--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're writing, at least when I'm…" description: "\"When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't think about themes and I try not to sermonize with any particular message.\" — Ransom Riggs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png" --- # When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't… ![“When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't think about themes and I try not to sermonize with any particular message.” quote by Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png) > “When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't think about themes and I try not to sermonize with any particular message.” [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer avoids thematic preaching, focusing on storytelling rather than didactic messages. **In simple terms:** Write stories, not sermons. Key Takeaway Prioritize narrative over moralizing. Themes writing authenticity creativity freedom Mood creative reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - blogging - screenwriting Key Concepts storytelling voice reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance story and meaning? - What keeps your writing authentic? A Different Perspective Risk of ambiguous messages. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Biblical movies need not sermonize, just be honest to the foundational story. 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I am writing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/i-always-tell-audiences-when-i-talk-about-writing-writing-isn-t/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [With directing, you have to wake up early, which stinks, but you get to hang out with the crew, you're laughing, you're active, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherman-palladino/with-directing-you-have-to-wake-up-early-which-stinks-but-you-get-to/) [Amy Sherman-Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherman-palladino/) > [I may be writing well, I may be writing poorly, but I enjoy the act of writing and sometimes when it turns out okay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lipton/i-may-be-writing-well-i-may-be-writing-poorly-but-i-enjoy-the-act-of/) [James Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lipton/) > [I just started writing and writing for people. 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What is your intent?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/writing-is-hard-work-not-magic-it-begins-with-deciding-why-you-are/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [I have to say that writing about my writing process is more daunting than writing non-fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/i-have-to-say-that-writing-about-my-writing-process-is-more-daunting/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [Outlining is not writing. Coming up with ideas is not writing. Researching is not writing. Creating characters is not writing. Only writing is writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/outlining-is-not-writing-coming-up-with-ideas-is-not-writing/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Most of the time, when I'm writing, I'm writing for myself. I'm thinking, 'What will my character say at this time? What will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katori-hall/most-of-the-time-when-i-m-writing-i-m-writing-for-myself-i-m-thinking/) [Katori Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katori-hall/) > [I think there are a lot of similarities between writing and music. Music is much more direct and much more emotional and that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-think-there-are-a-lot-of-similarities-between-writing-and-music/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Writing is hard. Not as hard as not writing. Not writing is torturous, bloody, chaotic and a gruesome winless battle. A writer who writes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-weise/writing-is-hard-not-as-hard-as-not-writing-not-writing-is-torturous/) [Jamie Weise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-weise/) > [“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/advice-i-don-t-have-advice-stop-aspiring-and-start-writing-if-you-re/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [My only close-to-game-plan is to follow good writing. If the writing is in TV or if it's in theater or in film, that's it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/my-only-close-to-game-plan-is-to-follow-good-writing-if-the-writing/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) ## More by Ransom Riggs > [“Maybe I could use a little metal on the inside, I thought. 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Finally, we'd all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/hugh-and-fiona-stood-off-to-one-side-their-hands-linked-and-foreheads/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [I grew up feeling like a weirdo like many kids do. But I was lucky to find my own home for peculiar children. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-grew-up-feeling-like-a-weirdo-like-many-kids-do-but-i-was-lucky-to/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Then I was face to face with it. Tongues fanned from its gaping, bladed mouth. Its eyes were black and weeping more black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/then-i-was-face-to-face-with-it-tongues-fanned-from-its-gaping-bladed/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“It's not about destiny but i do think there's balance in the world and forces we don't understand intervene to tip the scales the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/it-s-not-about-destiny-but-i-do-think-there-s-balance-in-the-world/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Oh, thank heavens! Someone remembered the bath mat," Enoch deadpanned. "We are saved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/oh-thank-heavens-someone-remembered-the-bath-mat-enoch-deadpanned-we/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“You tread a precariously thin line between being charmingly headstrong and insufferably pigheaded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/you-tread-a-precariously-thin-line-between-being-charmingly/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I did love her, of course, but mostly because loving your mom is mandatory, not because she was someone I think I'd like very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-did-love-her-of-course-but-mostly-because-loving-your-mom-is/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“ ‘You don’t strike me as a quitter.’ ‘Then you don’t know me very well,’ I replied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/you-don-t-strike-me-as-a-quitter-then-you-don-t-know-me-very-well-i/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I came to enjoy communicating by hand. There was something sweet about holding a tangible thing that had been touched and marked upon by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-came-to-enjoy-communicating-by-hand-there-was-something-sweet-about/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Bombs are falling and we're reading stories, I thought. I have entered the realm of the insane. -Jacob”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/bombs-are-falling-and-we-re-reading-stories-i-thought-i-have-entered/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“Yo no sabía como llamar a aquello que sucedía entre nosotros, pero me gustaba. Me proporcionaba una sensación estúpida, frágil y agradable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/yo-no-sab-a-como-llamar-a-aquello-que-suced-a-entre-nosotros-pero-me/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“I think they worried that my grandfather would infect me with some incurable dreaminess from which I’d never recover – that these fantasies were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/i-think-they-worried-that-my-grandfather-would-infect-me-with-some/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) [Explore all 201 Ransom Riggs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) ## More Messages quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [You shouldn't listen to my music for political messages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/you-shouldn-t-listen-to-my-music-for-political-messages/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [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/) > [All the messages our kids are getting is money-taking, not giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/all-the-messages-our-kids-are-getting-is-money-taking-not-giving/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [I don't know what makes a guy want to write songs and sing, but if you've got a message, you want to get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ledoux/i-don-t-know-what-makes-a-guy-want-to-write-songs-and-sing-but-if-you/) [Chris LeDoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ledoux/) > [In the interests of everyone the artist had a responsibility to use his medium well. 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For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) [Browse all 3,453 Messages quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't think about themes and I try not to sermonize with any particular message.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ransom Riggs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-writing-i-don-t-think-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Messages" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-writing-i-don-t-think-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/ransom-riggs-1816_messages_when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-wr_1419210.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're writing, at least when I'm writing, I don't think about themes and I try not to sermonize with…” — Ransom Riggs", "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": "Ransom Riggs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're writing, at least when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-writing-i-don-t-think-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-you-re-writing-at-least-when-i-m-writing-i-don-t-think-about/#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 } } ] } ```