--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to believe, when I was 'just' a…" description: "\"“I used to believe, when I was 'just' a reader, that writers, because they wrote books where truth was found, because they described the world, because..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/julian-barnes-522_books_i-used-to-believe-when-i-was-just-a-read_96937.png" --- # I used to believe, when I was 'just' a reader, that… ![“I used to believe, when I was 'just' a reader, that writers, because they wrote books where truth was found, because they described the world, because they saw into the human heart, because they grasped both the particular and the general and were able to re-create both in free yet structured…” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/julian-barnes-522_books_i-used-to-believe-when-i-was-just-a-read_96937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/julian-barnes-522_books_i-used-to-believe-when-i-was-just-a-read_96937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/julian-barnes-522_books_i-used-to-believe-when-i-was-just-a-read_96937.png) > ““I used to believe, when I was 'just' a reader, that writers, because they wrote books where truth was found, because they described the world, because they saw into the human heart, because they grasped both the particular and the general and were able to re-create both in free yet structured forms, because they understood, must therefore be more sensitive- also less vain, less selfish- than other people. Then I became a writer, and started meeting other writers, and studied them, and concluded that the only difference between them and other people, the only, single way in which they were better, was that they were better writers. They might indeed be sensitive, perceptive, wise, generalizing and particularizing- but only at their desks and in their books. When they venture out into the world, they regularly behave as if they have left all their comprehension of human behaviour stuck in their typescripts. It's not just writers either. How wise are philosophers in their private lives?”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers' perceived moral superiority dissolves when their lived behavior mirrors that of non‑writers; skill, not virtue, distinguishes them. **In simple terms:** Writing skill doesn't guarantee personal wisdom. Key Takeaway Talent and character are separate. Themes artistry humility self‑deception authenticity Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - creative workshops - literary criticism - personal development seminars Key Concepts skill vs. virtue self‑awareness Practical Applications - writing mentorship - ethical training for artists Questions to Reflect On - Do creators bear higher ethical expectations? - Can practice improve personal integrity? A Different Perspective Some argue that the act of writing cultivates empathy, though this is not universally true. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Human behaviour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-behaviour/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Private lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-lives/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [All good writers are sensitive to clichés and endeavor to avoid them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-yagoda/all-good-writers-are-sensitive-to-clich-s-and-endeavor-to-avoid-them/) [Ben Yagoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-yagoda/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“As most real writers do, he wrote because he had something to say, not because of any specific ambition to be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/as-most-real-writers-do-he-wrote-because-he-had-something-to-say-not/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [There are some writers who wrote too much. There are others who wrote enough. There are yet others who wrote nothing like enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/there-are-some-writers-who-wrote-too-much-there-are-others-who-wrote/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“If writers only wrote about things everybody knew, what the hell would be the point of writing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writers-only-wrote-about-things-everybody-knew-what-the-hell-would/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“They published their papers, and shouted and waved their arms, and a few canny and deeply thoughtful sci-fi writers wrote up lurid accounts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/they-published-their-papers-and-shouted-and-waved-their-arms-and-a/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [I thought the message of the artist was more important than the writing style. I tried to be clear; I wanted everyone to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hilburn/i-thought-the-message-of-the-artist-was-more-important-than-the/) [Robert Hilburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hilburn/) > [I see myself as coming out of a trans tradition. There's a number of trans writers before me who wrote great novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-see-myself-as-coming-out-of-a-trans-tradition-there-s-a-number-of/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote like machines. Now everybody is expected to be literary John Henrys. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/used-to-be-in-the-old-days-only-the-pulp-writers-wrote-like-machines/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I think my interviews were much better than what some of the writers wrote. I just wanted the truth out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/i-think-my-interviews-were-much-better-than-what-some-of-the-writers/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I always loved song writers who wrote songs in the first person, so it's kind of like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-crowe/i-always-loved-song-writers-who-wrote-songs-in-the-first-person-so-it/) [Cameron Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-crowe/) > [“I read and re-read the books I had brought. The quality of the book didn’t matter. What was important was that there was reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sooyong-park/i-read-and-re-read-the-books-i-had-brought-the-quality-of-the-book/) Sooyong Park > [“What happens to the people who became writers because yakking and tweeting and bragging felt to them like intolerably shallow forms of social engagement?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/what-happens-to-the-people-who-became-writers-because-yakking-and/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“More seriously-and this is probably why there has been a lot of garbage talked about a lost generation-it was easy to see, all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/more-seriously-and-this-is-probably-why-there-has-been-a-lot-of/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The only impeccable writers are those who never wrote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-only-impeccable-writers-are-those-who-never-wrote/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I used to believe, when I was 'just' a reader, that writers, because they wrote books where truth was found, because they described the world, because they saw into the human heart, because they grasped both the particular and the general and were able to re-create both in free yet structured forms, because they understood, must therefore be more sensitive- also less vain, less selfish- than other people. Then I became a writer, and started meeting other writers, and studied them, and concluded that the only difference between them and other people, the only, single way in which they were better, was that they were better writers. They might indeed be sensitive, perceptive, wise, generalizing and particularizing- but only at their desks and in their books. When they venture out into the world, they regularly behave as if they have left all their comprehension of human behaviour stuck in their typescripts. It's not just writers either. 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