--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anyone who is going to be a writer knows…" description: "\"Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.\" — May Sarton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg" --- # Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen… ![“Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg) > “Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early exposure to writing and reading equips a future writer with enough knowledge to produce multiple works. **In simple terms:** Early reading and writing build a writer’s foundation. Key Takeaway Read and write consistently from a young age. Themes education writing talent development literature Mood encouraging educational Type literary motivational When to use this quote - school curricula - writing workshops - self‑study - mentorship Key Concepts creative confidence literary skill early literacy Questions to Reflect On - What early experiences shaped your writing? - How can you foster literary skills today? A Different Perspective Not all writers follow a linear path; talent varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [One summer I was homeless in L.A., when I was about fifteen, and I used to go to the library to get books. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/one-summer-i-was-homeless-in-l-a-when-i-was-about-fifteen-and-i-used/) [Luis J. Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I still don't know if I can write songs. I don't think anyone ever knows if they can write songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-still-don-t-know-if-i-can-write-songs-i-don-t-think-anyone-ever/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [“ (1) the Muse visits during, not before, the act of composition, and (2) the writer takes dictation from that place in his mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/1-the-muse-visits-during-not-before-the-act-of-composition-and-2-the/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [No one knows how to write a novel until it's been written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/no-one-knows-how-to-write-a-novel-until-it-s-been-written/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [(The new boyfriend) knows I write every day for hours but has no idea that all I’m writing about is me. It seems wiser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/the-new-boyfriend-knows-i-write-every-day-for-hours-but-has-no-idea/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/your-intuition-knows-what-to-write-so-get-out-of-the-way/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [In order to write novels for a living - it's not pathological, but I do think and worry and brood and fidget about stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/in-order-to-write-novels-for-a-living-it-s-not-pathological-but-i-do/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Books are great for if you want to work on the craft of writing for yourself, or, you know, to write novels or indie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lennon/books-are-great-for-if-you-want-to-work-on-the-craft-of-writing-for/) [Thomas Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lennon/) > [“Art educates. That's why writers must know life. . .If the writer knows life, his work is often progressive, even though his own consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slawomir-mrozek/art-educates-that-s-why-writers-must-know-life-if-the-writer-knows/) slawomir mrozek > [It's always incredible though when you feel like the writer knows the character intimately and can see their life sprawling away outside of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ritchie/it-s-always-incredible-though-when-you-feel-like-the-writer-knows-the/) [Charlotte Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ritchie/) > [Every writer knows that when you're imitating somebody - you know, you're sounding like Faulkner - you're doing pretty good, but your life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/every-writer-knows-that-when-you-re-imitating-somebody-you-know-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [No writing effort is ever wasted. At the very least, it's practice, and a writer never knows when he or she might usefully cannibalize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-fowler/no-writing-effort-is-ever-wasted-at-the-very-least-it-s-practice-and/) [Therese Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-fowler/) > [The writer knows his own worth, and to be overvalued can confuse and destroy him as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-jackson/the-writer-knows-his-own-worth-and-to-be-overvalued-can-confuse-and/) [Charles R. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-jackson/) > [There ought to be some sign in a book about man, that the writer knows thoroughly one man at least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/there-ought-to-be-some-sign-in-a-book-about-man-that-the-writer-knows/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## 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! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "May Sarton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows-enough-at-fifteen-to-write/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows-enough-at-fifteen-to-write/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/may-sarton-897_books_anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows_1599793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at fifteen to write several novels.” — May Sarton", "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": "May Sarton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anyone who is going to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows-enough-at-fifteen-to-write/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/anyone-who-is-going-to-be-a-writer-knows-enough-at-fifteen-to-write/#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 } } ] } ```