--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In utter loneliness a writer tries to…" description: "\"“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable... The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the wor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/john-steinbeck-71_loneliness_in-utter-loneliness-a-writer-tries-to-ex_2190507.jpg" --- # In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the… ![“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable... The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/john-steinbeck-71_loneliness_in-utter-loneliness-a-writer-tries-to-ex_2190507.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/john-steinbeck-71_loneliness_in-utter-loneliness-a-writer-tries-to-ex_2190507.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/john-steinbeck-71_loneliness_in-utter-loneliness-a-writer-tries-to-ex_2190507.jpg) > ““In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable... The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers endure isolation, convincing themselves their work matters despite doubts. **In simple terms:** Writers feel lonely but must believe in their work. Key Takeaway Embrace the illusion of importance. Themes loneliness writing self‑belief illusion Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - journal writing - blogging - screenwriting Key Concepts creative process psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - Why do you cling to this belief? - How does doubt affect your writing? A Different Perspective Illusion may hinder honest self‑assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/in-utter-loneliness-a-writer-tries-to-explain-the-inexplicable/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold onto this illusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-writer-must-believe-that-what-he-is-doing-is-the-most-important-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-writer-must-believe-that-what-he-is-doing-is-the-most-important/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“...the sense of my utter loneliness had been agony...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/the-sense-of-my-utter-loneliness-had-been-agony/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“It was only that I’d suffered like that, hour after hour, that I’d gone into the circle of hell and come back out. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/it-was-only-that-i-d-suffered-like-that-hour-after-hour-that-i-d-gone/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Utter loneliness was planted in me then, and sent its deep roots down into me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/utter-loneliness-was-planted-in-me-then-and-sent-its-deep-roots-down/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [When a writer tries to copy another writer, it's doomed to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/when-a-writer-tries-to-copy-another-writer-it-s-doomed-to-fail/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [When a writer tries to explain too much, he's out of time before he begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/when-a-writer-tries-to-explain-too-much-he-s-out-of-time-before-he/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [When an older writer tries to tell a younger writer through a review what kind of career she should be pursuing, it tends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/when-an-older-writer-tries-to-tell-a-younger-writer-through-a-review/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [When one writer tries to silence another, he silences every writer-and in the end he also silences himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/when-one-writer-tries-to-silence-another-he-silences-every-writer-and/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [There is a terrible, mean American resentment toward a writer who tries to do many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/there-is-a-terrible-mean-american-resentment-toward-a-writer-who/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [If you grow up in Ireland and read books then you really are obliged to attempt your own some time. It is not exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/if-you-grow-up-in-ireland-and-read-books-then-you-really-are-obliged/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [That's what ever great writer, I believe, has done over the course of time - is they've figured out new ways of telling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/that-s-what-ever-great-writer-i-believe-has-done-over-the-course-of/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [I love being a writer so much that I almost can't believe that I am one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/i-love-being-a-writer-so-much-that-i-almost-can-t-believe-that-i-am/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [It is popular to believe that in order to see clearly one must believe nothing. This may work well enough if you are observing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/it-is-popular-to-believe-that-in-order-to-see-clearly-one-must/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Loneliness quotes > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I'm not alone, but I am lonely without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-alone-but-i-am-lonely-without-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-opposite-of-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We often refer to loneliness as something negative. And we look at it as a weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/we-often-refer-to-loneliness-as-something-negative-and-we-look-at-it/) [Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Don't let 'being single' make you feel like a loner. Its better to be alone. Relationships arent cures for loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-being-single-make-you-feel-like-a-loner-its-better-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) [Browse all 4,995 Loneliness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable... The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. 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