---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's misleading to think of writers as…"
description: "\"It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg"
---

#  It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures…

![“It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers are ordinary people who like to write. They feel the urge to write, and they scratch that itch every chance they get.” quote by Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg)

> “It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers are ordinary people who like to write. They feel the urge to write, and they scratch that itch every chance they get.”

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writers are not magical; they are ordinary people driven by a persistent urge to write.

**In simple terms:** Writing is a common human impulse.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the ordinary drive to write.

Themes

creativity humility discipline

Mood

inspirational practical

Type

advice reflective

When to use this quote

- daily journaling
- teaching writing
- overcoming writer's block
- publishing

Key Concepts

writing process motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- What simple daily habit fuels your writing?
- How does ordinary effort become extraordinary work?

A Different Perspective

The quote may downplay the skill and craft involved.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [New fiction writers are a special breed in my estimation, and I never dreamed that so many people would be interested, but I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/new-fiction-writers-are-a-special-breed-in-my-estimation-and-i-never/)

[Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/)

> [I think that if writers don't speak about real life, it's because they don't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/i-think-that-if-writers-don-t-speak-about-real-life-it-s-because-they/)

[Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/)

> [I do not think writers ought ever to sit down and think they must write about some cause, or theme, or something. If they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-writers-ought-ever-to-sit-down-and-think-they-must/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [I think writers are excited by stupidity and bad behavior, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-think-writers-are-excited-by-stupidity-and-bad-behavior-generally/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [It's weird - I don't feel like I'm a better or more confident writer because I'm publishing something. I think, for most writers as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-gavin/it-s-weird-i-don-t-feel-like-i-m-a-better-or-more-confident-writer/)

[James M. Gavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-gavin/)

> [It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-miller/it-s-something-that-s-difficult-to-explain-but-i-think-all-writers/)

[Mary J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-miller/)

> [I think writers have become hypnotised by the number of jokes on the page at the expense of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-schwartz/i-think-writers-have-become-hypnotised-by-the-number-of-jokes-on-the/)

[Sherwood Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-schwartz/)

> [I think some writers should wait for something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-think-some-writers-should-wait-for-something-to-say/)

[Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/)

> [I don’t think writers compete, I think they’re all doing separate things in their own style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-don-t-think-writers-compete-i-think-they-re-all-doing-separate/)

[Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/)

> [I think writers are the most narcissistic people. Well, I musn't say this, I like many of them, a great many of my friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-think-writers-are-the-most-narcissistic-people-well-i-musn-t-say/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“You're lucky to have within your grasp something that everyone envies. You can't act as though that didn't exist, as though it wasn't part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-vigan/you-re-lucky-to-have-within-your-grasp-something-that-everyone-envies/)

[Delphine de Vigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-vigan/)

> [We aren't suggesting that mental instability or unhappiness makes one a better poet, or a poet at all; and contrary to the romantic notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/we-aren-t-suggesting-that-mental-instability-or-unhappiness-makes-one/)

[Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/)

> [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/)

[Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/)

> [I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-writers-tend-to-be-experience-junkies-and-i-think-they-also/)

[Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/)

> [I think writers write for their consciences, they write for their own true audiences, for their souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/i-think-writers-write-for-their-consciences-they-write-for-their-own/)

[Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/)

## More by Ralph Fletcher

> [If you want to write poetry, you must have poems that deeply move you. Poems you can't live without. I think of a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/if-you-want-to-write-poetry-you-must-have-poems-that-deeply-move-you/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [You don't learn to write by going through a series of preset writing exercises. You learn to write by grappling with a real subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/you-don-t-learn-to-write-by-going-through-a-series-of-preset-writing/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [Writing becomes beautiful when it becomes specific, concrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/writing-becomes-beautiful-when-it-becomes-specific-concrete/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [“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/)

> [Poems are the 'daredevil' of writing because a poem will say what nobody else wants to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/poems-are-the-daredevil-of-writing-because-a-poem-will-say-what/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [Use your notebook to breathe in the world around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/use-your-notebook-to-breathe-in-the-world-around-you/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [“The real meaning of a poem is to stop time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/the-real-meaning-of-a-poem-is-to-stop-time/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [Good writing happens when human beings follow particular steps to take control of their sentences-to make their words do what they want them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/good-writing-happens-when-human-beings-follow-particular-steps-to/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [G.K. Chesterton once said: If something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. I live by this philosophy when I teach writing. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/g-k-chesterton-once-said-if-something-is-worth-doing-it-is-worth/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [“When someone you love dies, you get a big bowl of sadness put down in front of you, steaming hot. You can start eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/when-someone-you-love-dies-you-get-a-big-bowl-of-sadness-put-down-in/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [Here's the secret of writing: there is no secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no-secret/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

> [A notebook can be a clearing in the forest of your life, a place where you can be alone and content as you play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/a-notebook-can-be-a-clearing-in-the-forest-of-your-life-a-place-where/)

[Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

[Explore all 13 Ralph Fletcher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/)

## More Chance quotes

> [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/)

[Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/)

> [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/)

[Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/)

> [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/)

[Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/)

> [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/)

[Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/)

[Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/)

> [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/)

[Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/)

> [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/)

Alejandro Taubas

> [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/)

[Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/)

> [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/)

[Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/)

> [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/)

[Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/)

[Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical knowledge hidden from everyone else. Writers are ordinary people who like to write. They feel the urge to write, and they scratch that itch every chance they get.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ralph Fletcher"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-special-creatures-word/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-special-creatures-word/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/ralph-fletcher-34579_chance_it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-s_2205458.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's misleading to think of writers as special creatures, word sorcerers who possess some sort of magical…” — Ralph Fletcher",
                "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": "Ralph Fletcher",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's misleading to think of writers...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-special-creatures-word/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/it-s-misleading-to-think-of-writers-as-special-creatures-word/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
