---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The better the writers the less they will…"
description: "\"The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.\" — Ernest Hemingway"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg"
---

#  The better the writers the less they will speak about what…

![“The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg)

> “The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.”

[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 who are skilled tend to be modest about their work, avoiding self‑promotion.

**In simple terms:** Skilled writers stay quiet about their own work.

Key Takeaway

Let your work speak for itself.

Themes

humility modesty authorship

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

advice literary

When to use this quote

- publishing
- writing workshops
- author interviews

Key Concepts

self‑effacement confidence literary culture

Questions to Reflect On

- How does humility affect a writer’s reputation?
- When is self‑promotion appropriate?

A Different Perspective

May silence be misinterpreted as lack of confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [In company with people of your own trade you ordinarily speak of other writers' books. The better the writers the less they will speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/in-company-with-people-of-your-own-trade-you-ordinarily-speak-of/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“On my website there's a quote from the writer Anthony Burgess: "The greatest gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cheshire/on-my-website-there-s-a-quote-from-the-writer-anthony-burgess-the/)

[Simon Cheshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cheshire/)

> [Writers speak stench.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/writers-speak-stench/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [“Sentences spoken by writers, unless they have been written out first, rarely say what writers wish to say. Writers are unlucky speakers, by and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/sentences-spoken-by-writers-unless-they-have-been-written-out-first/)

[Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/)

> [I belong to a specific category of writers, those who speak and write in a language different from that of their parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/i-belong-to-a-specific-category-of-writers-those-who-speak-and-write/)

[Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/)

> [The only authors whom I acknowledge as American are the journalists. They, indeed, are not great writers, but they speak the language of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-only-authors-whom-i-acknowledge-as-american-are-the-journalists/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [For the source of the short story is usually lyrical. And all writers speak from, and speak to, emotions eternally the same in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-the-source-of-the-short-story-is-usually-lyrical-and-all-writers/)

[Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/)

> [“Great writers speak with their works not with their mouths!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/great-writers-speak-with-their-works-not-with-their-mouths/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Writers speak for those who are kept in silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/writers-speak-for-those-who-are-kept-in-silence/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [All good writers speak in honest voices and tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-good-writers-speak-in-honest-voices-and-tell-the-truth/)

[Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/)

> [“The death of self of which the great writers speak is no violent act. It is merely the joining of the great rock heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-death-of-self-of-which-the-great-writers-speak-is-no-violent-act/)

[Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/)

> [“How come you write the way you do?” an apprentice writer in my Johns Hopkins workshop once disingenuously asked Donald Barthelme, who was visiting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/how-come-you-write-the-way-you-do-an-apprentice-writer-in-my-johns/)

[John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/)

> [It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. The trick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better-writers-by-living-long-enough/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“From The Red Sox Reader: "The Yankees may have always had the better players, but the Red Sox always had the better writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-riley/from-the-red-sox-reader-the-yankees-may-have-always-had-the-better/)

Dan Riley

> [If people want to be better writers, they can't just read the blogs! You've got to look at something that's outside this rushing world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/if-people-want-to-be-better-writers-they-can-t-just-read-the-blogs/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

## 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 Funny quotes

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers &amp; think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/)

[Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/)

> [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/)

[Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/)

> [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

Pancho Barnes

> [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/)

[Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

Michael Fishman

[Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Hemingway"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Funny"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/ernest-hemingway-83_funny_the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-wil_568505.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.” — Ernest Hemingway",
                "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": "Ernest Hemingway",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The better the writers the less...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
