--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Subject is very important. If you're…" description: "\"Subject is very important. If you're going to write non-fiction the style means nothing or very little. The content justifies the effort you need to pu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/robert-christgau-9660_effort_subject-is-very-important-if-you-re-goin_2895129.jpg" --- # Subject is very important. If you're going to write… ![“Subject is very important. If you're going to write non-fiction the style means nothing or very little. The content justifies the effort you need to put into the writing itself.” quote by Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/robert-christgau-9660_effort_subject-is-very-important-if-you-re-goin_2895129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/robert-christgau-9660_effort_subject-is-very-important-if-you-re-goin_2895129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/robert-christgau-9660_effort_subject-is-very-important-if-you-re-goin_2895129.jpg) > “Subject is very important. If you're going to write non-fiction the style means nothing or very little. The content justifies the effort you need to put into the writing itself.” [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In non‑fiction, the substance of the work matters far more than stylistic flourish; content drives effort. **In simple terms:** Content matters more than style. Key Takeaway Prioritize substance over style. Themes writing craft non‑fiction content focus authorial effort Mood thoughtful critical Type literary educational When to use this quote - author workshops - editing processes - academic courses Key Concepts literary theory reader engagement research depth Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance clarity with engaging prose? - When is style essential? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on style can obscure truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The Human subject is the most important thing. My work is abstract in the sense of having been designed and composed, but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/the-human-subject-is-the-most-important-thing-my-work-is-abstract-in/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [I was fortunate enough in my public school that they had a full music program, and no one escaped it. It was treated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-was-fortunate-enough-in-my-public-school-that-they-had-a-full-music/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [I'm a writer, and the subject is less important than the act of writing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-m-a-writer-and-the-subject-is-less-important-than-the-act-of/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [When you go home tonight, make a list of the people who are impediments, who don't believe in you, and call them up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/when-you-go-home-tonight-make-a-list-of-the-people-who-are/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“I write, therefore i am, and therefore do not need other's writing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-jane/i-write-therefore-i-am-and-therefore-do-not-need-other-s-writing/) [Rebecca Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-jane/) > [I don't have any doubts that I need writing. 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To be good at your gift you need to keep writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-powell/writing-is-a-gift-to-be-good-at-your-gift-you-need-to-keep-writing/) Lisa Powell > [In matters like writing and painting, a man does what he has to do - if he has to write, why then, he writes;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/in-matters-like-writing-and-painting-a-man-does-what-he-has-to-do-if/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [We need many more intrepid women who set out to expand both their and our concepts of the world. We need them in writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-hazleton/we-need-many-more-intrepid-women-who-set-out-to-expand-both-their-and/) [Lesley Hazleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-hazleton/) > [That's what you need for your writing - to learn how to be present, learn how to be calm. 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I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [“One concept the non-old have trouble getting their minds around is the difference between taste and judgment. It's fine not to like almost anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/one-concept-the-non-old-have-trouble-getting-their-minds-around-is/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [You know, criticism began as the province of amateurs, of wealthy men who liked the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/you-know-criticism-began-as-the-province-of-amateurs-of-wealthy-men/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I believe that writing on music is experienced inside your head, is not a physically present in the world, it has a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-believe-that-writing-on-music-is-experienced-inside-your-head-is/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [Chuck Berry's 'Maybellene' hit the airwaves at about the time Alan Freed got to New York, and it was definitely a song I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/chuck-berry-s-maybellene-hit-the-airwaves-at-about-the-time-alan/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I don't think it's such a bad idea that people learn the same history in school. 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What we relate to are not their real selves; they are projections,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-basically-believe-that-all-pop-stars-create-personas-and-manipulate/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [My personal experience has been that in my free bohemian subculture, I'm not unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/my-personal-experience-has-been-that-in-my-free-bohemian-subculture-i/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [If you wanna write non-fiction you have to be interested in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/if-you-wanna-write-non-fiction-you-have-to-be-interested-in-the-world/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) [Explore all 71 Robert Christgau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) ## More Effort quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. 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I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I love a pocket. I'm about helping women look as good as possible on the least amount of effort. I want versatility and comfort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-mccartney/i-love-a-pocket-i-m-about-helping-women-look-as-good-as-possible-on/) [Stella McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-mccartney/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) Dayana > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. 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