--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My function as a writer is not…" description: "\"My function as a writer is not story-telling but truth-telling: to make things plain.\" — Laura Riding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png" --- # My function as a writer is not story-telling but… ![“My function as a writer is not story-telling but truth-telling: to make things plain.” quote by Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png) > “My function as a writer is not story-telling but truth-telling: to make things plain.” [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer’s purpose is to convey truth plainly, not merely to tell stories. **In simple terms:** Writers should reveal truth. Key Takeaway Prioritize clarity. Themes writing truth clarity Mood analytical serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts literalism communication Questions to Reflect On - How to balance truth and narrative? - When is storytelling necessary? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-telling/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Telling the truth - telling thoughtful truths - should not be a revolutionary act. 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Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Most people don't care if you're telling them the truth or if you're telling them a lie, as long as they're entertained by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-people-don-t-care-if-you-re-telling-them-the-truth-or-if-you-re/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [...truth-telling may be an ethic, adopted by photojournalists as a behavior, but experience shows us that it is not embedded in the medium like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grundberg/truth-telling-may-be-an-ethic-adopted-by-photojournalists-as-a/) [Andy Grundberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grundberg/) > [“I'm also old... and my own gift for writing fantasy grows out of very literal-minded, pragmatic soil: the things I do when I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-m-also-old-and-my-own-gift-for-writing-fantasy-grows-out-of-very/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [I've always seen writing as a way of telling the truth. For me, writing is about truth. I have always tried to be faithful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-ve-always-seen-writing-as-a-way-of-telling-the-truth-for-me-writing/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [But, the relationships that I see work - As long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-as-they-re-telling-the/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [“You don’t need creativity when you’re telling the truth,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-e-richards/you-don-t-need-creativity-when-you-re-telling-the-truth/) [Douglas E. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-e-richards/) > [I feel a responsibility for telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/i-feel-a-responsibility-for-telling-the-truth/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [Until I came out, my acting was all about disguise, and thereafter it became about telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/until-i-came-out-my-acting-was-all-about-disguise-and-thereafter-it/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [Some people don't like telling the truth... And some people can't handle hearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-don-t-like-telling-the-truth-and-some-people-can-t-handle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know the words that I say are bad and can hurt you but its just me telling the truth if you don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shar-rae/i-know-the-words-that-i-say-are-bad-and-can-hurt-you-but-its-just-me/) [Shar-rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shar-rae/) > [“He wrote: ‘We make ourselves real by telling the truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-durham/he-wrote-we-make-ourselves-real-by-telling-the-truth/) [Geoffrey Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-durham/) > [I don't think telling the truth ever gets anyone in trouble in the long run. Maybe the day after, but not in the long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-spurrier/i-don-t-think-telling-the-truth-ever-gets-anyone-in-trouble-in-the/) [Steve Spurrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-spurrier/) > [“Publicly telling the truth on social media can be one of the most effective healing journeys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/publicly-telling-the-truth-on-social-media-can-be-one-of-the-most/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Laura Riding > [I believe that misconceptions about oneself that one does not correct where possible act as a bad magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/i-believe-that-misconceptions-about-oneself-that-one-does-not-correct/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [To a poet the mere making of a poem can seem to solve the problem of truth…but only a problem of art is solved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/to-a-poet-the-mere-making-of-a-poem-can-seem-to-solve-the-problem-of/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Evil I had never found satisfactorily placeable as an integral element of the universal, or total, content of existence. Indeed, evil is evil just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/evil-i-had-never-found-satisfactorily-placeable-as-an-integral/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [“Forgive me, giver, if I destroy the gift: it is so nearly what would please me I cannot but perfect it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/forgive-me-giver-if-i-destroy-the-gift-it-is-so-nearly-what-would/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [The new "ambiguity" means, in a way adjudged favorable to literary, poetic, intellectually and psychologically well-devised and praiseworthily executed linguistic performance, uncertainty of meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/the-new-ambiguity-means-in-a-way-adjudged-favorable-to-literary/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Conversation succeeds conversation, Until there's nothing left to talk about Except truth, the perennial monologue, And no talker to dispute it but itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/conversation-succeeds-conversation-until-there-s-nothing-left-to-talk/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Women, ever since there have been women, have had a way of being people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/women-ever-since-there-have-been-women-have-had-a-way-of-being-people/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [ She \[Venison\] had never travelled and so could invent all kinds of strange places without being limited, as travelled people are, by knowledge of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/she-venison-had-never-travelled-and-so-could-invent-all-kinds-of/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [rummaging in the storehouses of religious or literary history for myth-matter for ideational uses is of the nature of spiritual vulgarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/rummaging-in-the-storehouses-of-religious-or-literary-history-for/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [The terms 'male' and 'female' must be understood as representing no mere primitive opposition of sex to sex; but as defining two worlds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/the-terms-male-and-female-must-be-understood-as-representing-no-mere/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [The object of all religious activity is to mingle the human and the non-human, and the lower gods represent that which is cast back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/the-object-of-all-religious-activity-is-to-mingle-the-human-and-the/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Women are strangers in the country of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/women-are-strangers-in-the-country-of-man/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Every thought sounds like a footfall, Till a thought like a boot kicks down the wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/every-thought-sounds-like-a-footfall-till-a-thought-like-a-boot-kicks/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [Politics have always covered two distinct kinds of problems: problems of administrative routine, and those that may be called 'questions of the moment.' A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/politics-have-always-covered-two-distinct-kinds-of-problems-problems/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [To tell one comprehensive story of how it has happened that what is is, one which shall hold true, come what may, now-after -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/to-tell-one-comprehensive-story-of-how-it-has-happened-that-what-is/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) [Explore all 68 Laura Riding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) ## More Function quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [. . . to know the order of nature, and regard the universe as orderly is the highest function of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/to-know-the-order-of-nature-and-regard-the-universe-as-orderly-is-the/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [If the mind is dominated by hatred, the best part of the brain, which is used to judge right and wrong, does not function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/if-the-mind-is-dominated-by-hatred-the-best-part-of-the-brain-which/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) Browse all 2,964 Function quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My function as a writer is not story-telling but truth-telling: to make things plain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laura Riding" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-telling-but-truth-telling-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Function" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-telling-but-truth-telling-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/laura-riding-9995_function_my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-tel_2767861.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My function as a writer is not story-telling but truth-telling: to make things plain.” — Laura Riding", "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": "Laura Riding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My function as a writer is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-telling-but-truth-telling-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/my-function-as-a-writer-is-not-story-telling-but-truth-telling-to/#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 } } ] } ```