--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always feel that as the author, once I…" description: "\"I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her truthful on the page.\" — Joshua Mohr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png" --- # I always feel that as the author, once I know what a… ![“I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her truthful on the page.” quote by Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png) > “I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her truthful on the page.” [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding a character's shame reveals their core conflict, enabling authentic portrayal. **In simple terms:** Knowing a character's shame helps write truthfully. Key Takeaway Use shame to drive authentic character voice. Themes character development authenticity psychology Mood introspective analytical Type instructional literary When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - creative workshops Key Concepts inner conflict vulnerability motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you show shame without explicit exposition? - What actions reveal a character's hidden guilt? A Different Perspective Shame may be too subtle to translate directly into dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Truthful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truthful/) ## Related quotes > [“I am deficient in character, and if I had more of it, I would be ashamed of the fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-matthews/i-am-deficient-in-character-and-if-i-had-more-of-it-i-would-be/) Jack Matthews > [When I read a novel that I really like, I feel as if I am in direct, personal communication with the author. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-i-read-a-novel-that-i-really-like-i-feel-as-if-i-am-in-direct/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I'm beginning to feel that no author has the right to tear his characters apart if he doesn't know how, or feel that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-beginning-to-feel-that-no-author-has-the-right-to-tear-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One kind of good book should leave you asking: how did the author know that about me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/one-kind-of-good-book-should-leave-you-asking-how-did-the-author-know/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I'm probably the only bestselling author you know who's written more books than she's read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/i-m-probably-the-only-bestselling-author-you-know-who-s-written-more/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [When you dream, you are an author, but you do not know how it will end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/when-you-dream-you-are-an-author-but-you-do-not-know-how-it-will-end/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [If you feel that there's the author and then the character, then the book is not working. People have a habit of identifying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-you-feel-that-there-s-the-author-and-then-the-character-then-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [One of the agonies of being an author is to know when to stop writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/one-of-the-agonies-of-being-an-author-is-to-know-when-to-stop-writing/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“You never know if a book is going to succeed or fail, so what matters ultimately is how you feel about it and whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/you-never-know-if-a-book-is-going-to-succeed-or-fail-so-what-matters/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [As the author you know how you want it to appear on screen and it's always the content dictating the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/as-the-author-you-know-how-you-want-it-to-appear-on-screen-and-it-s/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I don't think that children, if left to themselves, feel that there is an author behind a book, a somebody who wrote it. Grown-ups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-don-t-think-that-children-if-left-to-themselves-feel-that-there-is/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## More by Joshua Mohr > [I like art that trusts its audience, that's written for readers who like to work hard. I like art that knows its readers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-like-art-that-trusts-its-audience-that-s-written-for-readers-who/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [I'm a very tactile learner, so I need analog index cards, moving them all about, trying out various sequences for the book's architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-m-a-very-tactile-learner-so-i-need-analog-index-cards-moving-them/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [We have today and hopefully tomorrow to be the best version of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/we-have-today-and-hopefully-tomorrow-to-be-the-best-version-of/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [“I was convinced that she was about to tell me my card was declined, and assumed Derek wanting to talk later meant he'd soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-was-convinced-that-she-was-about-to-tell-me-my-card-was-declined/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [Yes, things happened to me - brutal things - but I'm not going to give them so much clout by dwelling on them, empowering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/yes-things-happened-to-me-brutal-things-but-i-m-not-going-to-give/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [It takes a lot of time to be a good junkie or alcoholic - you spend hours getting the necessary supplies, then imbibing, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/it-takes-a-lot-of-time-to-be-a-good-junkie-or-alcoholic-you-spend/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [My job as the novelist is to present the whole case, then the reader gets to render her verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/my-job-as-the-novelist-is-to-present-the-whole-case-then-the-reader/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [I'm always working on something. Addiction never gets any credit, always talked about as a total liability, and I'll admit that most of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-m-always-working-on-something-addiction-never-gets-any-credit/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [I'll never be the sort of author who sells that many copies. You'll never see a book of mine being sold on a table…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-ll-never-be-the-sort-of-author-who-sells-that-many-copies-you-ll/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [I struggle with staying clean every day, and what really keeps me from doing something stupid is my daughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-struggle-with-staying-clean-every-day-and-what-really-keeps-me-from/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [My musical sensibilities were formed around punk rock, that quintessential dilution of an art that's both ugly and lovely at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/my-musical-sensibilities-were-formed-around-punk-rock-that/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [I never wanted/expected to write a memoir, but this life thing, it has a way of sideswiping our worlds, scaring us so thoroughly that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-never-wanted-expected-to-write-a-memoir-but-this-life-thing-it-has/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [Self-respect doesn't come naturally to me. I need to constantly remind myself and do the work to err on the side of self-respect, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/self-respect-doesn-t-come-naturally-to-me-i-need-to-constantly-remind/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [The question why, at least in my life, often leads to despair. Why did this happen to me? Why didn't someone who claimed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/the-question-why-at-least-in-my-life-often-leads-to-despair-why-did/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [My tunnel vision allows me to have a longer work day than most writers. I'm thankful for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/my-tunnel-vision-allows-me-to-have-a-longer-work-day-than-most/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) [Explore all 41 Joshua Mohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) ## More Ashamed quotes > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/) Robert Preston > [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“with her own life. And I was ashamed.” Humiliated. Broken. Miserable. If Wilcher had stood by Jaymee, if her father hadn’t berated her, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-green/with-her-own-life-and-i-was-ashamed-humiliated-broken-miserable-if/) Stacy Green > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) Vernon Johns > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/) [Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/) [Browse all 1,607 Ashamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her truthful on the page.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Mohr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i-know-what-a-character-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashamed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i-know-what-a-character-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/341/joshua-mohr-15953_ashamed_i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i_2026409.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always feel that as the author, once I know what a character is ashamed of, then I can go about making her…” — Joshua Mohr", "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": "Joshua Mohr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always feel that as the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i-know-what-a-character-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-always-feel-that-as-the-author-once-i-know-what-a-character-is/#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 } } ] } ```