--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The difficulty is not to write, but to…" description: "\"The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg" --- # The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean. ![“The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg) > “The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is easy; conveying true intent is the real challenge. **In simple terms:** Writing is simple, expressing meaning is hard. Key Takeaway Focus on clarity of purpose. Themes writing communication intent Mood thoughtful instructive Type advice literary When to use this quote - academic essays - journalism - creative writing Key Concepts clarity authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What is your core message? - How can you ensure it’s heard? A Different Perspective Simplicity may sacrifice depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If there is any difficulty in what I write, it is because of the material I use. The thought is always simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/if-there-is-any-difficulty-in-what-i-write-it-is-because-of-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Sometimes they don't write what I mean, they just write what I say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-eduardo-agualusa/sometimes-they-don-t-write-what-i-mean-they-just-write-what-i-say/) [José Eduardo Agualusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-eduardo-agualusa/) > [Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/before-you-begin-a-thing-remind-yourself-that-difficulties-and-delays/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-apprenticeship-of-difficulty-is-one-which-the-greatest-of-men/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [We all have difficult times. We can view them as challenges, work through them and learn valuable lessons through our past mistake or allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/we-all-have-difficult-times-we-can-view-them-as-challenges-work/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [New things have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/new-things-have-to-experience-difficulties-and-setbacks-as-they-grow/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [There is possibility in every difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/there-is-possibility-in-every-difficulty/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself it’s own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/every-great-and-deep-difficulty-bears-in-itself-it-s-own-solution-it/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [Have the courage to face a difficulty lest it kick you harder than you bargained for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-the-courage-to-face-a-difficulty-lest-it-kick-you-harder-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are few positions in life in which difficulties have not to be encountered. These difficulties are, however, our best instructors, as our mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-paxton-hood/there-are-few-positions-in-life-in-which-difficulties-have-not-to-be/) [Edwin Paxton Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-paxton-hood/) > [Do not be afraid of your difficulties.Do not wish you could be in other circumstances than you are. For when you have made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-afraid-of-your-difficulties-do-not-wish-you-could-be-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The difficulty comes from our lack of confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/the-difficulty-comes-from-our-lack-of-confidence/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [“A variety of difficulties will come your way. But at the time of difficulty, you will be able to find a ready made medicine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/a-variety-of-difficulties-will-come-your-way-but-at-the-time-of/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. SEVER > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Louis Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-write-what-you-mean/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-write-what-you-mean/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/robert-louis-stevenson-289_adversity_the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-wr_1461017.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The difficulty is not to write, but to write what you mean.” — Robert Louis Stevenson", "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": "Robert Louis Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The difficulty is not to write,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-write-what-you-mean/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-difficulty-is-not-to-write-but-to-write-what-you-mean/#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 } } ] } ```