--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Persistence is worth at least as much as…" description: "\"Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The writing life is not a series of gentle encouragements. It's more like a series of brutal kicks in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png" --- # Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The… ![“Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The writing life is not a series of gentle encouragements. It's more like a series of brutal kicks in the teeth. Those who grow a thick enough skin to persevere, survive. Those who do not, do not.” quote by Gardner Dozois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png) > “Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The writing life is not a series of gentle encouragements. It's more like a series of brutal kicks in the teeth. Those who grow a thick enough skin to persevere, survive. Those who do not, do not.” [Gardner Dozois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-dozois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success depends more on relentless effort than innate ability, and the creative field often delivers harsh criticism that only the resilient can endure. **In simple terms:** Hard work beats talent; criticism is tough. Key Takeaway Build resilience, keep writing. Themes perseverance creativity resilience Mood determined realistic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - writing career - freelance work - publishing submissions - creative workshops Key Concepts growth mindset psychology of criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle harsh feedback? - What habits build thick skin? A Different Perspective Talent alone cannot guarantee success without perseverance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Kicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kicks/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Persevere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persevere/) [Persevere Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persevere-survive-4586329/) [Persistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persistence/) [Persistence Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persistence-worth-4586328/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Talent Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent-writing-450562/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Thick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thick/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-life/) ## Related quotes > [“Writing doesn’t get any easier with time or talent. If writing is easy for you, you’re probably still learning the craft. You haven’t perfected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/writing-doesn-t-get-any-easier-with-time-or-talent-if-writing-is-easy/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [“Reading novels needs almost as much talent as writing them,' he used to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/reading-novels-needs-almost-as-much-talent-as-writing-them-he-used-to/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [I have tried to explore the little talent I have for writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-cusack/i-have-tried-to-explore-the-little-talent-i-have-for-writing/) [Cyril Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-cusack/) > [For me, the challenge is just making great albums, because talent - and writing in general - is not tangible. There's no expiration date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/for-me-the-challenge-is-just-making-great-albums-because-talent-and/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [I have put my talent into writing, my genius I have saved for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-have-put-my-talent-into-writing-my-genius-i-have-saved-for-living/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If I haven't any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/if-i-haven-t-any-talent-for-writing-books-or-newspaper-articles-well/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [“Horace Greeley cautioned one upstate hopeful: “You do not realize how little the mere talent of writing well has to do with success or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/horace-greeley-cautioned-one-upstate-hopeful-you-do-not-realize-how/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/it-took-me-fifteen-years-to-discover-i-had-no-talent-for-writing-but/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Even if you can sing or even if you can write a song, it takes a lot of determination, it takes some kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/even-if-you-can-sing-or-even-if-you-can-write-a-song-it-takes-a-lot/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [“Don't give up too soon. If you persevere you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/don-t-give-up-too-soon-if-you-persevere-you-will-succeed/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The Qur'an does not ask for human perfection, but rather asks that we persevere in striving for self-improvement and that we never become complacent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-lang/the-qur-an-does-not-ask-for-human-perfection-but-rather-asks-that-we/) [Jeffrey Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-lang/) > [God helps those who persevere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quran/god-helps-those-who-persevere/) [Quran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quran/) > [Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-of-good-cheer-do-not-think-of-today-s-failures-but-of-the-success/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [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/) ## More by Gardner Dozois > [To write good SF today...you must push further and harder, reach deeper into your own mind until you break through into the strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/to-write-good-sf-today-you-must-push-further-and-harder-reach-deeper/) [Gardner Dozois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-dozois/) > [ I pulled out the manuscript \[from the envelope\] and a great big stiff cardboard finger sprung up. This is someone that was so certain… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/i-pulled-out-the-manuscript-from-the-envelope-and-a-great-big-stiff/) [Gardner Dozois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-dozois/) [Explore all 3 Gardner Dozois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-dozois/) ## More Brutal quotes > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [I find that truly heartbreaking that, like, it's such a common, constant thing in people's lives - a brutal abuse of people by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/i-find-that-truly-heartbreaking-that-like-it-s-such-a-common-constant/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minka-kelly/i-think-brutal-honesty-is-extremely-important-don-t-be-afraid-of/) [Minka Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minka-kelly/) > [When my friends have been heartbroken, I give them a shoulder to cry on and some brutal advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-higgins/when-my-friends-have-been-heartbroken-i-give-them-a-shoulder-to-cry/) [Maura Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maura-higgins/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/) [Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/) > [I do have one very brutal writing ritual. If I'm working in the morning, I don't allow myself a cup of tea until I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/i-do-have-one-very-brutal-writing-ritual-if-i-m-working-in-the/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 790 Brutal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The writing life is not a series of gentle encouragements. It's more like a series of brutal kicks in the teeth. Those who grow a thick enough skin to persevere, survive. Those who do not, do not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gardner Dozois" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as-talent-the-writing-life-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as-talent-the-writing-life-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/gardner-dozois-84936_brutal_persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as_2161156.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Persistence is worth at least as much as talent. The writing life is not a series of gentle encouragements…” — Gardner Dozois", "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": "Gardner Dozois", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gardner-dozois/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Persistence is worth at least as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as-talent-the-writing-life-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gardner-dozois/persistence-is-worth-at-least-as-much-as-talent-the-writing-life-is/#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 } } ] } ```