--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's hard for writers to get on with…" description: "\"It's hard for writers to get on with their work if they are convinced that they owe a concrete debt to experience and cannot allow themselves the privi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/saul-bellow-558_certain_it-s-hard-for-writers-to-get-on-with-the_3183737.jpg" --- # It's hard for writers to get on with their work if they… ![“It's hard for writers to get on with their work if they are convinced that they owe a concrete debt to experience and cannot allow themselves the privilege of ranging freely through social classes and professional specialties. A certain pride in their own experience, perhaps a sense of the…” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/saul-bellow-558_certain_it-s-hard-for-writers-to-get-on-with-the_3183737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/saul-bellow-558_certain_it-s-hard-for-writers-to-get-on-with-the_3183737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/saul-bellow-558_certain_it-s-hard-for-writers-to-get-on-with-the_3183737.jpg) > “It's hard for writers to get on with their work if they are convinced that they owe a concrete debt to experience and cannot allow themselves the privilege of ranging freely through social classes and professional specialties. A certain pride in their own experience, perhaps a sense of the property rights of others in their experience, holds them back.” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often feel constrained by a sense of ownership over their experiences, which prevents them from exploring diverse perspectives and subjects. **In simple terms:** Writers fear losing authenticity if they write beyond their own life. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and write beyond personal experience. Themes creativity authorship freedom Mood introspective encouraging Type advice literary. When to use this quote - fiction writing - journalism - academic research - screenwriting Key Concepts literary theory identity cultural empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance personal voice with broader narratives? - What methods help writers expand their perspective? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on personal experience can lead to narrow storytelling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Property rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property-rights/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-class/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My experience is not creating debt but my experience is creating jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-howell/my-experience-is-not-creating-debt-but-my-experience-is-creating-jobs/) [Scott Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-howell/) > [You can write ten versions of a scene, and then, on the day, discover that something in the original scene worked. It's hard on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-miller/you-can-write-ten-versions-of-a-scene-and-then-on-the-day-discover/) [Bennett Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-miller/) > [Stand-up is hard. Or to keep it at a certain level is hard: I have no writers but me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/stand-up-is-hard-or-to-keep-it-at-a-certain-level-is-hard-i-have-no/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [For sure, without question, the writing is better on TV pound for pound than movies because the businesses have changed so much. So all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/for-sure-without-question-the-writing-is-better-on-tv-pound-for-pound/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [At the risk, then, of being shunned by some of my gloomier peers, I venture to tell you that writers work like demons, suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/at-the-risk-then-of-being-shunned-by-some-of-my-gloomier-peers-i/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Most people say, "Show, don't tell," but I stand by Show and Tell, because when writers put their work out into the world, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/most-people-say-show-don-t-tell-but-i-stand-by-show-and-tell-because/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [There isn't going to be anyone to tell you what to do most of the time. It has to be your own decision and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/there-isn-t-going-to-be-anyone-to-tell-you-what-to-do-most-of-the/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I think readers appreciate those of us who stay in the trenches and fight the good fight even when times get tough. I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bentley-little/i-think-readers-appreciate-those-of-us-who-stay-in-the-trenches-and/) [Bentley Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bentley-little/) > [My theory is that I decided to be a writer when I was about seven, but of course it is not as simple as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/my-theory-is-that-i-decided-to-be-a-writer-when-i-was-about-seven-but/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [September 2001. A sunny day in New York. 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Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/) > [It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-miller/it-s-something-that-s-difficult-to-explain-but-i-think-all-writers/) [Mary J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-miller/) > [Writers are often alone when they work. Hours pass in silence as one long moment; light fades as day turns back to face the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/writers-are-often-alone-when-they-work-hours-pass-in-silence-as-one/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [The crew, the actors and the writers all work the same way. We always want to do the best job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-knepper/the-crew-the-actors-and-the-writers-all-work-the-same-way-we-always/) [Robert Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-knepper/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. 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And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. 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