--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sentence writers are not copyists; they…" description: "\"Sentence writers are not copyists; they are selectors.\" — Stanley Fish" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/stanley-fish-17633_sentences_sentence-writers-are-not-copyists-they-a_1223664.jpg" --- # Sentence writers are not copyists; they are selectors. ![“Sentence writers are not copyists; they are selectors.” quote by Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/stanley-fish-17633_sentences_sentence-writers-are-not-copyists-they-a_1223664.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/stanley-fish-17633_sentences_sentence-writers-are-not-copyists-they-a_1223664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c65/stanley-fish-17633_sentences_sentence-writers-are-not-copyists-they-a_1223664.jpg) > “Sentence writers are not copyists; they are selectors.” [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers choose and shape language rather than merely reproducing existing text, exercising creative selection. **In simple terms:** Writers pick words, not just copy. Key Takeaway Embrace selective creativity. Themes creativity authorship originality Mood reflective inspirational Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing - content creation - academic research - advertising copy Key Concepts literary theory selection voice Questions to Reflect On - How does selection differ from imitation? - What influences a writer's choices? A Different Perspective Selection can be constrained by cultural expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Copyists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copyists-1858181/) [Copyists Selectors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copyists-selectors-3756613/) [Sentence Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence-writers-428798/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Copyists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-copyists-3756612/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The way we learn to write is the way we learn to talk: We listen to others and start mimicking speech, and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/the-way-we-learn-to-write-is-the-way-we-learn-to-talk-we-listen-to/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [He who first shortened the labor of Copyists by device of Movable Types was disbanding hired armies and cashiering most Kings and Senates, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/he-who-first-shortened-the-labor-of-copyists-by-device-of-movable/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [People write or speak sentences in order to produce an effect, and the success of a sentence is measured by the degree to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/people-write-or-speak-sentences-in-order-to-produce-an-effect-and-the/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [Know what makes a sentence more than a random list, practice constructing sentences and explaining what you have done, and you will know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/know-what-makes-a-sentence-more-than-a-random-list-practice/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [The decision of such judges as Claudius and his Senate is worth very little in the question of a man's innocence or guilt; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-decision-of-such-judges-as-claudius-and-his-senate-is-worth-very/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. 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Although what I would support in this vexed area is not clear to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/i-do-not-support-abortion-rights-although-what-i-would-support-in/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [Opinion-sharing sessions are like junk food: they fill you up with starch and leave you feeling both sated and hungry. A sustained inquiry into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/opinion-sharing-sessions-are-like-junk-food-they-fill-you-up-with/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [People write or speak sentences in order to produce an effect, and the success of a sentence is measured by the degree to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/people-write-or-speak-sentences-in-order-to-produce-an-effect-and-the/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [Many people on the political left found my work psychologically liberating. 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But no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/any-idea-can-be-brought-into-the-classroom-if-the-point-is-to-inquire/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [It is always incorrect to assume you can know what someone's moral convictions are based on their philosophical theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/it-is-always-incorrect-to-assume-you-can-know-what-someone-s-moral/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [It is of no help to us that there is an absolute truth of the matter of things because unfortunately, none of us are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/it-is-of-no-help-to-us-that-there-is-an-absolute-truth-of-the-matter/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) [Explore all 36 Stanley Fish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) ## More Sentences quotes > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Notoriously outspoken, his sentences always punctuated with profanities, General George S. Patton was the epitome of what a leader should be like - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/notoriously-outspoken-his-sentences-always-punctuated-with/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“I've been impressed by the extent to which one gets sentenced by one's own sentences. One explores certain things in play and then in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/i-ve-been-impressed-by-the-extent-to-which-one-gets-sentenced-by-one/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [A conversation does not have to be scintillating in order to be memorable. 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