--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's always hard for a writer to make…" description: "\"It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a character; I had to figure out what my defining characteristics were, and that's something I had t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png" --- # It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a… ![“It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a character; I had to figure out what my defining characteristics were, and that's something I had to work through multiple drafts to figure out.” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png) > “It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a character; I had to figure out what my defining characteristics were, and that's something I had to work through multiple drafts to figure out.” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It describes the writer’s struggle to define self‑identity through character creation, requiring introspection. **In simple terms:** Discover yourself by shaping characters. Key Takeaway Explore personal identity. Themes writing self‑discovery identity Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - novel writing - creative workshops - personal journaling Key Concepts character development self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What traits define you? - How can writing reveal hidden aspects? A Different Perspective Self‑definition can be elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Defining Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defining-characteristics-1367335/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-writer-569227/) [Make Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-character/) [Multiple Drafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-drafts-1367334/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writer Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-make-344386/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [With writing, there are multiple drafts. On stage, there is one take. I do a lot of preparation for shows, so, for the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/with-writing-there-are-multiple-drafts-on-stage-there-is-one-take-i/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [It's more like I write multiple first drafts, handwritten. So with my first novel, I wrote whole drafts from different points of view. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/it-s-more-like-i-write-multiple-first-drafts-handwritten-so-with-my/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [ “\[The\] defining characteristics of good prose \[are\]: a preference for short sentences diversified by an occasionally very long one; a tone that is relaxed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-w-bateson/the-defining-characteristics-of-good-prose-are-a-preference-for-short/) [F.W. Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-w-bateson/) > [“Research provides a firm grounding for these empirical findings. The two defining characteristics of lead users and the likelihood that they will develop new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-von-hippel/research-provides-a-firm-grounding-for-these-empirical-findings-the/) [Eric von Hippel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-von-hippel/) > [It's always been hard to call myself a writer. I think a part of me still thinks it's too good to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-s-always-been-hard-to-call-myself-a-writer-i-think-a-part-of-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Be prepared to work hard to be a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-brown/be-prepared-to-work-hard-to-be-a-writer/) [Sandra Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-brown/) > [Start early and work hard. A writer's apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he's almost ready to begin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/start-early-and-work-hard-a-writer-s-apprenticeship-usually-involves/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [It's hard to find a writer that really understands the intricacies of flirting and the development of love, the development of getting to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-centineo/it-s-hard-to-find-a-writer-that-really-understands-the-intricacies-of/) [Noah Centineo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-centineo/) > [What do you want? What are you willing to give up to get it? Writing requires you make sacrifices. Be prepared to work hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-brown/what-do-you-want-what-are-you-willing-to-give-up-to-get-it-writing/) [Sandra Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-brown/) > [Writing is so hard. Why would you be a writer if you weren't really good at it? If you could be anything else, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/writing-is-so-hard-why-would-you-be-a-writer-if-you-weren-t-really/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [young or old, good or bad, I don't think anything dies as slow and as hard as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/young-or-old-good-or-bad-i-don-t-think-anything-dies-as-slow-and-as/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [There are two kinds of writer: those that make you think, and those that make you wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/there-are-two-kinds-of-writer-those-that-make-you-think-and-those/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [You're a writer. Make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benioff/you-re-a-writer-make-it-up/) [David Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benioff/) > [First person narrative is a very effective tool but you have to know as a writer how to make it work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/first-person-narrative-is-a-very-effective-tool-but-you-have-to-know/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [A writer can make a fortune in America, but he can't make a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/a-writer-can-make-a-fortune-in-america-but-he-can-t-make-a-living/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) ## More by Jesmyn Ward > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I think that voodoo as a spiritual tradition has been demonized for so long in popular culture. I wanted to write against that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-think-that-voodoo-as-a-spiritual-tradition-has-been-demonized-for/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-s-so-much-i-love-about-home-but-then-there-s-a-lot-that-i-can/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [The first writer that I think of immediately that I studied with at Michigan is Peter Ho Davies. He was really important to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-first-writer-that-i-think-of-immediately-that-i-studied-with-at/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like so much of what happened in the Delta over the decades since slavery was abolished seems much closer in the Delta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-feel-like-so-much-of-what-happened-in-the-delta-over-the-decades/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Vines catch my arms, my head; we tear through until we break out into the clearing before the fence, the field, the barn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/vines-catch-my-arms-my-head-we-tear-through-until-we-break-out-into/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Before all the little mean things she told me gathered and gathered and lodged like grit in a skinned knee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/before-all-the-little-mean-things-she-told-me-gathered-and-gathered/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [People give the South a bad rap. It's often stereotyped as backwards and close-minded and dogmatic, and all of those things have been true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/people-give-the-south-a-bad-rap-it-s-often-stereotyped-as-backwards/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [By the time I wrote my memoir, 'Men We Reaped,' I had been running from writing it for a long time. When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a character; I had to figure out what my defining characteristics were, and that's something I had to work through multiple drafts to figure out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jesmyn Ward" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-herself-into-a-character-i-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-herself-into-a-character-i-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/jesmyn-ward-1426_always_it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-he_914652.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's always hard for a writer to make herself into a character; I had to figure out what my defining…” — Jesmyn Ward", "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": "Jesmyn Ward", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's always hard for a writer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-herself-into-a-character-i-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/it-s-always-hard-for-a-writer-to-make-herself-into-a-character-i-had/#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 } } ] } ```