--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great books are written from a sense that…" description: "\"Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.\" — Matthew Specktor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg" --- # Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing… ![“Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.” quote by Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg) > “Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.” [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing without fear of loss frees creativity, allowing bold ideas to emerge. **In simple terms:** Fearless writing yields bold ideas. Key Takeaway Write without fearing loss. Themes creativity risk authorship Mood inspired reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - personal essays - artistic projects Key Concepts existentialism creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - What would you create if you feared nothing? - How does safety affect originality? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to reckless choices without discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Nothing to lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing-to-lose/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Great books write themselves, only bad books have to be written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/great-books-write-themselves-only-bad-books-have-to-be-written/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I am transcribing a book that I have, in a sense, not yet written, and in another sense, have always written, and in another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/i-am-transcribing-a-book-that-i-have-in-a-sense-not-yet-written-and/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [Literature in the written sense represents the triumph of language over writing: the subversion of writing for purposes that have little or nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/literature-in-the-written-sense-represents-the-triumph-of-language/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world-it-s-true-but-there-are-also/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [We find little in a book but what we put there. But in great books, the mind finds room to put many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-find-little-in-a-book-but-what-we-put-there-but-in-great-books-the/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Great books, like large skulls, have often the least brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/great-books-like-large-skulls-have-often-the-least-brains/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Al forms of consensus about ''great'' books and ''perennial'' problems, once stabilized, tend to deteriorate eventually into something philistine. The real life of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/al-forms-of-consensus-about-great-books-and-perennial-problems-once/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The truly great books are always novels: 'Anna Karenina,' 'The Brothers Karamazov,' 'The Magic Mountain.' Just as with 'Shahnameh,' I browse these books from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/the-truly-great-books-are-always-novels-anna-karenina-the-brothers/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I could read the great books but the great books don't interest me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-could-read-the-great-books-but-the-great-books-don-t-interest-me/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Great books help you understand, and they help you to feel understood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/great-books-help-you-understand-and-they-help-you-to-feel-understood/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/every-10-years-you-re-a-different-person-and-the-really-great-books/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Great books conserve time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/great-books-conserve-time/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [The truly great books are the few books that are over everybody's head all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truly-great-books-are-the-few-books-that-are-over-everybody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why are not more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books are not in everybody's reach; and though it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-are-not-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) ## More by Matthew Specktor > [We go to literature because it shows us some set of humane values. It is showing us how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/we-go-to-literature-because-it-shows-us-some-set-of-humane-values-it/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [I've always found too that somewhere in whatever you've just written lies the seed of what you're going to write next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/i-ve-always-found-too-that-somewhere-in-whatever-you-ve-just-written/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [My own sense is that fiction is inching its way over to join poetry on the cultural margin. It's an area of passionate concern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/my-own-sense-is-that-fiction-is-inching-its-way-over-to-join-poetry/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [It's hard to imagine there's a place for great writing inside a multinational conglomerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/it-s-hard-to-imagine-there-s-a-place-for-great-writing-inside-a/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [Our need to identify with representative figures is something that never goes away. We still find those in novels. We find those in television.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/our-need-to-identify-with-representative-figures-is-something-that/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [100 million dollars used to be the limit of what a movie might cost; now they routinely cost 300 million. 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It can give them something to push off of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/even-though-i-think-writers-can-sometimes-thrive-from-being-misread/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [I'm going to write what I feel like writing, which is a great place to be. But it can be hard to get there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/i-m-going-to-write-what-i-feel-like-writing-which-is-a-great-place-to/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [The feature film business, the studio film business, feels to me like there's just nowhere else to go. It's like a record that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/the-feature-film-business-the-studio-film-business-feels-to-me-like/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [There's a kind of perverseness or betrayal in that idea that art is somehow superior to life. Or that it's more important to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/there-s-a-kind-of-perverseness-or-betrayal-in-that-idea-that-art-is/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [The '90s were a time when not just the movie business, but every aspect of American life, became a lot more corporate. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/the-90s-were-a-time-when-not-just-the-movie-business-but-every-aspect/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [Hollywood is famous for breeding monsters, and having worked in the business, I've known a lot of them. But only intermittently have I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/hollywood-is-famous-for-breeding-monsters-and-having-worked-in-the/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [I don't want to say that having power is overrated, but powerlessness can give rise to a different kind of authority, and that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-having-power-is-overrated-but-powerlessness/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) [Explore all 55 Matthew Specktor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) ## More Book 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/) > [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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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Specktor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87a/matthew-specktor-12423_book_great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-tha_569333.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.” — Matthew Specktor", "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": "Matthew Specktor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great books are written from a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/#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 } } ] } ```