--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not as if I knew answers which I am…" description: "\"It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down in the form of a novel or a memoir or a sermon. It's, rather, I'm going to search myself for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png" --- # It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down… ![“It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down in the form of a novel or a memoir or a sermon. It's, rather, I'm going to search myself for what I might have to say in this area.” quote by Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png) > “It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down in the form of a novel or a memoir or a sermon. It's, rather, I'm going to search myself for what I might have to say in this area.” [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sees writing as a personal search for meaning rather than delivering definitive answers. **In simple terms:** Writing is a journey of self‑discovery. Key Takeaway Approach writing as exploration. Themes writing self‑discovery search Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - journaling - memoir - creative nonfiction Key Concepts existential inquiry personal narrative spiritual quest Questions to Reflect On - What do you hope to uncover through writing? - How does uncertainty shape your voice? A Different Perspective May lead to ambiguous conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Sermons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermons/) ## Related quotes > [When I was young, I would try to give the right answers. 'I'm going to try to slide.' But at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taysom-hill/when-i-was-young-i-would-try-to-give-the-right-answers-i-m-going-to/) [Taysom Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taysom-hill/) > [“We are going out again in search of the American dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/we-are-going-out-again-in-search-of-the-american-dream/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [For the rest of my life I'm going to search for someone just like you...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/for-the-rest-of-my-life-i-m-going-to-search-for-someone-just-like-you/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [I had wanted to write 'The Possessed' as fiction, but everyone told me that no one would read a novel about graduate students. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-had-wanted-to-write-the-possessed-as-fiction-but-everyone-told-me/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [If you always dreamed of writing a novel or a memoir, and you used to love to write, and were pretty good at it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/if-you-always-dreamed-of-writing-a-novel-or-a-memoir-and-you-used-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I don't remember reading much at all during the writing of Eileen. I go through several years-long dry spells and I don't feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-don-t-remember-reading-much-at-all-during-the-writing-of-eileen-i/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [I've been thinking a lot about why it was so important to me to do The Idiot as a novel, and not a memoir.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-ve-been-thinking-a-lot-about-why-it-was-so-important-to-me-to-do/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [What gets me back to church, I think, is thinking maybe this time that question "Is it true?" will be answered, not just in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/what-gets-me-back-to-church-i-think-is-thinking-maybe-this-time-that/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Jesus is apt to come, into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable moments. Not in a blaze of unearthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/jesus-is-apt-to-come-into-the-very-midst-of-life-at-its-most-real-and/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [it's not my job to preach a sermon. Art is anyhow a homily. My job is to speak in living images, not in arguments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/it-s-not-my-job-to-preach-a-sermon-art-is-anyhow-a-homily-my-job-is/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [The pious farmer, who ne'er misses pray'rs, With patience suffers unexpected rain; He blesses Heav'n for what its bounty spares, And sees, resign'd, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/the-pious-farmer-who-ne-er-misses-pray-rs-with-patience-suffers/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [“The same Sermon on the Mount that influenced Tolstoy to write “The Kingdom of God is Within You”, inspired me to a great extent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-same-sermon-on-the-mount-that-influenced-tolstoy-to-write-the/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Sermons are like pie-crust, the shorter the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/sermons-are-like-pie-crust-the-shorter-the-better/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [As it can be maintained that all the great advances have come from men under forty, so the history of the world shows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/as-it-can-be-maintained-that-all-the-great-advances-have-come-from/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [Christ never preached any funeral sermons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/christ-never-preached-any-funeral-sermons/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) ## More by Frederick Buechner > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it didfor millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-is-impossible-to-conceive-how-different-things-would-have-turned/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [At least to look back over their own lives, as I have looked back over mine, for certain themes and patterns and signals that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/at-least-to-look-back-over-their-own-lives-as-i-have-looked-back-over/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Snobs are people who look down on other people, but that does not justify our looking down on them. Who can say what dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/snobs-are-people-who-look-down-on-other-people-but-that-does-not/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I could, of course, have done no more if no less than affiliated myself in one way or another with a particular church, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/i-could-of-course-have-done-no-more-if-no-less-than-affiliated-myself/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/even-the-saddest-things-can-become-once-we-have-made-peace-with-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [A Christian isn't necessarily any nicer than anybody else, just better informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/a-christian-isn-t-necessarily-any-nicer-than-anybody-else-just-better/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“The things that the world fills time with are enough to turn the heart to stone, but the goodness of time itself is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/the-things-that-the-world-fills-time-with-are-enough-to-turn-the/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The pride that keeps us from forgiving is the same pride which keeps us from accepting forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/the-pride-that-keeps-us-from-forgiving-is-the-same-pride-which-keeps/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but a the same time you carry them with you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/you-can-kiss-your-family-and-friends-good-bye-and-put-miles-between/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [If the truth is worth telling, it is worth making a fool of yourself to tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/if-the-truth-is-worth-telling-it-is-worth-making-a-fool-of-yourself/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I suspect that Jesus spoke many of his parables as a kind of sad and holy joke and that that may be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/i-suspect-that-jesus-spoke-many-of-his-parables-as-a-kind-of-sad-and/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“How Adewen stuffed her braid in her mouth at that! Or she'd cover her mirth with her hands and shake till you'd think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/how-adewen-stuffed-her-braid-in-her-mouth-at-that-or-she-d-cover-her/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/resurrection-means-that-the-worst-thing-is-never-the-last-thing/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) [Explore all 339 Frederick Buechner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down in the form of a novel or a memoir or a sermon. It's, rather, I'm going to search myself for what I might have to say in this area.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Buechner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am-going-to-set-down-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am-going-to-set-down-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/527/frederick-buechner-883_answers_it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am_1652308.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not as if I knew answers which I am going to set down in the form of a novel or a memoir or a sermon…” — Frederick Buechner", "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": "Frederick Buechner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's not as if I knew...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am-going-to-set-down-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-s-not-as-if-i-knew-answers-which-i-am-going-to-set-down-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```