--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write for myself and strangers. The…" description: "\"I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.\" — Gertrude Stein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/gertrude-stein-667_afterthought_i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-str_103779.jpg" --- # I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear… ![“I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.” quote by Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/gertrude-stein-667_afterthought_i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-str_103779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/gertrude-stein-667_afterthought_i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-str_103779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/gertrude-stein-667_afterthought_i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-the-str_103779.jpg) > “I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought.” [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer creates work primarily for personal expression, while the audience of strangers is a secondary consideration. **In simple terms:** Writing is first self‑directed, then for readers. Key Takeaway Creative work originates from the author, not the audience. Themes creativity authorial intent audience Mood introspective confident Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - Blogging for personal reflection - Journaling before sharing excerpts - Composing music without a target market Key Concepts self‑expression artistic autonomy Practical Applications - Write without worrying about immediate reception - Use feedback later to refine, not dictate Questions to Reflect On - How does audience feedback influence future work? - Can a writer truly ignore readers? A Different Perspective Even if strangers are an afterthought, their reactions can later reshape the creator’s direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterthought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterthought/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Readers Afterthought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-afterthought-1251222/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers/) [Strangers Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers-dear-1251223/) [Strangers Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers-strangers-1099929/) [Write Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-strangers-1251221/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I am writing for myself and strangers. This is the only way that I can do it. Everybody is a real one to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-writing-for-myself-and-strangers-this-is-the-only-way-that-i-can-2/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“We were as strangers, in the moment-as intimate as strangers-for strangers know more of us, and can judge of us more without reproach than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/we-were-as-strangers-in-the-moment-as-intimate-as-strangers-for/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [“In some ways we were more remote than strangers because strangers at least have the possibility of yet unmade connections.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hegland/in-some-ways-we-were-more-remote-than-strangers-because-strangers-at/) [Jean Hegland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hegland/) > [There are times when family are like strangers, and strangers are like family. Both sets of people are priceless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/there-are-times-when-family-are-like-strangers-and-strangers-are-like/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“She was a stranger in a world of strangers and they were strangers she had left behind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-was-a-stranger-in-a-world-of-strangers-and-they-were-strangers/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [Gertrude Stein said, "I write for myself and strangers." I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Most of the strangers we fall in love with seem to act as strangers rather than being strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/most-of-the-strangers-we-fall-in-love-with-seem-to-act-as-strangers/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“We're strangers again. Strangers sharing the same soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-godwin/we-re-strangers-again-strangers-sharing-the-same-soul/) [Pam Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-godwin/) > [Our very lives depend on the ethics of strangers, and most of us are always strangers to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/our-very-lives-depend-on-the-ethics-of-strangers-and-most-of-us-are/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [I am writing for myself and strangers. This is the only way that I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-writing-for-myself-and-strangers-this-is-the-only-way-that-i-can/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Indigenous programs and policy will come within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet because Indigenous policy and programs should not be an add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/indigenous-programs-and-policy-will-come-within-the-department-of/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [Each one of us is not a divine afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-one-of-us-is-not-a-divine-afterthought/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“I was an afterthought, five thousand years later. A mistake, because Ciana was gone. I was the dissonant note on the end of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-meadows/i-was-an-afterthought-five-thousand-years-later-a-mistake-because/) [Jodi Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-meadows/) > [It's a great time to be a comedian because you've got so much more control. You can say what you want to. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/it-s-a-great-time-to-be-a-comedian-because-you-ve-got-so-much-more/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More by Gertrude Stein > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“When is there some discharge when. There never is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/when-is-there-some-discharge-when-there-never-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [There is no such thing as repetition. Only insistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-is-no-such-thing-as-repetition-only-insistance/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I am I because my little dog knows me but, creatively speaking the little dog knowing that you are you and your recognising that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-am-i-because-my-little-dog-knows-me-but-creatively-speaking-the/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [How likely are definitions to be pleasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/how-likely-are-definitions-to-be-pleasurable/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [ “What is the answer?" \[ I \[Alice B Toklas\] was silent \] In that case, what is the question?