--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have made three rules of writing for…" description: "\"I have made three rules of writing for myself that are absolutes: Never take advice. Never show or discuss work in progress. Never answer a critic.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/raymond-chandler-629_absolutes_i-have-made-three-rules-of-writing-for-m_541502.jpg" --- # I have made three rules of writing for myself that are… ![“I have made three rules of writing for myself that are absolutes: Never take advice. Never show or discuss work in progress. Never answer a critic.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/raymond-chandler-629_absolutes_i-have-made-three-rules-of-writing-for-m_541502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/raymond-chandler-629_absolutes_i-have-made-three-rules-of-writing-for-m_541502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/raymond-chandler-629_absolutes_i-have-made-three-rules-of-writing-for-m_541502.jpg) > “I have made three rules of writing for myself that are absolutes: Never take advice. Never show or discuss work in progress. Never answer a critic.” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing rules emphasize independence: reject external advice, keep work private, and avoid engaging critics to preserve creative integrity. **In simple terms:** Stay independent, keep work private, ignore critics. Key Takeaway Protect your creative process. Themes writing independence criticism creativity Mood thoughtful defensive Type guidance philosophical When to use this quote - drafting - publishing - peer review Key Concepts authorial control self‑reliance creative solitude Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever seek trusted feedback? - How do you balance confidence with openness? A Different Perspective Critics can offer valuable insight if filtered correctly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Work in progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-in-progress/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. —W. 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Never use a verb other than "said"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/elmore-leonard-s-ten-rules-of-writing-1-never-open-a-book-with/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [The four rules of writing... 1. Write to discover. 2. There is no greater discovery than love. 3. All love comes from the Creator.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-four-rules-of-writing-1-write-to-discover-2-there-is-no-greater/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“It’s absurd that having started writing rules at fifteen, I should still be writing them at thirty, without having trusted in, or followed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-absurd-that-having-started-writing-rules-at-fifteen-i-should/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“There are no definite rules (in writing). You learn as you go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winna-efendi/there-are-no-definite-rules-in-writing-you-learn-as-you-go/) [Winna Efendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winna-efendi/) > [There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-are-three-rules-for-writing-a-novel-unfortunately-no-one-knows-2/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [There are no rules to writing a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-castillo/there-are-no-rules-to-writing-a-song/) [Randy Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-castillo/) > [“The three rules to writing a novel; 1) Write 2) Write more 3) Keep writing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scifurz/the-three-rules-to-writing-a-novel-1-write-2-write-more-3-keep-writing/) SciFurz > [There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/there-are-no-rules-in-writing-there-are-useful-principles-throw-them/) [Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/) > [Writing for videogames is really unique. You learn all the rules of writing, but there's a whole other set of rules for game writing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/writing-for-videogames-is-really-unique-you-learn-all-the-rules-of/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [“three rules for writing as a spiritual practice: (1) Don’t write what you know; (2) Don’t write what you don’t know; and (3) Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rami-shapiro/three-rules-for-writing-as-a-spiritual-practice-1-don-t-write-what/) Rami Shapiro > [When you are in WWE, you're really strapped down by their rules and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-omega/when-you-are-in-wwe-you-re-really-strapped-down-by-their-rules-and/) [Kenny Omega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-omega/) > [“There are a couple of utterly important rules to writing anything, whether it's a novel, a short story or a collection of poetry. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-trandahl/there-are-a-couple-of-utterly-important-rules-to-writing-anything/) [Nicholas Trandahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-trandahl/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/she-jerked-away-from-me-like-a-startled-fawn-might-if-i-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “He \[James Cain\] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i-detest-a-proust-in-greasy/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. 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