---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some writers can only deal with childhood…"
description: "\"Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer, life goes on, and he's able to keep processing..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg"
---

#  Some writers can only deal with childhood experience…

![“Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer, life goes on, and he's able to keep processing that as well.” quote by V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg)

> “Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer, life goes on, and he's able to keep processing that as well.”

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Some writers draw solely from childhood; others continue to process life experiences throughout their careers.

**In simple terms:** Writers differ in source of inspiration.

Key Takeaway

Recognize varied creative sources.

Themes

creativity writing experience

Mood

introspective analytical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- author workshops
- creative writing classes
- personal memoirs

Key Concepts

literary theory psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you draw from past or present?
- How does ongoing experience shape your work?

A Different Perspective

Relying only on past may limit growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [I am the kind of writer that people think other people are reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-am-the-kind-of-writer-that-people-think-other-people-are-reading/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [The writer has a life and a personality but the problem of today is that most of those writers have exactly the same life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-bruckner/the-writer-has-a-life-and-a-personality-but-the-problem-of-today-is/)

[Pascal Bruckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-bruckner/)

> [I think I'm still fed by my childhood experience of reading, even though obviously I'm reading many books now and a lot of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/i-think-i-m-still-fed-by-my-childhood-experience-of-reading-even/)

[Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/)

> [I had from childhood not only the experience of love and truth common to all family life, but the idea of them embodied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/i-had-from-childhood-not-only-the-experience-of-love-and-truth-common/)

[Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/)

> [One improvement I have learned from my childhood experience with my father: I do not threaten punishment in the morning. That was awful. Late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/one-improvement-i-have-learned-from-my-childhood-experience-with-my/)

[Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/)

> [For many people who were never religious or who leave the religion of their childhood behind, it's the experience of having children of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/for-many-people-who-were-never-religious-or-who-leave-the-religion-of/)

[Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/)

> [Because it's visual art, a lot of it comes from childhood experience but then a lot comes from the visual language - in advertising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/because-it-s-visual-art-a-lot-of-it-comes-from-childhood-experience/)

[Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/)

> [“Thank you! …for sharing your childhood with me so I could experience the all joys that were missing in mine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-toole/thank-you-for-sharing-your-childhood-with-me-so-i-could-experience/)

Ginny Toole

> [Having a white parent undoubtedly makes for a different childhood experience than having two black parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-harris-perry/having-a-white-parent-undoubtedly-makes-for-a-different-childhood/)

[Melissa Harris-Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-harris-perry/)

> [The unsparing savagery of stories like the Robber Bridegroom is a sharp reminder that fairy tales belong to the childhood of culture as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-tatar/the-unsparing-savagery-of-stories-like-the-robber-bridegroom-is-a/)

[Maria Tatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-tatar/)

> [If you watch any John Hughes film of the eighties, that was my childhood experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/if-you-watch-any-john-hughes-film-of-the-eighties-that-was-my/)

[Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/)

> [“Adoption isn't just a childhood experience, it's a life-long experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/adoption-isn-t-just-a-childhood-experience-it-s-a-life-long-experience/)

[DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/)

> [“Loewald suggests that infantile, oedipal love detracts from and interferes with adult love when childhood experience is repressed, too strictly separated from adult experience.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-mitchell/loewald-suggests-that-infantile-oedipal-love-detracts-from-and/)

[Stephen A. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-mitchell/)

> [There's something peculiar about writing fiction. It requires an interesting balance between seeing the world as a child and having the wisdom of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/there-s-something-peculiar-about-writing-fiction-it-requires-an/)

[Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/)

> [“What kind of writer are you?” You can’t think of a single sentence that would satisfy Hyong-chol. Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyung-sook-shin/what-kind-of-writer-are-you-you-can-t-think-of-a-single-sentence-that/)

[Kyung-Sook Shin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyung-sook-shin/)

## More by V. S. Naipaul

> [In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-trinidad-where-as-new-arrivals-we-were-a-disadvantaged-community/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [Many writers tend to write summing-up books at the end of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/many-writers-tend-to-write-summing-up-books-at-the-end-of-their-lives/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [My life is short. I can't listen to banality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/my-life-is-short-i-can-t-listen-to-banality/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [If you decide to move to another country and to live within its laws you don't express your disregard for the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-you-decide-to-move-to-another-country-and-to-live-within-its-laws/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I don't feel I can speak with authority for many other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-don-t-feel-i-can-speak-with-authority-for-many-other-people/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [To this day, if you ask me how I became a writer, I cannot give you an answer. To this day, if you ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/to-this-day-if-you-ask-me-how-i-became-a-writer-i-cannot-give-you-an/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [The world is always in movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-world-is-always-in-movement/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [At school I had only admirers; I had no friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/at-school-i-had-only-admirers-i-had-no-friends/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I'm very content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-very-content/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [In our island myth this was the prescribed end of marriages like mine: the wife goes off with someone from the Cercle Sportif, outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-our-island-myth-this-was-the-prescribed-end-of-marriages-like-mine/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [In the beginning, before the arrival of the white men, I had considered myself neutral. I had wanted neither side to win, neither the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-the-beginning-before-the-arrival-of-the-white-men-i-had-considered/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I'm my own writer. My material means I'm entirely separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-my-own-writer-my-material-means-i-m-entirely-separate/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-only-lies-for-which-we-are-truly-punished-are-those-we-tell/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [Where jargon turns living issues into abstractions, and where jargon ends by competing with jargon, people don't have causes. They only have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/where-jargon-turns-living-issues-into-abstractions-and-where-jargon/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

[Explore all 121 V. S. Naipaul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

## More Able 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/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer, life goes on, and he's able to keep processing that as well.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "V. S. Naipaul"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhood-experience-because-it-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhood-experience-because-it-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/v-s-naipaul-3828_able_some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhoo_1994179.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer…” — V. S. Naipaul",
                "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": "V. S. Naipaul",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Some writers can only deal with...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhood-experience-because-it-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/some-writers-can-only-deal-with-childhood-experience-because-it-s/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
