--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was always writing. I just didn't know…" description: "\"I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good.\" — John Dufresne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/john-dufresne-11991_good_i-was-always-writing-i-just-didn-t-know_1464411.png" --- # I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good. ![“I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good.” quote by John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/john-dufresne-11991_good_i-was-always-writing-i-just-didn-t-know_1464411.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/john-dufresne-11991_good_i-was-always-writing-i-just-didn-t-know_1464411.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/john-dufresne-11991_good_i-was-always-writing-i-just-didn-t-know_1464411.png) > “I was always writing. I just didn't know if I was any good.” [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker expresses a lifelong habit of writing but doubts their talent. **In simple terms:** I wrote a lot but doubted my skill. Key Takeaway Acknowledge effort, seek feedback. Themes self‑doubt creativity confidence Mood reflective uncertain Type personal motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - peer review - personal journaling - creative retreats Key Concepts impostor syndrome self‑assessment Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your writing ability? - How can you test your skill objectively? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can hinder progress without external perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Didn Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-know/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Just Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-didn/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-just/) ## Related quotes > [I realized that it was not that I didn’t want to go on without him. I did. It was just that I didn’t know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-realized-that-it-was-not-that-i-didn-t-want-to-go-on-without-him-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Don’t discount that part of who he was just because you didn’t know it. 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We just didn't have the attention span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-bella/college-wasn-t-for-us-we-just-didn-t-have-the-attention-span/) [Brie Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-bella/) > [“Gay sex just doesn't do it for me. I tried it one time when I was younger, but just didn't dig it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/gay-sex-just-doesn-t-do-it-for-me-i-tried-it-one-time-when-i-was/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) ## More by John Dufresne > [You lose a wallet or keys or something and you notice in a second, but your life can go missing and you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-lose-a-wallet-or-keys-or-something-and-you-notice-in-a-second-but/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“At 9:15 on Thursday morning, June 4, while Jordan Delreese was bludgeoning his two young children to death, I was sitting in Dr. Hamburger's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/at-9-15-on-thursday-morning-june-4-while-jordan-delreese-was/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [We all sleep with the corpses of our dead lovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/we-all-sleep-with-the-corpses-of-our-dead-lovers/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I learned to love stories by listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-learned-to-love-stories-by-listening-to-them/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [You will feel discouraged; you will lose confidence in your abilities; you will be bored with the characters–and the only way to overcome these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-will-feel-discouraged-you-will-lose-confidence-in-your-abilities/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [There were the fairy tales my father told to me at bedtime. 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Love searches for the mystery in the beloved, seeks the unknowable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-loved-her-for-what-i-couldn-t-understand-about-her-love-searches/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I told her how I thought you could always revise your life, how you could work and work on it, finesse the details, see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-told-her-how-i-thought-you-could-always-revise-your-life-how-you/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [A lack of narrative structure, as you know, will cause anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/a-lack-of-narrative-structure-as-you-know-will-cause-anxiety/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-write-with-a-fountain-pen-and-then-revise-word-by-word-and-line-by/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [With each draft, the work gets better, and usually that means tighter. It means getting the precise word, not the approximate word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/with-each-draft-the-work-gets-better-and-usually-that-means-tighter/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [Novels are written, not wished into existence. You have to sit your ass in the chair or nothing gets done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/novels-are-written-not-wished-into-existence-you-have-to-sit-your-ass/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [In revision, your imagination becomes deeply engaged with your material. 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