--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of one thing the reader can be certain…" description: "\"Of one thing the reader can be certain: the more easily anything reads, the harder it has been to write.\" — Mary Roberts Rinehart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_books_of-one-thing-the-reader-can-be-certain-t_1527832.jpg" --- # Of one thing the reader can be certain: the more easily… ![“Of one thing the reader can be certain: the more easily anything reads, the harder it has been to write.” quote by Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_books_of-one-thing-the-reader-can-be-certain-t_1527832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_books_of-one-thing-the-reader-can-be-certain-t_1527832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/mary-roberts-rinehart-4636_books_of-one-thing-the-reader-can-be-certain-t_1527832.jpg) > “Of one thing the reader can be certain: the more easily anything reads, the harder it has been to write.” [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Easier reading often masks the difficulty of the writing process. **In simple terms:** Simple text hides hard work. Key Takeaway Recognize effort behind smooth prose. Themes writing reading effort perception Mood reflective analytical Type literary commentary When to use this quote - editing - publishing - teaching writing - author appreciation Key Concepts literary craft authorial struggle Questions to Reflect On - How does you balance readability with authenticity? - What sacrifices are made for ease of reading? A Different Perspective A smooth style may still be superficial without depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The reader has certain rights. He bought your story. Think of this as an implicit contract. 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It's easier because the facts are already laid out before you, and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/nonfiction-is-both-easier-and-harder-to-write-than-fiction-it-s/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [For some it is harder to write a novel than to row a bathtub across the North Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-n-frey/for-some-it-is-harder-to-write-a-novel-than-to-row-a-bathtub-across/) [James N. Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-n-frey/) ## More by Mary Roberts Rinehart > [Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/every-crucial-experience-can-be-regarded-either-as-a-setback-or-the/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [pretense is the oil that lubricates society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/pretense-is-the-oil-that-lubricates-society/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [Men... look back on the children who were once themselves, and attempt to reconstruct them. But they can no longer think like the child...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/men-look-back-on-the-children-who-were-once-themselves-and-attempt-to/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [there comes a time when ambition ceases to burn, or romance to stir, and the highest cry of the human heart is for peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/there-comes-a-time-when-ambition-ceases-to-burn-or-romance-to-stir/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [To men and women who want to do things, there is nothing quite so driving as the force of an imprisoned ego. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/to-men-and-women-who-want-to-do-things-there-is-nothing-quite-so/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [The stage on which we play our little dramas of life and love has for most of us but one setting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/the-stage-on-which-we-play-our-little-dramas-of-life-and-love-has-for/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [ \[On fishing:\] Greatest rest in the world for the brain. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/on-fishing-greatest-rest-in-the-world-for-the-brain/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [I suppose there is something in all of us that harks back to the soil. 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But your really humorous woman loves a joke on herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/men-love-a-joke-on-the-other-fellow-but-your-really-humorous-woman/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [War is a thing of fearful and curious anomalies ... It has shown that government by men only is not an appeal to reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/war-is-a-thing-of-fearful-and-curious-anomalies-it-has-shown-that/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [the calm of a place like Bellwood is the peace of death without the hope of resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/the-calm-of-a-place-like-bellwood-is-the-peace-of-death-without-the/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [I never saw a lawyer yet who would admit he was making money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/i-never-saw-a-lawyer-yet-who-would-admit-he-was-making-money/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [“Oh, stop talking," I cried, in a hunted tone. "I can't bear it. If you are going to arrest me, get it over." "I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/oh-stop-talking-i-cried-in-a-hunted-tone-i-can-t-bear-it-if-you-are/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) [Explore all 108 Mary Roberts Rinehart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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