--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be truthful, some writers stop you…" description: "\"To be truthful, some writers stop you dead in your tracks by making you see your own work in the most unflattering light. Each of us will meet a differ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/francine-prose-9354_art_to-be-truthful-some-writers-stop-you-dea_2071306.jpg" --- # To be truthful, some writers stop you dead in your tracks… ![“To be truthful, some writers stop you dead in your tracks by making you see your own work in the most unflattering light. Each of us will meet a different harbinger of personal failure, some innocent genius chosen by us for reasons having to do with what we see as our own inadequacies. The only…” quote by Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/francine-prose-9354_art_to-be-truthful-some-writers-stop-you-dea_2071306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/francine-prose-9354_art_to-be-truthful-some-writers-stop-you-dea_2071306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/francine-prose-9354_art_to-be-truthful-some-writers-stop-you-dea_2071306.jpg) > “To be truthful, some writers stop you dead in your tracks by making you see your own work in the most unflattering light. Each of us will meet a different harbinger of personal failure, some innocent genius chosen by us for reasons having to do with what we see as our own inadequacies. The only remedy to this I have found is to read a writer whose work is entirely different from another, though not necessarily more like your own—a difference that will remind you of how many rooms there are in the house of art.” [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing one's own flaws through contrasting writers reveals hidden weaknesses and expands artistic perspective. **In simple terms:** Seeing your work through others' eyes shows blind spots. Key Takeaway Read diverse authors to broaden self‑awareness. Themes self‑critique artistic growth diversity Mood reflective introspective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - personal development - editorial feedback Key Concepts cognitive dissonance creative humility Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure the contrast truly challenges you? - What criteria help you choose a contrasting writer? A Different Perspective Different styles may reinforce existing biases rather than challenge them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Being truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-truthful/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Inadequacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequacy/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truthful/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If a writer is honest, if what is at stake for him can seem to matter to his readers, then his work may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/if-a-writer-is-honest-if-what-is-at-stake-for-him-can-seem-to-matter/) [Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/) > [When writers stop believing in their own stories, readers tend to sense it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/when-writers-stop-believing-in-their-own-stories-readers-tend-to/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I am not retiring. 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This writer wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-clark/a-book-i-can-put-down-i-m-halfway-through-and-i-ve-gotten-used-to-the/) Antonia Clark > [I don't read other writers because I'm writing all the time. It's too disturbing to read a writer with a good style when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-don-t-read-other-writers-because-i-m-writing-all-the-time-it-s-too/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More by Francine Prose > [“I'm out of the equation, an innocent bystander at the major love affair Joan is having with Joan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-m-out-of-the-equation-an-innocent-bystander-at-the-major-love/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. 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Though it also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-ve-always-thought-that-a-close-reading-course-should-at-least-be-a/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“Not all great writers may seem great to us, regardless of how often and how hard we try to see their virtues. I know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/not-all-great-writers-may-seem-great-to-us-regardless-of-how-often/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [Like seeing a photograph of yourself as a child, encountering handwriting that you know was once yours but that now seems only dimly familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/like-seeing-a-photograph-of-yourself-as-a-child-encountering/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > ['One Hundred Years of Solitude' convinced me to drop out of Harvard graduate school. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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