--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a writer knows what he or she is…" description: "\"If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I'll go along for the ride. If he or she doesn't... well, I'm in my fifties now, and there are a lot of book..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/stephen-king-13_along-for-the-ride_if-a-writer-knows-what-he-or-she-is-doin_2400255.jpg" --- # If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I'll go along… ![“If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I'll go along for the ride. If he or she doesn't... well, I'm in my fifties now, and there are a lot of books out there. I don't have time to waste with the poorly written ones.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/stephen-king-13_along-for-the-ride_if-a-writer-knows-what-he-or-she-is-doin_2400255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/stephen-king-13_along-for-the-ride_if-a-writer-knows-what-he-or-she-is-doin_2400255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/stephen-king-13_along-for-the-ride_if-a-writer-knows-what-he-or-she-is-doin_2400255.jpg) > “If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I'll go along for the ride. If he or she doesn't... well, I'm in my fifties now, and there are a lot of books out there. I don't have time to waste with the poorly written ones.” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer’s competence determines whether readers invest time; experienced readers avoid poorly crafted work. **In simple terms:** Good writing earns readers’ time. Key Takeaway Choose competent writers and avoid waste. Themes literature quality time reader discernment Mood critical practical Type advice reflective When to use this quote - book selection - publishing decisions - personal reading habits Key Concepts authorial skill reader expectations literary value Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define a writer’s competence? - How do you balance openness with quality? A Different Perspective May dismiss unconventional but valuable works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Along for the ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/along-for-the-ride/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't believe books have endings. Not the well written ones anyway...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-the-stacks-bookstore/i-don-t-believe-books-have-endings-not-the-well-written-ones-anyway/) Love The Stacks Bookstore > [Article 50 is very poorly written and raises more questions more answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-miller/article-50-is-very-poorly-written-and-raises-more-questions-more/) [Gina Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-miller/) > [Poorly written novels--no matter how pious and edifying the behavior of the characters--are not good in themselves and are therefore not really edifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/poorly-written-novels-no-matter-how-pious-and-edifying-the-behavior/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He was like a poorly written plot twist—predictable yet somehow still disappointing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janus-lucky/he-was-like-a-poorly-written-plot-twist-predictable-yet-somehow-still/) [Janus Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janus-lucky/) > [“Poorly written books are a kin to actors forgetting their lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-randall-martin/poorly-written-books-are-a-kin-to-actors-forgetting-their-lines/) [Peggy Randall-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-randall-martin/) > [Those who say truth is stranger than fiction have wasted their time on poorly written fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/those-who-say-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-have-wasted-their-time/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Don't waste time, it will only waste you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-waste-time-it-will-only-waste-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The next morning after finishing my interviews, I found myself with some time to kill before the bus arrived to return me to Whitby.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-christmas/the-next-morning-after-finishing-my-interviews-i-found-myself-with/) Jane Christmas > [If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, lets all get wasted and have the time of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/if-life-is-a-waste-of-time-and-time-is-a-waste-of-life-lets-all-get/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“Leela: Why are we listening to them? It is a waste of time. The Doctor; It is difficult to know what will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-boucher/leela-why-are-we-listening-to-them-it-is-a-waste-of-time-the-doctor/) Chris Boucher > [There ought to be some sign in a book about man, that the writer knows thoroughly one man at least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/there-ought-to-be-some-sign-in-a-book-about-man-that-the-writer-knows/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [“Art educates. That's why writers must know life. . .If the writer knows life, his work is often progressive, even though his own consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slawomir-mrozek/art-educates-that-s-why-writers-must-know-life-if-the-writer-knows/) slawomir mrozek > [Every writer knows that when you're imitating somebody - you know, you're sounding like Faulkner - you're doing pretty good, but your life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/every-writer-knows-that-when-you-re-imitating-somebody-you-know-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [No writing effort is ever wasted. At the very least, it's practice, and a writer never knows when he or she might usefully cannibalize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-fowler/no-writing-effort-is-ever-wasted-at-the-very-least-it-s-practice-and/) [Therese Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-fowler/) > [The writer knows his own worth, and to be overvalued can confuse and destroy him as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-jackson/the-writer-knows-his-own-worth-and-to-be-overvalued-can-confuse-and/) [Charles R. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-jackson/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' 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Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... 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The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Along for the ride quotes > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“It's never fifty-fifty in a marriage. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works hard to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-never-fifty-fifty-in-a-marriage-someone-falls-in-love-first/) [jodi picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > ['Faithfully' speaks to me. 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Someone puts someone else up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-know-it-s-never-fifty-fifty-in-a-marriage-it-s-always-seventy/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [You've got all these characters and yet, you're hovering over one character like a fly over a stinky diaper. Realize that you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/you-ve-got-all-these-characters-and-yet-you-re-hovering-over-one/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Life…Isn't a roller coaster, it isn't unexpected or surprising. It's not a free ticket to go along for the ride... Simply put, Life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-hussain/life-isn-t-a-roller-coaster-it-isn-t-unexpected-or-surprising-it-s/) Bilal Hussain > [I'm a storyteller... I haves a God-given gift that I can share with you and perhaps entertain you and bring you along for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-sutter/i-m-a-storyteller-i-haves-a-god-given-gift-that-i-can-share-with-you/) [Kurt Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-sutter/) > [“Then he picks up the first book and holds it so Peter can read the title. I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This Peter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/then-he-picks-up-the-first-book-and-holds-it-so-peter-can-read-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [ I was lucky to come along for the ride. \[My mother\] really is an amazing woman. And the world we lived in in South… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-was-lucky-to-come-along-for-the-ride-my-mother-really-is-an-amazing/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“Need to get to Ruislip by sparrow-fart though', said the squadron leader. 'Think you can do that? Can I come along for the ride?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rankin/need-to-get-to-ruislip-by-sparrow-fart-though-said-the-squadron/) [Robert Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rankin/) > [“It is the role of the BCYF caseworker to simply go along for the ride, so that if by some miracle it reaches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-is-the-role-of-the-bcyf-caseworker-to-simply-go-along-for-the-ride/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The ones that I love of 'I Love Lucy' are when one of them decides they need something, and the other one is along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennon-parham/the-ones-that-i-love-of-i-love-lucy-are-when-one-of-them-decides-they/) [Lennon Parham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennon-parham/) > [People are fascinated about the world above them because it seems so out-of-reach. 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