--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Write what you know will always be…" description: "\"Write what you know will always be excellent advice for those who ought not to write at all. Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/gore-vidal-466_advice_write-what-you-know-will-always-be-excel_1203369.jpg" --- # Write what you know will always be excellent advice for… ![“Write what you know will always be excellent advice for those who ought not to write at all. Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/gore-vidal-466_advice_write-what-you-know-will-always-be-excel_1203369.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/gore-vidal-466_advice_write-what-you-know-will-always-be-excel_1203369.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6d/gore-vidal-466_advice_write-what-you-know-will-always-be-excel_1203369.jpg) > “Write what you know will always be excellent advice for those who ought not to write at all. Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advice should be grounded in personal expertise; however, imagination and speculation also have value. **In simple terms:** Write what you know, but imagine too. Key Takeaway Balance expertise with creativity. Themes writing creativity expertise Mood inspirational thoughtful Type advice creative When to use this quote - teaching - content creation - brainstorming sessions Key Concepts literature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When should you trust intuition over knowledge? - How to encourage creative risk‑taking? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on expertise can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't always refuse to go shopping with your wife. Of course it's a nuisance, but sometimes she honestly wants your advice, and you ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-ebbutt/don-t-always-refuse-to-go-shopping-with-your-wife-of-course-it-s-a/) [Blanche Ebbutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-ebbutt/) > [Were I to write what I know, the book would be too sensational to print, but were I to write what I think proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-coolbrith/were-i-to-write-what-i-know-the-book-would-be-too-sensational-to/) Ina Coolbrith > [Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/write-what-you-think-what-you-imagine-what-you-suspect/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sometimes I try to concentrate on the story I would like to write, and I realize that what interests me is something else entirely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/sometimes-i-try-to-concentrate-on-the-story-i-would-like-to-write-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I tell my students that the odds of their getting published and of it bringing them financial security, peace of mind, and even joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-tell-my-students-that-the-odds-of-their-getting-published-and-of-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“No man ought to write at all, or even to speak at all, unless he thinks that he is in truth and the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/no-man-ought-to-write-at-all-or-even-to-speak-at-all-unless-he-thinks/) [G.K. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Theodore Dreiser Should ought to write nicer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/theodore-dreiser-should-ought-to-write-nicer/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a first duty after one has written to exact the highest possible price.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-consider-it-a-first-duty-after/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [There are significant moments in everyone's day that can make literature. That's what you ought to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/there-are-significant-moments-in-everyone-s-day-that-can-make/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) Mak\_786 > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. 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Sweet, honest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aprilynne-pike/if-your-clothes-are-enough-to-drive-would-be-friends-away-they-re-not/) [Aprilynne Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aprilynne-pike/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. 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