--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I knew how to write like an academic, so…" description: "\"I knew how to write like an academic, so I knew how to write academic papers and essays and things. But the things that are great for an essay are unbe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/tara-westover-8275_great_i-knew-how-to-write-like-an-academic-so_2612519.jpg" --- # I knew how to write like an academic, so I knew how to… ![“I knew how to write like an academic, so I knew how to write academic papers and essays and things. But the things that are great for an essay are unbearable in narrative writing.” quote by Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/tara-westover-8275_great_i-knew-how-to-write-like-an-academic-so_2612519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/tara-westover-8275_great_i-knew-how-to-write-like-an-academic-so_2612519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/tara-westover-8275_great_i-knew-how-to-write-like-an-academic-so_2612519.jpg) > “I knew how to write like an academic, so I knew how to write academic papers and essays and things. But the things that are great for an essay are unbearable in narrative writing.” [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Academic writing favors structure and argument, which can feel restrictive in creative narrative forms. **In simple terms:** Academic style is rigid; narrative needs freedom. Key Takeaway Adapt voice to suit purpose. Themes writing styles academic vs creative structure Mood reflective inspirational Type literary educational When to use this quote - essay writing - fiction - teaching Key Concepts narrative flow voice development Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance structure and freedom? - When is form most important? A Different Perspective Rigid academic habits may hinder creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In the fall of 1989, I was writing 600-word columns at the 'Herald.' My heart always was in long-form narrative writing, though. 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I'd do a Masters in Ancient Hebrew maybe, and a Ph.D. hopefully, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gleeson/i-d-like-to-be-an-academic-a-philosophy-lecturer-if-possible-i-d-do-a/) [Jack Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gleeson/) > [I really didn't like the academic structure of science, but I realized I loved science and missed science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-betzig/i-really-didn-t-like-the-academic-structure-of-science-but-i-realized/) [Eric Betzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-betzig/) > [I was like, 'I'm an academic!' I'm not at all. It turns out I'm not great at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-princess/i-was-like-i-m-an-academic-i-m-not-at-all-it-turns-out-i-m-not-great/) [King Princess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-princess/) > [I don't approach anything I do like an academic. I'm not trained, and I work with intuition a great deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-lewis/i-don-t-approach-anything-i-do-like-an-academic-i-m-not-trained-and-i/) [Juliette Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-lewis/) > [“the books shot off the shelf like academic projectile puke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-evans/the-books-shot-off-the-shelf-like-academic-projectile-puke/) [Leigh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-evans/) > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Tara Westover > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I get up when I feel like getting up. That's the deal I've made with myself: I can stay in bed as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-get-up-when-i-feel-like-getting-up-that-s-the-deal-i-ve-made-with/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [Anger can be a good thing. It's a mechanism that your brain uses to get you out of situations that are bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/anger-can-be-a-good-thing-it-s-a-mechanism-that-your-brain-uses-to/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I felt like I needed to come to terms with the decision I'd made to let go of my family. 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Hardly anyone reads it anymore, but it's got everything: it's a book of poetry, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-m-no-longer-religious-but-the-bible-fascinates-me-hardly-anyone/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I didn't even have a birth certificate until I was 9 years old, which meant that, according to the state of Idaho and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-didn-t-even-have-a-birth-certificate-until-i-was-9-years-old-which/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [There's a sense of sovereignty that comes from life on a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/there-s-a-sense-of-sovereignty-that-comes-from-life-on-a-mountain/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“You can’t be a person without a birthday, they seemed to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/you-can-t-be-a-person-without-a-birthday-they-seemed-to-say/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I had to be - I was in school for probably three or four years before I began taking courses in history and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-had-to-be-i-was-in-school-for-probably-three-or-four-years-before-i/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [BYU was a really positive place for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/byu-was-a-really-positive-place-for-me/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [For a long time, I didn't think I had the right to walk away from my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/for-a-long-time-i-didn-t-think-i-had-the-right-to-walk-away-from-my/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“This moment would define my memory of that night, and of the many nights like it, for a decade. In it I saw myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/this-moment-would-define-my-memory-of-that-night-and-of-the-many/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [We think about education as a stepping stone into a higher socio-economic class, into a better job. And it does do those things. 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