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/what-is-the-answer-i-alice-b-toklas-was-silent-in-that-case-what-is/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [More and more I like to take a train. I understand why the French prefer it to automobiling it is so much more sociable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/more-and-more-i-like-to-take-a-train-i-understand-why-the-french/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Adventure is making the distant approach nearer but romance is having what is where it is which is not where you are stay where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/adventure-is-making-the-distant-approach-nearer-but-romance-is-having/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Forensics is eloquence and reduction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/forensics-is-eloquence-and-reduction/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Eating and sleeping are not like loving and breathing. Washing is not like eating and sleeping. Believing is like breathing and loving. Religion can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/eating-and-sleeping-are-not-like-loving-and-breathing-washing-is-not/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“A bag which was left and not only taken but turned away was not found. The place was shown to be very like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/a-bag-which-was-left-and-not-only-taken-but-turned-away-was-not-found/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I don't envisage collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism, sometimes the rest vote and sometimes they do not, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-don-t-envisage-collectivism-there-is-no-such-animal-it-is-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [There are two kinds of men and women, those who have in them resisting as their way of winning those who have in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-are-two-kinds-of-men-and-women-those-who-have-in-them-resisting/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) [Explore all 418 Gertrude Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## More Afterthought quotes > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [It's a great time to be a comedian because you've got so much more control. You can say what you want to. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/it-s-a-great-time-to-be-a-comedian-because-you-ve-got-so-much-more/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [“I was an afterthought, five thousand years later. A mistake, because Ciana was gone. I was the dissonant note on the end of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-meadows/i-was-an-afterthought-five-thousand-years-later-a-mistake-because/) [Jodi Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-meadows/) > [Each one of us is not a divine afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-one-of-us-is-not-a-divine-afterthought/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Indigenous programs and policy will come within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet because Indigenous policy and programs should not be an add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/indigenous-programs-and-policy-will-come-within-the-department-of/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [Getting to the top isn't bad, and it's probably best done as an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-wilson-schaef/getting-to-the-top-isn-t-bad-and-it-s-probably-best-done-as-an/) [Anne Wilson Schaef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-wilson-schaef/) > [How much reverence has a noble man for his enemies!--and such reverence is a bridge to love.--For he desires his enemy for himself, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/how-much-reverence-has-a-noble-man-for-his-enemies-and-such-reverence/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [People shouldn't notice what you're wearing before they notice you. You want people to register you first. 'Oh, what a nice jacket' should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/people-shouldn-t-notice-what-you-re-wearing-before-they-notice-you/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [Humor is not a postscript or an incidental afterthought; it is a serious and weighty part of the world's economy. One feels increasingly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-w-firkins/humor-is-not-a-postscript-or-an-incidental-afterthought-it-is-a/) [Oscar W. Firkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-w-firkins/) > [The technology backbone is no longer an afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-price/the-technology-backbone-is-no-longer-an-afterthought/) [Nick Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-price/) > [“Then, as another afterthought, he had added, “We Don’t Rent Pigs,” which occasioned yet another argument with Call.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-as-another-afterthought-he-had-added-we-don-t-rent-pigs-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are not an afterthought, you are not an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/you-are-not-an-afterthought-you-are-not-an-accident/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“You are not an afterthought. You are an everythought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-diedrich/you-are-not-an-afterthought-you-are-an-everythought/) [Kirk Diedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-diedrich/) > [The church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-church-lies-at-the-very-center-of-the-eternal-purpose-of-god-it/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [Humans are not the end result of predictable evolutionary progress, but rather a fortuitous cosmic afterthought, a tiny little twig on the enormously arborescent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/humans-are-not-the-end-result-of-predictable-evolutionary-progress/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Browse all 53 Afterthought quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterthought/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write for myself and strangers. 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