--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think writers are excited by stupidity…" description: "\"I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.\" — Martin Amis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg" --- # I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior… ![“I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg) > “I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers are drawn to absurdity and misbehavior because they reveal deeper truths about humanity. **In simple terms:** Writers love absurdity. Key Takeaway Explore chaos to reveal truth. Themes creativity absurdity human nature Mood analytical critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - satire - media criticism Key Concepts literary analysis psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why are we fascinated by bad behavior? - How can satire avoid endorsing negativity? A Different Perspective Obsessing on stupidity can glorify harmful behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-behavior/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think that we, as writers, get excited by risk. When we are feeling comfortable and familiar, I wouldn't say that we get bored,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/i-think-that-we-as-writers-get-excited-by-risk-when-we-are-feeling/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [“stupidity can be as bad as malice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/stupidity-can-be-as-bad-as-malice/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [The stupid thief wears the sheep bell around his neck! Such stupidity of the bad is always good for the society!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-stupid-thief-wears-the-sheep-bell-around-his-neck-such-stupidity/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“My state’s constitution seems to contain a provision requiring that once every two years we must pass a bill which dazzles the entire country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-heaton/my-state-s-constitution-seems-to-contain-a-provision-requiring-that/) [Andrew Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-heaton/) > [I think all writers have a bit of genius in them, and a bit of talent. Genius retreats but talent improves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-all-writers-have-a-bit-of-genius-in-them-and-a-bit-of-talent/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-miller/it-s-something-that-s-difficult-to-explain-but-i-think-all-writers/) [Mary J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-miller/) > [I think writers have become hypnotised by the number of jokes on the page at the expense of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-schwartz/i-think-writers-have-become-hypnotised-by-the-number-of-jokes-on-the/) [Sherwood Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-schwartz/) > [I think some writers should wait for something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-think-some-writers-should-wait-for-something-to-say/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I don’t think writers compete, I think they’re all doing separate things in their own style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-don-t-think-writers-compete-i-think-they-re-all-doing-separate/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I think writers are the most narcissistic people. 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You can't act as though that didn't exist, as though it wasn't part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-vigan/you-re-lucky-to-have-within-your-grasp-something-that-everyone-envies/) [Delphine de Vigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-vigan/) > [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-writers-tend-to-be-experience-junkies-and-i-think-they-also/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think that if writers don't speak about real life, it's because they don't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/i-think-that-if-writers-don-t-speak-about-real-life-it-s-because-they/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Bad behavior quotes > [“It is chilling to know that some accepted ways of being with children can leave them vulnerable to suffering from anxiety, depression, or rage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-taylor/it-is-chilling-to-know-that-some-accepted-ways-of-being-with-children/) [Natalie Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-taylor/) > [More often than not, the belief that you are bad contributes to the "bad" behavior. Change and learning occur most readily when you (a)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/more-often-than-not-the-belief-that-you-are-bad-contributes-to-the/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [The desire to keep doing what we love supersedes the desire to penalize bad behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-scovell/the-desire-to-keep-doing-what-we-love-supersedes-the-desire-to/) [Nell Scovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-scovell/) > [“Admit it—own up to the fact you have an undesirable habit. Tell the Lord about it (He already knows; it just helps you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/admit-it-own-up-to-the-fact-you-have-an-undesirable-habit-tell-the/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [If you do anything today: trade in that bad behavior for a new and improved one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaoru/if-you-do-anything-today-trade-in-that-bad-behavior-for-a-new-and/) [Kaoru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaoru/) > [“wen am good you will not accept, now don't blame me for my bad behaviors ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakhiabbas/wen-am-good-you-will-not-accept-now-don-t-blame-me-for-my-bad/) sakhiabbas > [“We need to get our minds right, because right now we are behaving as if we are out of our right minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/we-need-to-get-our-minds-right-because-right-now-we-are-behaving-as/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) > [“It’s extremely unlikely you will be magically transformed from a mediocre or average people manager to a Satya Nadella or a Ratan Tata. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binod-shankar/it-s-extremely-unlikely-you-will-be-magically-transformed-from-a/) Binod Shankar > [The Fox News that I know and work in is a team of producers, technicians, photographers, truck operators and production managers who barely have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-maccallum/the-fox-news-that-i-know-and-work-in-is-a-team-of-producers/) [Martha MacCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-maccallum/) > [Most bad behavior comes from insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-winger/most-bad-behavior-comes-from-insecurity/) [Debra Winger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-winger/) > [ “\[T\]here are some human rights that are so deep that we can't negotiate them away. I mean people do heinous, terrible things. But there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-helen-prejean/t-here-are-some-human-rights-that-are-so-deep-that-we-can-t-negotiate/) Sister Helen Prejean > [The end result of positively reinforcing bad behavior is that you get more of it. The culmination of a failure to punish predators is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/the-end-result-of-positively-reinforcing-bad-behavior-is-that-you-get/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“I became a student of my own depressed experience, trying to unthread its causes. What was the root of all this despair? Was it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-became-a-student-of-my-own-depressed-experience-trying-to-unthread/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“She leaned down so she was looking right in my eyes. "You hear me, child. you can't use other folks' bad behavior to excuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/she-leaned-down-so-she-was-looking-right-in-my-eyes-you-hear-me-child/) [susan crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [As a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, I would often police the streets in a bulletproof vest one day during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/as-a-founder-of-100-blacks-in-law-enforcement-who-care-i-would-often/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) [Browse all 203 Bad behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Amis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity-and-bad-behavior-generally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity-and-bad-behavior-generally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/martin-amis-704_bad-behavior_i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity_281321.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.” — Martin Amis", "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": "Martin Amis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think writers are excited by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity-and-bad-behavior-generally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity-and-bad-behavior-generally/#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 } } ] } ```