--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to live in order to have…" description: "\"You have to live in order to have something to write about - you get caught up in moviemaking and celebrities and money, and it's very intoxicating, bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/john-patrick-shanley-13888_about_you-have-to-live-in-order-to-have-someth_1544295.jpg" --- # You have to live in order to have something to write about… ![“You have to live in order to have something to write about - you get caught up in moviemaking and celebrities and money, and it's very intoxicating, but it doesn't give you what you need as a writer. You have to do something else for that.” quote by John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/john-patrick-shanley-13888_about_you-have-to-live-in-order-to-have-someth_1544295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/john-patrick-shanley-13888_about_you-have-to-live-in-order-to-have-someth_1544295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/john-patrick-shanley-13888_about_you-have-to-live-in-order-to-have-someth_1544295.jpg) > “You have to live in order to have something to write about - you get caught up in moviemaking and celebrities and money, and it's very intoxicating, but it doesn't give you what you need as a writer. You have to do something else for that.” [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must experience life beyond fame to find authentic material; materialism distracts from true storytelling. **In simple terms:** Writers need real life, not just fame, to write. Key Takeaway Seek genuine experiences over superficial success. Themes creativity authenticity materialism Mood introspective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - film industry - celebrity culture - creative blocks Key Concepts artistic integrity personal development Questions to Reflect On - How does fame affect your art? - What experiences fuel your writing? A Different Perspective Focusing on fame can dilute artistic voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celebrities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrities/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Moviemaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moviemaking/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I've been writing plays since the seventies and only came to moviemaking when I basically realized that I needed some money to pay the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-ve-been-writing-plays-since-the-seventies-and-only-came-to/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [In order to write about life first you must live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/in-order-to-write-about-life-first-you-must-live-it/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I have to have something that really excites me in order to write about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prine/i-have-to-have-something-that-really-excites-me-in-order-to-write/) [John Prine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prine/) > [Read in order to write, but paint in order to paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-genn/read-in-order-to-write-but-paint-in-order-to-paint/) [Sara Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-genn/) > [You have to stop living in order to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/you-have-to-stop-living-in-order-to-write/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [You have to write badly in order to write well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/you-have-to-write-badly-in-order-to-write-well/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It is better to write in order to find what you are than to write to find what price others put on you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/it-is-better-to-write-in-order-to-find-what-you-are-than-to-write-to/) [Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/) > [You become a writer because you need to become a writer - nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-become-a-writer-because-you-need-to-become-a-writer-nothing-else/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“The only thing you really need to be a writer is time. Regular, consistent time, quality time when you're not tired. I write on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-maas/the-only-thing-you-really-need-to-be-a-writer-is-time-regular/) [Jonathan Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-maas/) > [I'm kind of at the mercy of writers out there. I need a writer out there who wants to write a vehicle for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-janney/i-m-kind-of-at-the-mercy-of-writers-out-there-i-need-a-writer-out/) [Allison Janney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-janney/) > [The film industry sees the writer as fungible: The thinking goes, As long as we have Brad Pitt and all this money, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/the-film-industry-sees-the-writer-as-fungible-the-thinking-goes-as/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [“There is no ceremony, no initiation ritual, no secret hand-shake. All you need to be a writer is to write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-kirin/there-is-no-ceremony-no-initiation-ritual-no-secret-hand-shake-all/) [M. Kirin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-kirin/) > [The thing is - do we really need another writer who writes a book every eighteen months, whether the quality is wonderful or not?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-thing-is-do-we-really-need-another-writer-who-writes-a-book-every/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I tend to think that the onus is on the writer to engage the reader, that the reader should not be expected to need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-tend-to-think-that-the-onus-is-on-the-writer-to-engage-the-reader/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [ For me, it \[moviemaking\] is about social relevance. I want to make a movie that has some type of relevance where as the audience… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/for-me-it-moviemaking-is-about-social-relevance-i-want-to-make-a/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) ## More by John Patrick Shanley > [Women consume, and they must be directed what to consume, or they may identify you as lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/women-consume-and-they-must-be-directed-what-to-consume-or-they-may/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [I did 'Doubt' as a film, a play and an opera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-did-doubt-as-a-film-a-play-and-an-opera/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [“i don't know what your situation is but i wanted you to know what mine is not just to explain some rude behavior, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-don-t-know-what-your-situation-is-but-i-wanted-you-to-know-what/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [I'd like to thank everybody who ever punched or kissed me in my life and everybody who I ever punched or kissed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-d-like-to-thank-everybody-who-ever-punched-or-kissed-me-in-my-life/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [It wasn't until I was 35 or 36, when I wrote 'Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,' that I began to get some notoriety,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/it-wasn-t-until-i-was-35-or-36-when-i-wrote-danny-and-the-deep-blue/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [dear god, whose name i do not know. thank you for my life. i forgot... how BIG... thank you. thank you for my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/dear-god-whose-name-i-do-not-know-thank-you-for-my-life-i-forgot-how/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [I became a playwright and screenwriter. Italian-Americans were my particular specialty. I liked the way they talked. There was something free in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-became-a-playwright-and-screenwriter-italian-americans-were-my/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [I'm Irish as hell: Kelly on one side, Shanley on the other. My father had been born on a farm in the Irish Midlands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-m-irish-as-hell-kelly-on-one-side-shanley-on-the-other-my-father/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [Monogamy is like a 40-watt bulb. It works, but its not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/monogamy-is-like-a-40-watt-bulb-it-works-but-its-not-enough/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [People ask me if I believe in things: in God, in astrology, and I say, absolutely! I believe in everything! And I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/people-ask-me-if-i-believe-in-things-in-god-in-astrology-and-i-say/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [I think that certainty is a closed door, It's the end of the conversation. Doubt is an open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-think-that-certainty-is-a-closed-door-it-s-the-end-of-the/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [Back when you were doing plays like 'The Miracle Worker,' you had 20, 25 people in the cast. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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