--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To write for a living, according to Mr…" description: "\"To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is coquetting with starvation.\" — Francis Alexander Durivage" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg" --- # To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is… ![“To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is coquetting with starvation.” quote by Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg) > “To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is coquetting with starvation.” [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing professionally can feel like flirting with hunger, suggesting that creative work may be financially precarious. **In simple terms:** Writing for money can feel like starving while flirting. Key Takeaway Balance passion with practical income strategies. Themes creativity financial insecurity artistic labor Mood anxious reflective Type advice cautionary When to use this quote - freelance writing - journalism - content creation - self‑publishing Key Concepts economics of art sustainability creative risk Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain creativity when income is uncertain? - What alternative revenue streams can support artistic work? A Different Perspective Financial instability may outweigh artistic fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Starvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starvation/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A writer who attempts to live on the manufacture of his imagination is continually coquetting with starvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/a-writer-who-attempts-to-live-on-the-manufacture-of-his-imagination/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [“Before I continue, I just want to write about living every day like your last one. I don’t agree with it at all. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cave-man/before-i-continue-i-just-want-to-write-about-living-every-day-like/) Cave Man > [When you write for a living and you can't do anything else, you know that sooner or later that the deadline is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/when-you-write-for-a-living-and-you-can-t-do-anything-else-you-know/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [I'm a writer. I write not only for a living, I write because I'm a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-jennings/i-m-a-writer-i-write-not-only-for-a-living-i-write-because-i-m-a/) [Gary Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-jennings/) > [There's a difference between writing for a living and writing for life. If you write for a living, you make enormous compromises… If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-s-a-difference-between-writing-for-a-living-and-writing-for/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I had my jazz club and I had enough money. So I didn't have to write for my living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-had-my-jazz-club-and-i-had-enough-money-so-i-didn-t-have-to-write/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I write about living, not dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-diamond/i-write-about-living-not-dying/) [John Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-diamond/) > [I just wanna write about what I am living as a citizen. That's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jain/i-just-wanna-write-about-what-i-am-living-as-a-citizen-that-s-all/) [Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jain/) > [If you're going to write for a living, you should find something fun to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-you-re-going-to-write-for-a-living-you-should-find-something-fun/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“I didn't always write for a living, and even back when it was my most fondly held dream to one day be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-didn-t-always-write-for-a-living-and-even-back-when-it-was-my-most/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [I do choose to write for a living - in addition to writing plays. 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When I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/during-the-act-of-making-something-i-experience-a-kind-of-blissful/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) ## More by Francis Alexander Durivage > [How much of love lies buried in dusty graves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/how-much-of-love-lies-buried-in-dusty-graves/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [There are some professed Christians who would gladly burn their enemies, but yet who forgive them merely because it is heaping coals of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/there-are-some-professed-christians-who-would-gladly-burn-their/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [If you tell a woman she is beautiful, whisper it softly, for if the devil hears, he will echo it many times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/if-you-tell-a-woman-she-is-beautiful-whisper-it-softly-for-if-the/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [The highest art is artlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/the-highest-art-is-artlessness/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [The ignorant ever shun and dread the gifted and enlightened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/the-ignorant-ever-shun-and-dread-the-gifted-and-enlightened/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [Real merit requires as much labor, to be placed in a true light, as humbug to be elevated to an unworthy eminence; only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/real-merit-requires-as-much-labor-to-be-placed-in-a-true-light-as/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) > [The diamond of character is revealed by the concussion of misfortune, as the splendor of the precious jewel of the mine is developed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/the-diamond-of-character-is-revealed-by-the-concussion-of-misfortune/) [Francis Alexander Durivage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) [Explore all 8 Francis Alexander Durivage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is coquetting with starvation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Alexander Durivage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-whipple-is-coquetting-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-whipple-is-coquetting-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/francis-alexander-durivage-480_life_to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-wh_2669879.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To write for a living, according to Mr. Whipple, is coquetting with starvation.” — Francis Alexander Durivage", "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": "Francis Alexander Durivage", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-alexander-durivage/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To write for a living, according...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-whipple-is-coquetting-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-alexander-durivage/to-write-for-a-living-according-to-mr-whipple-is-coquetting-with/#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 } } ] } ```