--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can’t speak for other writers, but I…" description: "\"“I can’t speak for other writers, but I write to create something that is better than myself, I think that’s the deepest motivation, and it is so becau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/karl-ove-knausgaard-21990_better-person_i-can-t-speak-for-other-writers-but-i-wr_1229114.jpg" --- # I can’t speak for other writers, but I write to create… ![“I can’t speak for other writers, but I write to create something that is better than myself, I think that’s the deepest motivation, and it is so because I’m full of self-loathing and shame. Writing doesn’t make me a better person, nor a wiser and happier one, but the writing, the text, the novel…” quote by Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/karl-ove-knausgaard-21990_better-person_i-can-t-speak-for-other-writers-but-i-wr_1229114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/karl-ove-knausgaard-21990_better-person_i-can-t-speak-for-other-writers-but-i-wr_1229114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/karl-ove-knausgaard-21990_better-person_i-can-t-speak-for-other-writers-but-i-wr_1229114.jpg) > ““I can’t speak for other writers, but I write to create something that is better than myself, I think that’s the deepest motivation, and it is so because I’m full of self-loathing and shame. Writing doesn’t make me a better person, nor a wiser and happier one, but the writing, the text, the novel, is a creation of something outside of the self, an object, kind of neutralized by the objectivity of literature and form; the temper, the voice, the style; all in it is carefully constructed and controlled. This is writing for me: a cold hand on a warm forehead.”” [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author writes to transcend personal flaws, creating an objective work that stands apart from self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Writing lets him build something beyond his own shame. Key Takeaway Seek to create work that outlives personal insecurities. Themes self‑creation literary objectivity personal struggle artistic discipline Mood reflective introspective determined Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - novel writing - therapy - public speaking - teaching writing Key Concepts existentialism self‑transcendence creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does creating an objective text affect personal growth? - Can art truly be neutral? A Different Perspective The objectivity may still reflect hidden biases of the author. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-person/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Likewise, I see no shame in writing Captain America or Wolverine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/likewise-i-see-no-shame-in-writing-captain-america-or-wolverine/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [Novel-writing can be a cold-blooded business. One uses whatever happens to be lying around in memory and employs it to suit one’s end….Then, again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/novel-writing-can-be-a-cold-blooded-business-one-uses-whatever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [I began writing 'The Cold Song' in the months following my father's death, when I felt this sense of loss, disappearance, of being right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linn-ullmann/i-began-writing-the-cold-song-in-the-months-following-my-father-s/) Linn Ullmann > [When I am writing, even though it's hard and I do struggle often, I am happier than when I'm not writing. I feel alive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/when-i-am-writing-even-though-it-s-hard-and-i-do-struggle-often-i-am/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Nothing makes me happier than writing a song that I think is good or that I want to play. Writing songs helps me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-nesbitt/nothing-makes-me-happier-than-writing-a-song-that-i-think-is-good-or/) [Nina Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-nesbitt/) > [I'm happier writing about doctors than I would have been being one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-m-happier-writing-about-doctors-than-i-would-have-been-being-one/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I'd probably still be a financial journalist now if it weren't for writing novels. Mmm. Fun! I'm much happier writing novels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/i-d-probably-still-be-a-financial-journalist-now-if-it-weren-t-for/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [I'm an author. And writers write books. And writing books is a full-time career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-m-an-author-and-writers-write-books-and-writing-books-is-a-full/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“Writers write like readers and read like writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hamilton/writers-write-like-readers-and-read-like-writers/) Laura Hamilton > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Honestly,” he says, “I judge writers on how they write queries. If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [Like most writers, I write about what has happened to me as that involves the minimum amount of research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/like-most-writers-i-write-about-what-has-happened-to-me-as-that/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) ## More by Karl Ove Knausgaard > [I do feel guilty. I do. Especially about my family, my children. I write about them, and I know that this will haunt them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/i-do-feel-guilty-i-do-especially-about-my-family-my-children-i-write/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [The difficult thing for me is that I want basically to be a good man. That's what I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/the-difficult-thing-for-me-is-that-i-want-basically-to-be-a-good-man/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [It's one thing to be banal, stupid, and idiotic on the inside. It's another to have it captured in writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/it-s-one-thing-to-be-banal-stupid-and-idiotic-on-the-inside-it-s/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“As your perspective of the world increases not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. 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The forms of literature are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/life-develops-changes-is-in-motion-the-forms-of-literature-are-not/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“Why should you live in a world without feeling its weight?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/why-should-you-live-in-a-world-without-feeling-its-weight/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [Form is, in a way, death. A novelist's obligation is to break free from the form, even though he knows that this will also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/form-is-in-a-way-death-a-novelist-s-obligation-is-to-break-free-from/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [You can write a radical Norwegian or a conservative Norwegian. And when I changed to a conservative Norwegian, I gained this distance or objectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/you-can-write-a-radical-norwegian-or-a-conservative-norwegian-and/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [My memory is basically visual: that's what I remember, rooms and landscapes. What I do not remember are what the people in these room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/my-memory-is-basically-visual-that-s-what-i-remember-rooms-and/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“Until I moved to Stockhold I had felt there was a continuity to my life, as if it stretched unbroken from childhood up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/until-i-moved-to-stockhold-i-had-felt-there-was-a-continuity-to-my/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“Writing is more about destroying than creating" (195).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/writing-is-more-about-destroying-than-creating-195/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [I'm giving away my family's story. Who owns the family's story? I don't. 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Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/nobody-ever-feels-100-ready-when-an-opportunity-arises-because-most/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) [Browse all 980 Better person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I can’t speak for other writers, but I write to create something that is better than myself, I think that’s the deepest motivation, and it is so because I’m full of self-loathing and shame. Writing doesn’t make me a better person, nor a wiser and happier one, but the writing, the text, the novel, is a creation of something outside of the self, an object, kind of neutralized by the objectivity of literature and form; the temper, the voice, the style; all in it is carefully constructed and controlled. 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