--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You write out of experience, and a large…" description: "\"“You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others.”\" — Pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png" --- # You write out of experience, and a large part of that… ![“You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png) > ““You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others.”” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing draws from personal experience, while reading frees the mind to share that inner life with others. **In simple terms:** Writing uses self; reading shares it. Key Takeaway Share your story, listen to others. Themes creativity empathy communication Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing workshops - book clubs - teaching - therapy Key Concepts subjective experience collective understanding Questions to Reflect On - How does your own story shape what you read? - Can reading change your inner life? A Different Perspective Reading may not capture all nuances of lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-liberation-3008729/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-reading-2855411/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-experience-334698/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“What music is to the spirit, reading is to the mind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-roger-fischer/what-music-is-to-the-spirit-reading-is-to-the-mind/) [Steven Roger Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-roger-fischer/) > [I've always written stories from female perspectives. That it's one of the reasons I write, to have that experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vestal-mcintyre/i-ve-always-written-stories-from-female-perspectives-that-it-s-one-of/) [Vestal McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vestal-mcintyre/) > [Of course I write from experience, but I also do write from things that have happened in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-beer/of-course-i-write-from-experience-but-i-also-do-write-from-things/) [Madison Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-beer/) > [“Writers don't write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit that they don't. ...If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/writers-don-t-write-from-experience-although-many-are-hesitant-to/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I think a diversity of expression can only be good, so I think the more that people write about their experience, use their imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-think-a-diversity-of-expression-can-only-be-good-so-i-think-the/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [In order for me to write, I have to experience life. I write the songs based on real life, and I perform them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle/in-order-for-me-to-write-i-have-to-experience-life-i-write-the-songs/) [Estelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle/) > [The imagination and the place that dreams come from is so huge and so important. I'm trying to write about the real world, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-imagination-and-the-place-that-dreams-come-from-is-so-huge-and-so/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I think it's easier for me to write from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-bridgers/i-think-it-s-easier-for-me-to-write-from-experience/) [Phoebe Bridgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-bridgers/) > [I just write from my own experience and they're very real. They're all the things that I've been through, all situations I've had, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/i-just-write-from-my-own-experience-and-they-re-very-real-they-re-all/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) > [“I worked and now I can write, Experience is everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-m-gallagher/i-worked-and-now-i-can-write-experience-is-everything/) [Andrew M. Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-m-gallagher/) > [I want to write from my own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-brian/i-want-to-write-from-my-own-experience/) [Rich Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-brian/) > [“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/) > [If I should certainly say to a novice, 'Write from experience and experience only,' I should feel that this was rather a tantalizing monition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-i-should-certainly-say-to-a-novice-write-from-experience-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Writers are there to write, not experience things. If you want to experience things, become a pirate or a Bookhunter. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/writers-are-there-to-write-not-experience-things-if-you-want-to/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [Everyone said, 'Well, you're very old for a first novel,' and I said, 'How do you write when you haven't lived? How do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/everyone-said-well-you-re-very-old-for-a-first-novel-and-i-said-how/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. That evanescent, pervasive, slippery internal landscape known to no one else, that vast accretion of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/but-her-thoughts-are-often-of-the-past-that-evanescent-pervasive/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Unless I am a part of everything I am nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/unless-i-am-a-part-of-everything-i-am-nothing/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/getting-to-know-someone-else-involves-curiosity-about-where-they-have/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-intrigued-by-the-way-in-which-physical-appearance-can-often/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-said-i-suppose-there-is/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“I have a print - you can buy them at the Victoria and Albert Museum - of a photograph of the village street of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-have-a-print-you-can-buy-them-at-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-of/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/every-novel-generates-its-own-climate-when-you-get-going/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The power of language. Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Experience quotes > [Experience makes a lesson to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-makes-a-lesson-to-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Iranians hate Arabs. They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) [Michael Bugeja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bugeja/) > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [Experience is a thorough teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jane-holmes/experience-is-a-thorough-teacher/) [Mary Jane Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jane-holmes/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I've had a great experience with pretty much everybody I've worked with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-ve-had-a-great-experience-with-pretty-much-everybody-i-ve-worked/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [It wasn't a mistake, it was a fun learning experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-wasn-t-a-mistake-it-was-a-fun-learning-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) [Browse all 11,792 Experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the liberation into the minds of others.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Penelope Lively" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large-part-of-that-experience-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large-part-of-that-experience-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dc/penelope-lively-3959_experience_you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large_1117694.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You write out of experience, and a large part of that experience is the life of the spirit; reading is the…” — Penelope Lively", "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": "Penelope Lively", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You write out of experience, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large-part-of-that-experience-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/you-write-out-of-experience-and-a-large-part-of-that-experience-is/#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 } } ] } ```