--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Through writing, through that process…" description: "\"Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any oth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg" --- # Through writing, through that process, they realize that… ![“Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any other part of their life.” quote by Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg) > “Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any other part of their life.” [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing sharpens intellect, honesty, and imagination beyond other life areas. **In simple terms:** Writing makes you smarter and more honest. Key Takeaway Write to grow intellectually. Themes creativity self-awareness intelligence honesty Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal journals - creative workshops Key Concepts cognitive development artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change self-perception? - What barriers hinder honest writing? A Different Perspective Writing can be isolating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-imaginative-2464682/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Imaginative Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative-life-696601/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-honest-2198590/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Realize Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-intelligent-2464681/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [ \[My works are\] an imitation of my own past and present and of my own creative vitality as I experience them in one particular… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hepworth/my-works-are-an-imitation-of-my-own-past-and-present-and-of-my-own/) [Barbara Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hepworth/) > [By delivering experience, novels can alter the stance we adopt toward news - not much, I'm sure, but they can make it a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zia-haider-rahman/by-delivering-experience-novels-can-alter-the-stance-we-adopt-toward/) [Zia Haider Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zia-haider-rahman/) > [Through an experience that simultaneously involved my sensibility and intelligence, I realized early on that the imaginative life, however morbid it might seem, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/through-an-experience-that-simultaneously-involved-my-sensibility-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And people who don’t dream, who don’t have any kind of imaginative life, they must… they must go nuts. I can’t imagine that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/and-people-who-don-t-dream-who-don-t-have-any-kind-of-imaginative/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Are we all living like this? Two lives, the ideal outer life and the inner imaginative life where we keep our secrets?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/are-we-all-living-like-this-two-lives-the-ideal-outer-life-and-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Personal life becomes paler as the imaginative life becomes richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/personal-life-becomes-paler-as-the-imaginative-life-becomes-richer/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, whereas in the artist's imaginative life there is purpose. There is determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/the-life-of-reality-is-confused-disorderly-almost-always-without/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [You don't realize that you're intelligent until it gets you into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/you-don-t-realize-that-you-re-intelligent-until-it-gets-you-into/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“Lvov: Now explain, give me an account of how it is that you, an intelligent, honest, almost saintly woman, have allowed yourself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/lvov-now-explain-give-me-an-account-of-how-it-is-that-you-an/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“pretty: what a little word to describe me. intelligent, honest, loyal, creative, eloquent. i’m so much more than my looks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-azizian/pretty-what-a-little-word-to-describe-me-intelligent-honest-loyal/) [Kiana Azizian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-azizian/) > [Men like women who are fun to be around, who are kind, intelligent, honest and who don't play games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-phillips/men-like-women-who-are-fun-to-be-around-who-are-kind-intelligent/) [Jeanne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-phillips/) > [American political opportunities are loaded against those who are simultaneously intelligent and honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/american-political-opportunities-are-loaded-against-those-who-are/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I spent a lot of time in hospitals as a child with these dreadful calliper things, and in push-chairs and God knows what else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-in-hospitals-as-a-child-with-these-dreadful/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [“The life of reality is confused, disorderly, almost always without apparent purpose, where in the artist's imaginative life there is purpose. There is determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/the-life-of-reality-is-confused-disorderly-almost-always-without-2/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [Individually, museums are fine institutions, dedicated to the high values of preservation, education and truth; collectively, their growth in numbers points to the imaginative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hewison/individually-museums-are-fine-institutions-dedicated-to-the-high/) [Robert Hewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hewison/) ## More by Russell Banks > [The best thing about writing programs is that it rationalized the apprenticeship of a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-best-thing-about-writing-programs-is-that-it-rationalized-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“The received truth of history is shot through and falsified by unknown secrets carried to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-received-truth-of-history-is-shot-through-and-falsified-by/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Secrets and lies, they eat your insides until all you have left is a hard thin skin that covers you like the shell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/secrets-and-lies-they-eat-your-insides-until-all-you-have-left-is-a/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/but-really-it-was-reading-that-led-me-to-writing-and-in-particular/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Let the truth take care of itself, I decided. It's done all right on its own so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/let-the-truth-take-care-of-itself-i-decided-it-s-done-all-right-on/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [What you believe matters, however. It’s all anyone has to act on. And since what you do is who you are, your actions define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/what-you-believe-matters-however-it-s-all-anyone-has-to-act-on-and/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/although-i-still-occasionally-paint-and-draw-my-life-has-now-been/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“my blue eyes peering into their brown eyes and seeing there some essential part of myself, some irreducible aspect of my being, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/my-blue-eyes-peering-into-their-brown-eyes-and-seeing-there-some/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [If you dedicate your attention to discipline in your life you become smarter while you are writing than while you are hanging out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-you-dedicate-your-attention-to-discipline-in-your-life-you-become/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [So the same cultural and political issues that divided us in 1968 are still dividing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/so-the-same-cultural-and-political-issues-that-divided-us-in-1968-are/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“They were the only three people I'd chosen on my own to love, and they were gone. But still, that morning in Mobay when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/they-were-the-only-three-people-i-d-chosen-on-my-own-to-love-and-they/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Lists of books we re-read and books we can't finish tell more about us than about the relative worth of the books themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/lists-of-books-we-re-read-and-books-we-can-t-finish-tell-more-about/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [First of all it's usually women who run these higher primate sanctuaries, rarely men. They are white. They come from privileged backgrounds. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/first-of-all-it-s-usually-women-who-run-these-higher-primate/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [The United States particularly abandoned Liberia after the end of the Cold War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-united-states-particularly-abandoned-liberia-after-the-end-of-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/storytelling-is-an-ancient-and-honorable-act-an-essential-role-to/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) [Explore all 85 Russell Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any other part of their life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Banks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/through-writing-through-that-process-they-realize-that-they-become/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/through-writing-through-that-process-they-realize-that-they-become/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/russell-banks-7660_creativity_through-writing-through-that-process-the_2665959.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and…” — Russell Banks", "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": "Russell Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Through writing, through that process, they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/through-writing-through-that-process-they-realize-that-they-become/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/through-writing-through-that-process-they-realize-that-they-become/#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 } } ] } ```