--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing, in any sense that matters…" description: "\"Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It can only be learned by each separate one of us in his own way, by the use of his own powers of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/katherine-anne-porter-2653_ability_writing-in-any-sense-that-matters-cannot_402344.jpg" --- # Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It… ![“Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It can only be learned by each separate one of us in his own way, by the use of his own powers of imagination and perception, the ability to learn the lessons he has set for himself.” quote by Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/katherine-anne-porter-2653_ability_writing-in-any-sense-that-matters-cannot_402344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/katherine-anne-porter-2653_ability_writing-in-any-sense-that-matters-cannot_402344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8e/katherine-anne-porter-2653_ability_writing-in-any-sense-that-matters-cannot_402344.jpg) > “Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It can only be learned by each separate one of us in his own way, by the use of his own powers of imagination and perception, the ability to learn the lessons he has set for himself.” [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing must be discovered individually through imagination and personal perception, not through formal instruction. **In simple terms:** Writing is learned, not taught. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal imagination to write. Themes creativity learning individualism Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - solo projects - creative retreats - self‑study Key Concepts imagination perception self‑directed learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture your unique imagination? - What personal experiences shape your writing? A Different Perspective Formal classes may not capture personal insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Ability To Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-learn/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Learned Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-separate-3604191/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matters Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matters-taught-3604189/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Power of imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-imagination/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-learned-869484/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-sense-3604190/) ## Related quotes > [I can't make something 'useful' to me in a writing sense for a very long time. 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Pain can be avoided.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/somewhere-in-my-past-i-learned-that-if-you-separate-yourself-you-don/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [“I never thought to ascribe my mother's emotional and physical exhaustion to the lack of a husband and father; rather, I ascribed it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-never-thought-to-ascribe-my-mother-s-emotional-and-physical/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“You taught me how to be alone. 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I learned how to tie a tie, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/i-learn-things-myself-i-call-it-youtube-university-youtube-has-taught/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [“When you go to sleep at the end of the day, if you haven't taught or learned something that day, you didn't live it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-kazor/when-you-go-to-sleep-at-the-end-of-the-day-if-you-haven-t-taught-or/) [Michael e. kazor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-kazor/) > [Nothing important can be taught, only learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-dauten/nothing-important-can-be-taught-only-learned/) [Dale Dauten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-dauten/) > [...course titles and even course descriptions often fail to reveal what is actually taught (much less learned)...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-m-scherer/course-titles-and-even-course-descriptions-often-fail-to-reveal-what/) [F. M. Scherer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-m-scherer/) > [Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leadership-cannot-really-be-taught-it-can-only-be-learned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Katherine Anne Porter > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I always write a story in one sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-always-write-a-story-in-one-sitting/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [What we need is endless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/what-we-need-is-endless-courage/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/human-life-itself-may-be-almost-pure-chaos-but-the-work-of-the-artist/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [But the great leveler, Death: not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/but-the-great-leveler-death-not-even-the-gods-can-defend-a-man-not/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I started out with nothing in the world but a kind of passion, a driving desire. I don't know where it came from, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-started-out-with-nothing-in-the-world-but-a-kind-of-passion-a/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Your mind outwears all sorts of things you may set your heart upon; you can enjoy it when all other things are taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/your-mind-outwears-all-sorts-of-things-you-may-set-your-heart-upon/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [we know that the Furies do not come uninvited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/we-know-that-the-furies-do-not-come-uninvited/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The arts do live continuously, and they live literally by faith; their names and their shapes and their uses and their basic meanings survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-arts-do-live-continuously-and-they-live-literally-by-faith-their/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The very thing about people that makes the human race interesting is also the thing that makes it so hard to get anything done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-very-thing-about-people-that-makes-the-human-race-interesting-is/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows it's a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself -- or at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/a-cultivated-style-would-be-like-a-mask-everybody-knows-it-s-a-mask/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The past is never where you think you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-past-is-never-where-you-think-you-left-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the arts, you simply cannot secure your bread and your freedom of action too. You cannot be a hostile critic of society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/in-the-arts-you-simply-cannot-secure-your-bread-and-your-freedom-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) [Explore all 156 Katherine Anne Porter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. 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