-me-i-understand-there-s-nothing-i-can-do/) [Alex Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cora/) > [“We are all different. Don’t judge, understand instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/we-are-all-different-don-t-judge-understand-instead/) [Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [A writer's problem does not change. It is always how to write truly and having found out what is true to project it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-writer-s-problem-does-not-change-it-is-always-how-to-write-truly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I am the worst judge of my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-am-the-worst-judge-of-my-books/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [Conscience warns us as a friend before it punishes us as a judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/conscience-warns-us-as-a-friend-before-it-punishes-us-as-a-judge/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [I judge people by their own principles..not by my own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-judge-people-by-their-own-principles-not-by-my-own/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-mind-anything-that-anyone-tells-you-about-anyone-else-judge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Powers Hapgood had just come from court because there was some kind of dust-up on a picket line. The judge was so curious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/powers-hapgood-had-just-come-from-court-because-there-was-some-kind/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“While you judge me by my outward appearance I am silently doing the same to you, even though there's a ninety-percent chance that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/while-you-judge-me-by-my-outward-appearance-i-am-silently-doing-the/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I have no faith in my ability to judge things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-have-no-faith-in-my-ability-to-judge-things/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Judge quotes > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [Dont judge me by my hair, my skin colour, my body size, or my outer beauty. 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Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If you've raged, if you've mistreated somebody, if you've ever thought only about yourself - these are things that all human beings struggle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/if-you-ve-raged-if-you-ve-mistreated-somebody-if-you-ve-ever-thought/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [Out of sight, out of touch, has not the power to finish it up, not you ,but I am the judge, and I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/out-of-sight-out-of-touch-has-not-the-power-to-finish-it-up-not-you/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [I think if you're too embroiled in the need to relate too closely to the character, then you start to judge the character for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-think-if-you-re-too-embroiled-in-the-need-to-relate-too-closely-to/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [If you think it's necessary to judge me by my past, don't get mad when I put you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/if-you-think-it-s-necessary-to-judge-me-by-my-past-don-t-get-mad-when/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Who are you to judge me for what I do,for what I feel, what I view, what I express, this my life, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimanvir-jhawar/who-are-you-to-judge-me-for-what-i-do-for-what-i-feel-what-i-view/) [Aimanvir Jhawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimanvir-jhawar/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) [Jacklyn H Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacklyn-h-lucas/) > [When Chipotle asked me to take part in the Cultivating Thought program both as an author and an essay contest judge, I was excited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-esquivel/when-chipotle-asked-me-to-take-part-in-the-cultivating-thought/) [Laura Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-esquivel/) > [“I hope there is less stigma and judgment against working moms and childless career women. 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