--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only really good piece of advice I…" description: "\"The only really good piece of advice I have for my students is, 'Write something you'd never show your mother or father. And you know what they say? I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/lorrie-moore-870_advice_the-only-really-good-piece-of-advice-i-h_1498140.jpg" --- # The only really good piece of advice I have for my… ![“The only really good piece of advice I have for my students is, 'Write something you'd never show your mother or father. And you know what they say? I could never do that!'” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/lorrie-moore-870_advice_the-only-really-good-piece-of-advice-i-h_1498140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/lorrie-moore-870_advice_the-only-really-good-piece-of-advice-i-h_1498140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/lorrie-moore-870_advice_the-only-really-good-piece-of-advice-i-h_1498140.jpg) > “The only really good piece of advice I have for my students is, 'Write something you'd never show your mother or father. And you know what they say? I could never do that!'” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages writing deeply personal, taboo material to break creative inhibitions and discover authentic voice. **In simple terms:** Write something you’d never show parents. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability to unlock originality. Themes creativity authenticity risk selfexpression Mood introspective provocative Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journals - confessional essays - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology censorship artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - What personal truth are you avoiding? - How does secrecy fuel creativity? A Different Perspective May alienate readers uncomfortable with raw honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When I am performing, I try to follow the advice I give to my students. 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I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-joseph/i-do-bring-my-teaching-together-with-my-writing-i-make-students-write/) [Allison Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-joseph/) > [I used to tell my writing students that they must write the books they wished they could come upon - because then the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-used-to-tell-my-writing-students-that-they-must-write-the-books/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I try to tell student writers to read as much as possible, not only literature but philosophy, theory, and to form obsessions. 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Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [“When students write from experience, they can breathe those specifics into their writing- dialect, odd smells, precise names of plants- that can animate even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/when-students-write-from-experience-they-can-breathe-those-specifics/) [Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/) > [I suggest to my students that they write under a pseudonym for a week. That allows young men to write as women, and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-suggest-to-my-students-that-they-write-under-a-pseudonym-for-a-week/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [When I taught a civil rights class at the University of Maryland Law School, I would do an exercise with my students. I'd write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/when-i-taught-a-civil-rights-class-at-the-university-of-maryland-law/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. 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If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) Mak\_786 > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. 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I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-best-way-to-succeed-in-this-world-is-to-act-on-the-advice-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Time is priceless. You have it, but you don't own it. You spend it, but you can't keep it. And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. 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