--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist." description: "\"I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.\" — Ian Gillan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg" --- # I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist. ![“I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.” quote by Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg) > “I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.” [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rejects self‑labeling as a writer or novelist, perhaps indicating humility or identity conflict. **In simple terms:** I’m not a writer or novelist. Key Takeaway Accept personal identity without forced labels. Themes identity humility creativity Mood introspective curious Type personal reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - career transitions - personal branding - creative collaborations Key Concepts self‑concept artistic identity Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from embracing the writer label? - How could you explore writing without pressure? A Different Perspective May limit exploration of writing potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-novelist-645428/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Well, to be honest I think I'm a better short story writer than a novelist. Novels I find very hard, hours and hours, weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-brown/well-to-be-honest-i-think-i-m-a-better-short-story-writer-than-a/) [Eric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-brown/) > [In a rough way the short story writer is to the novelist as a cabinetmaker is to a house carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/in-a-rough-way-the-short-story-writer-is-to-the-novelist-as-a/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [As far as he can achieve it, readability is as important for the scientific writer as it is for the novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-o-hebb/as-far-as-he-can-achieve-it-readability-is-as-important-for-the/) [Donald O. Hebb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-o-hebb/) > [I don’t think ‘science fiction’ is a very good name for it, but it’s the name that we’ve got. It is different from other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-don-t-think-science-fiction-is-a-very-good-name-for-it-but-it-s-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“The novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I think of myself now as a writer, although I wouldn't go as far as to say 'novelist' because that sounds like a Victorian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/i-think-of-myself-now-as-a-writer-although-i-wouldn-t-go-as-far-as-to/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Amanda herself couldn't understand why her writing was so different from her own personality. Her pen seemed to take on a life of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/amanda-herself-couldn-t-understand-why-her-writing-was-so-different/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“I love you so much. Our love is eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santonu-kumar-dhar/i-love-you-so-much-our-love-is-eternal/) [Santonu Kumar Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santonu-kumar-dhar/) > [“She'll be an excellent novelist: a monster of self-absorption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lan-samantha-chang/she-ll-be-an-excellent-novelist-a-monster-of-self-absorption/) [Lan Samantha Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lan-samantha-chang/) ## More by Ian Gillan > [I love Buffalo. The people here are wonderful, genuine; they look you straight in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-love-buffalo-the-people-here-are-wonderful-genuine-they-look-you/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [I've been in music all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-ve-been-in-music-all-my-life/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [If you think of a solo artist, you normally know them by their name; you don't normally describe their kind of music. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/if-you-think-of-a-solo-artist-you-normally-know-them-by-their-name/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [I've consciously avoided actually reading anything about Wikipedia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-ve-consciously-avoided-actually-reading-anything-about-wikipedia/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [No matter what I do, I've always recognized that Deep Purple is primarily an instrumental band. That's where all the music comes from in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/no-matter-what-i-do-i-ve-always-recognized-that-deep-purple-is/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [We soaked up everything from Beethoven to Chopin to Jimi Hendrix to Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/we-soaked-up-everything-from-beethoven-to-chopin-to-jimi-hendrix-to/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [When I picked up my guitar, I spent the first day learning the chord E, the second day A, then B7, and all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/when-i-picked-up-my-guitar-i-spent-the-first-day-learning-the-chord-e/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [Deep Purple was sinking with Ritchie. We were playing to quarter houses in Europe, which is one of our strongest territories - in Germany.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/deep-purple-was-sinking-with-ritchie-we-were-playing-to-quarter/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [My first contract was in 1965. There were six of us in this band - my band before Deep Purple - six in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/my-first-contract-was-in-1965-there-were-six-of-us-in-this-band-my/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [In the early Seventies, I bought a dilapidated hotel in north Stoke for about £100,000 and spent the same amount again renovating it, putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/in-the-early-seventies-i-bought-a-dilapidated-hotel-in-north-stoke/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [I was an avid collector of Elvis' early stuff; for a young singer, he was an absolute inspiration. I soaked up what he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-was-an-avid-collector-of-elvis-early-stuff-for-a-young-singer-he/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [The people who come to Purple shows are there for the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/the-people-who-come-to-purple-shows-are-there-for-the-music/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [How could I resist? Look, I love that record and have nothing but great, great memories of my time with BLACK SABBATH . Tony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/how-could-i-resist-look-i-love-that-record-and-have-nothing-but-great/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [If you've got a wound, and it's just about to heal up, and it's got a nice scab on it, and you think in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/if-you-ve-got-a-wound-and-it-s-just-about-to-heal-up-and-it-s-got-a/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [The band's a really close-knit family. We've got fantastically good friendships and relationships that have developed after all these years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/the-band-s-a-really-close-knit-family-we-ve-got-fantastically-good/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) [Explore all 106 Ian Gillan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) ## More Novelist quotes > [“She'll be an excellent novelist: a monster of self-absorption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lan-samantha-chang/she-ll-be-an-excellent-novelist-a-monster-of-self-absorption/) [Lan Samantha Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lan-samantha-chang/) > [“The novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“I love you so much. Our love is eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santonu-kumar-dhar/i-love-you-so-much-our-love-is-eternal/) [Santonu Kumar Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santonu-kumar-dhar/) > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“Amanda herself couldn't understand why her writing was so different from her own personality. Her pen seemed to take on a life of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/amanda-herself-couldn-t-understand-why-her-writing-was-so-different/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think of myself now as a writer, although I wouldn't go as far as to say 'novelist' because that sounds like a Victorian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/i-think-of-myself-now-as-a-writer-although-i-wouldn-t-go-as-far-as-to/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I maintain that if you're a novelist and you go into an art museum, you'll come out a better novelist. And if you paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hawkes/i-maintain-that-if-you-re-a-novelist-and-you-go-into-an-art-museum/) [John Hawkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hawkes/) > [“A warm sunny evening, the plash and gurgle of the waves in the rock pools, the rush of the cold gin. I thought for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/a-warm-sunny-evening-the-plash-and-gurgle-of-the-waves-in-the-rock/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“I know you would be watching over me all through this journey called life... whenever I look next to me, I feel like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santonu-kumar-dhar/i-know-you-would-be-watching-over-me-all-through-this-journey-called/) [Santonu Kumar Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santonu-kumar-dhar/) > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) [Browse all 529 Novelist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Gillan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Novelist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef0/ian-gillan-4769_novelist_i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist-2231_2231076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not a writer; I'm not a novelist.” — Ian Gillan", "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": "Ian Gillan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not a writer; I'm not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-a-novelist/#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 } } ] } ```