--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd learned nothing else, it was this…" description: "\"If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. If you can't be a man, write like one.\" — Julianna Baggott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/julianna-baggott-2618_be-a-man_if-i-d-learned-nothing-else-it-was-this_2386283.png" --- # If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to… ![“If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. If you can't be a man, write like one.” quote by Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/julianna-baggott-2618_be-a-man_if-i-d-learned-nothing-else-it-was-this_2386283.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/julianna-baggott-2618_be-a-man_if-i-d-learned-nothing-else-it-was-this_2386283.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/julianna-baggott-2618_be-a-man_if-i-d-learned-nothing-else-it-was-this_2386283.png) > “If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. If you can't be a man, write like one.” [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that mastering writing requires adopting a confident, assertive stance, akin to embodying masculine traits of authority and decisiveness. **In simple terms:** Write with confidence and authority. Key Takeaway Adopt a strong, decisive voice. Themes writing confidence gender roles Mood inspirational provocative analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Creative workshops - personal essays - fiction drafts Key Concepts Authority masculinity voice development Questions to Reflect On - Can great writing be genderless? - How to cultivate confidence without gender stereotypes? A Different Perspective Equating writing quality with gender can exclude diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-a-man/) [Great writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-writer/) [Great writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-writers/) [Man Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-write-780927/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-like/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-man-1081925/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A man can write one book that can be great, but this doesn't make him a great writer-just the writer of a great book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-can-write-one-book-that-can-be-great-but-this-doesn-t-make-him/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [It is much easier not to write like a man than to write like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-much-easier-not-to-write-like-a-man-than-to-write-like-a-woman/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a man behind the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/talent-alone-cannot-make-a-writer-there-must-be-a-man-behind-the-book/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [My dad's mission for me has always been to be a man they would write about, somebody that can be respected in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenna/my-dad-s-mission-for-me-has-always-been-to-be-a-man-they-would-write/) [Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenna/) > [I think Jesse Eisenberg is such a great writer. He was a great director and really tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/i-think-jesse-eisenberg-is-such-a-great-writer-he-was-a-great/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [Everyone has access to a pen and paper, but to be a great writer is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-yates/everyone-has-access-to-a-pen-and-paper-but-to-be-a-great-writer-is/) [Pamela Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-yates/) > [The author with the greatest influence on me is my friend Stephen Harrigan, who critiques everything I write before I even bother to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-crook/the-author-with-the-greatest-influence-on-me-is-my-friend-stephen/) [Elizabeth Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-crook/) > [The good writer, the great writer, has what I have called the three S's: the power to see, to sense, and to say. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/the-good-writer-the-great-writer-has-what-i-have-called-the-three-s-s/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [I'd go for "really great writer." Although I don't think I am. I know I have a style which is recognizable. I think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-d-go-for-really-great-writer-although-i-don-t-think-i-am-i-know-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Jesse Joyce is a great writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/jesse-joyce-is-a-great-writer/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) > [Truthfully, I guess I would like to be remembered as a great writer and a kind person. I wouldn't mind if an expensive bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/truthfully-i-guess-i-would-like-to-be-remembered-as-a-great-writer/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Listen to the Bee Gees and you can learn to be a great writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-dioguardi/listen-to-the-bee-gees-and-you-can-learn-to-be-a-great-writer/) [Kara DioGuardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-dioguardi/) > [I've known Shawn for several years. And he's just an amazing talent. He's a great writer, a marvelous, marvelous guitar player, and plays really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-clark/i-ve-known-shawn-for-several-years-and-he-s-just-an-amazing-talent-he/) [Guy Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-clark/) > [ Intellectuals of \[Albert\] Camus' age who had previously disliked him now appreciate him. And at that point we come back to literature, and it's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/intellectuals-of-albert-camus-age-who-had-previously-disliked-him-now/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) > [Every great writer is a writer of history, let him treat on almost what subject he may.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/every-great-writer-is-a-writer-of-history-let-him-treat-on-almost/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) ## More by Julianna Baggott > [“To know someone, to be known. That matters more than he'd ever thought it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/to-know-someone-to-be-known-that-matters-more-than-he-d-ever-thought/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“Wir sollten feiern, was wir feiern können.