--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing turns you into somebody who's…" description: "\"“Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The illusion that you may get it right someday is the perversity that draws you on.”\" — Philip Roth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/philip-roth-681_perversity_writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-al_696948.jpg" --- # Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The… ![“Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The illusion that you may get it right someday is the perversity that draws you on.” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/philip-roth-681_perversity_writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-al_696948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/philip-roth-681_perversity_writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-al_696948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/philip-roth-681_perversity_writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-al_696948.jpg) > ““Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The illusion that you may get it right someday is the perversity that draws you on.”” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing constantly exposes you to errors, yet the hope of eventual correctness drives persistence. **In simple terms:** Writing is a cycle of mistakes and hope. Key Takeaway Embrace mistakes as part of the creative process. Themes creativity perseverance self-doubt Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - authoring - learning - self-improvement Key Concepts literature psychology process Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to keep writing despite errors? - How can you balance self-critique with progress? A Different Perspective The illusion of eventual success may cause frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. the illusion that you may get it right someday is the perversity that draws you on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-always-wrong-the-illusion-that-2/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [At the end of the 1960s, I was part of the downtown theatrical movement in New York that was making work in alleyways, garages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/at-the-end-of-the-1960s-i-was-part-of-the-downtown-theatrical/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [“The operating room turns you into somebody who's never wrong. Much like writing." "Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-operating-room-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-never-wrong-much/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. that thing you had to force yourself to do--the actual act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-has-so-much-to-give-so-much-to-teach-so-many-surprises-that/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [That thing you had to force yourself to do-the actual act of writing-turns out to be the best part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/that-thing-you-had-to-force-yourself-to-do-the-actual-act-of-writing/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Read a lot, finding out what kind of writing turns you on, in order to develop a criterion for your own writing. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-daniell/read-a-lot-finding-out-what-kind-of-writing-turns-you-on-in-order-to/) Rosemary Daniell > [Eventually the bad stuff I'm writing turns into better stuff. Other times, I've just walked away from what I was working on, and figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-haddix/eventually-the-bad-stuff-i-m-writing-turns-into-better-stuff-other/) [Margaret Haddix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-haddix/) > [To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/to-offer-the-complexities-of-life-as-an-excuse-for-not-addressing/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Envy is the deformed and distorted offspring of egotism; and when we reflect on the strange and disproportioned character of the parent, we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-the-deformed-and-distorted-offspring-of-egotism-and-when-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Woman, thy name is perversity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-way/woman-thy-name-is-perversity/) [Margaret Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-way/) > [It seems to me a measure of the true perversity of the human race, that one of its very few reliably pleasurable activities should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-gross/it-seems-to-me-a-measure-of-the-true-perversity-of-the-human-race/) Otto Gross > [Drawing is one of those things which sit on the uneasy bending line between instinct and instruction, where seeming perversity eventually trumps pleasure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/drawing-is-one-of-those-things-which-sit-on-the-uneasy-bending-line/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Perversity quotes > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Drawing is one of those things which sit on the uneasy bending line between instinct and instruction, where seeming perversity eventually trumps pleasure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/drawing-is-one-of-those-things-which-sit-on-the-uneasy-bending-line/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [It seems to me a measure of the true perversity of the human race, that one of its very few reliably pleasurable activities should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-gross/it-seems-to-me-a-measure-of-the-true-perversity-of-the-human-race/) Otto Gross > [“Woman, thy name is perversity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-way/woman-thy-name-is-perversity/) [Margaret Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-way/) > [To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/to-offer-the-complexities-of-life-as-an-excuse-for-not-addressing/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Envy is the deformed and distorted offspring of egotism; and when we reflect on the strange and disproportioned character of the parent, we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-the-deformed-and-distorted-offspring-of-egotism-and-when-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Scripture points out this difference between believers and unbelievers; the latter, as old slaves of their incurable perversity, cannot endure the rod; but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/scripture-points-out-this-difference-between-believers-and/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The evil effect of science upon men is principally this, that by far the greatest number of those who wish to display a knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-evil-effect-of-science-upon-men-is-principally-this-that-by-far/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“The perversity of woman!' thought Julien. 'What pleasure, what instinct leads them to betray us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-perversity-of-woman-thought-julien-what-pleasure-what-instinct/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man's sense of values is so degraded that he does not revere the Geetha, as much as he values and scans the pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/man-s-sense-of-values-is-so-degraded-that-he-does-not-revere-the/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [We are all victimized by the natural perversity of inanimate objects...and the assorted human beings who perpetuate and maintain this perversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/we-are-all-victimized-by-the-natural-perversity-of-inanimate-objects/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/the-perversity-of-the-universe-tends-towards-a-maximum/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [Increasingly, I wonder if there are any outrages that would be sufficiently ominous in their effects upon liberty and unequivocal in their moral perversity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/increasingly-i-wonder-if-there-are-any-outrages-that-would-be/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) Browse all 56 Perversity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. 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