--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing always means hiding something in…" description: "\"“Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered; because the truth that can come from my pen is like a shard that has b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg" --- # Writing always means hiding something in such a way that… ![“Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered; because the truth that can come from my pen is like a shard that has been chipped from a great boulder by a violent impact, then flung far away; because there is no certitude outside falsification.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg) > ““Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered; because the truth that can come from my pen is like a shard that has been chipped from a great boulder by a violent impact, then flung far away; because there is no certitude outside falsification.”” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing conceals truths within narrative layers, revealing insights through metaphor and revelation, while acknowledging that certainty is elusive and always subject to reinterpretation. **In simple terms:** Writing hides truth, later revealed, never fully certain. Key Takeaway Write to uncover hidden meanings. Themes creativity truth uncertainty Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - crafting fiction - editing drafts - teaching writing - critical analysis Key Concepts literary theory metaphor epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What truths do you hide in your writing? - How does uncertainty shape your creative process? A Different Perspective Readers may interpret differently, challenging authorial intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/writing-always-means-hiding-something-in-such-a-way-that-it-then-is/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [No comment always means you're hiding something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-izzo/no-comment-always-means-you-re-hiding-something/) [Tom Izzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-izzo/) > [I pick up my guitar and play. Something might come, and then the pen comes out. Then an edit, until something comes out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/i-pick-up-my-guitar-and-play-something-might-come-and-then-the-pen/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [The best poems don't come from a pen, but from the heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-poems-don-t-come-from-a-pen-but-from-the-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes, being afraid can stop you from doing something that you love. But hiding behind these fears means you're only hiding from your true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/sometimes-being-afraid-can-stop-you-from-doing-something-that-you/) Unkown > [Being true to yourself means never hiding how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-true-to-yourself-means-never-hiding-how-you-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most words come into being first in speech, then in private writing, and then in public, published writing, which means that if the date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/most-words-come-into-being-first-in-speech-then-in-private-writing/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [The act of writing means you wish to communicate. Whether you're writing a memoir for yourself you put in a drawer, or you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/the-act-of-writing-means-you-wish-to-communicate-whether-you-re/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [Writing, for me, means humility. It’s a process that involves fear and doubt, especially if you’re writing honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-desai/writing-for-me-means-humility-it-s-a-process-that-involves-fear-and/) [Kiran Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-desai/) > [“Formal writing does not mean gratuitously fancy writing; it means clear, clean, maximally considerate writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/formal-writing-does-not-mean-gratuitously-fancy-writing-it-means/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [My routine is to create activities for myself unrelated to writing that allow little time for writing. This means that when I do get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/my-routine-is-to-create-activities-for-myself-unrelated-to-writing/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [Writing means revealing oneself to excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/writing-means-revealing-oneself-to-excess/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less, And the good or bad I say of myself I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/in-all-people-i-see-myself-none-more-and-not-one-a-barleycorn-less/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I'm not that guy who thinks I have all the answers. Writing is a means of communicating, and if enough people say, 'I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/i-m-not-that-guy-who-thinks-i-have-all-the-answers-writing-is-a-means/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [My pen.’ Funny, I wrote that without noticing. ‘The torch’, ‘the paper’, but ‘my pen’. That shows what writing means to me, I guess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/my-pen-funny-i-wrote-that-without-noticing-the-torch-the-paper-but-my/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Hiding quotes > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don't sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/heckling-is-an-act-of-cowardice-if-you-want-to-speak-get-up-in-front/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [I think that ties in with issues of identity as well - that sometimes there are parts of us we want to hide, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/i-think-that-ties-in-with-issues-of-identity-as-well-that-sometimes/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [It's More Attention Hiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-more-attention-hiding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He tried to fool the United Nations and did for 12 years by hiding these weapons. And so, it's going to take time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/he-tried-to-fool-the-united-nations-and-did-for-12-years-by-hiding/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [all that has changed, in my opinion, is that, thanks to television, we can hide a great depression. we may even be hiding a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-that-has-changed-in-my-opinion-is-that-thanks-to-television-we/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I've always been leery of comical artists because I think oftentimes they're hiding the fact that they're not that talented. For example, with Martin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-cortez/i-ve-always-been-leery-of-comical-artists-because-i-think-oftentimes/) [Diego Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-cortez/) > [I spent much of my life hiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevyn-aucoin/i-spent-much-of-my-life-hiding/) [Kevyn Aucoin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevyn-aucoin/) > [“I hate hiding how much the stupid things he did hurt me, but I hated the idea of him finding out even more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-hate-hiding-how-much-the-stupid-things-he-did-hurt-me-but-i-hated/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [When it came to hiding, even Gwin had nothing to teach Dustfinger. A strange sense of curiosity had always driven him to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/when-it-came-to-hiding-even-gwin-had-nothing-to-teach-dustfinger-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“What’s our situation?” “The technical military term for what we’re doing is hiding,” Terleman lectured.  “We’re where the enemy isn’t, hoping that they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mancour/what-s-our-situation-the-technical-military-term-for-what-we-re-doing/) [Terry Mancour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mancour/) > [I'm not good at hiding my feelings. I'm also not good at lying. I'm very open about everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-m-not-good-at-hiding-my-feelings-i-m-also-not-good-at-lying-i-m/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) Browse all 1,371 Hiding quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered; because the truth that can come from my pen is like a shard that has been chipped from a great boulder by a violent impact, then flung far away; because there is no certitude outside falsification.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Italo Calvino" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/writing-always-means-hiding-something-in-such-a-way-that-it-then-is-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hiding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/writing-always-means-hiding-something-in-such-a-way-that-it-then-is-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/italo-calvino-402_hiding_writing-always-means-hiding-something-in_3159238.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing always means hiding something in such a way that it then is discovered; because the truth that can…” — Italo Calvino", "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": "Italo Calvino", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Writing always means hiding something in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/writing-always-means-hiding-something-in-such-a-way-that-it-then-is-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/writing-always-means-hiding-something-in-such-a-way-that-it-then-is-2/#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 } } ] } ```