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/wir-sollten-feiern-was-wir-feiern-k-nnen/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [She glances back before stepping into the alley, and she catches her grandfather looking at her the way he does sometimes--as if she's already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/she-glances-back-before-stepping-into-the-alley-and-she-catches-her/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [So far, I should be calm and more specifically not like that...Anything else? Would you like to do surgery on my personality? How about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/so-far-i-should-be-calm-and-more-specifically-not-like-that-anything/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I am deeply Catholic and always will be, but I'm no longer a member of the church. I left in 2003 because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-am-deeply-catholic-and-always-will-be-but-i-m-no-longer-a-member-of/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“You're a hero here.' 'I don't want to be a hero.' 'What do you want?' 'I want to be a leader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/you-re-a-hero-here-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-hero-what-do-you-want-i-want/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“When I met you, I thought we were meant for each other, even though, in some ways, seemed very different and we kept fighting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/when-i-met-you-i-thought-we-were-meant-for-each-other-even-though-in/) [julianna baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Love is a luxury. It's something that people are allowed to indulge in when they're not simply trying to survive and keep other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/love-is-a-luxury-it-s-something-that-people-are-allowed-to-indulge-in/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“My memories will be erased and then I'll be force-fed the story from the society pages?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/my-memories-will-be-erased-and-then-i-ll-be-force-fed-the-story-from/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“How do you know me?" she says. He looks at her through his narrow eyes. "I was," he says. "You were what?" she asks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/how-do-you-know-me-she-says-he-looks-at-her-through-his-narrow-eyes-i/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I've never thought there was anything I could hope to get by praying for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-ve-never-thought-there-was-anything-i-could-hope-to-get-by-praying/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Try to think of writing as a gift - more complexly put: it is the curse and the cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/try-to-think-of-writing-as-a-gift-more-complexly-put-it-is-the-curse/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Basically if you burst into my office the walls themselves will flutter as if alive - maybe that's the reason for all the wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/basically-if-you-burst-into-my-office-the-walls-themselves-will/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [But there it is: Everyone is alone, for life, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/but-there-it-is-everyone-is-alone-for-life-and-maybe-that-s-not-such/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Sometimes when reading aloud to my husband, I'll start crying. It completely stuns me. As if the words in my body and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/sometimes-when-reading-aloud-to-my-husband-i-ll-start-crying-it/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) [Explore all 147 Julianna Baggott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) ## More Be a man quotes > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I closed my own jazz bar so I could be a man who can write novels as I like. I was pleased about that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-closed-my-own-jazz-bar-so-i-could-be-a-man-who-can-write-novels-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Just leaving the brotherhood I have made at Georgia, the staff and all my coaches. They've prepared me for the real world. I'm really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-green/just-leaving-the-brotherhood-i-have-made-at-georgia-the-staff-and-all/) [A. J. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-green/) > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [I think transwomen, and transpeople in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laverne-cox/i-think-transwomen-and-transpeople-in-general-show-everyone-that-you/) [Laverne Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laverne-cox/) > [Feminist theory has left an indelible mark on my own critical—and creative—thinking . . . For me, everything I questioned about what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/feminist-theory-has-left-an-indelible-mark-on-my-own-critical-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Men will cease to be fools only when they cease to be men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/men-will-cease-to-be-fools-only-when-they-cease-to-be-men/) [Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/) > [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Losing my dad made me more mature. Being an only child, I didn't have the right to act childish. I had to step up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaza-pachulia/losing-my-dad-made-me-more-mature-being-an-only-child-i-didn-t-have/) [Zaza Pachulia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaza-pachulia/) > [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/) [Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/) > [I want to be a man's man-not a kid actor or a glitzy pop star but a no-bullshit leading man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-eastwood/i-want-to-be-a-man-s-man-not-a-kid-actor-or-a-glitzy-pop-star-but-a/) [Scott Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-eastwood/) > [I have decided to make a personal message to David Haye. I want him to fight me, to be a man. I wish there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladimir-klitschko/i-have-decided-to-make-a-personal-message-to-david-haye-i-want-him-to/) [Wladimir Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladimir-klitschko/) > [All are to be men of genius in their degree,--rivulets or rivers, it does not matter, so that the souls be clear and pure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-are-to-be-men-of-genius-in-their-degree-rivulets-or-rivers-it/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-cannot-be-a-man-with-wishing-therefore-i-will-die-a-woman-with/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't think anyone can teach you how to be a man but a woman. You only learn by learning what they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-gosling/i-don-t-think-anyone-can-teach-you-how-to-be-a-man-but-a-woman-you/) [Ryan Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-gosling/) [Browse all 402 Be a man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-a-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. 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