--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Comparing oneself with one's fellow…" description: "\"Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea. I would not review a fellow writer unless I had something terribly positive to say.\" — W. G...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/w-g-sebald-10441_bad_comparing-oneself-with-one-s-fellow-writ_1651149.png" --- # Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea… ![“Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea. I would not review a fellow writer unless I had something terribly positive to say.” quote by W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/w-g-sebald-10441_bad_comparing-oneself-with-one-s-fellow-writ_1651149.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/w-g-sebald-10441_bad_comparing-oneself-with-one-s-fellow-writ_1651149.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/w-g-sebald-10441_bad_comparing-oneself-with-one-s-fellow-writ_1651149.png) > “Comparing oneself with one's fellow writers is a bad idea. I would not review a fellow writer unless I had something terribly positive to say.” [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparing yourself to other writers breeds negativity; critique should be reserved for genuinely positive feedback. **In simple terms:** Avoid unhealthy comparisons; give constructive praise. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth, not rivalry. Themes creativity critique self‑esteem Mood thoughtful supportive Type advice reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - peer reviews - creative communities Key Concepts comparison feedback positivity Questions to Reflect On - How can you support peers authentically? - What standards guide honest feedback? A Different Perspective Competition can spur improvement if balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad/) [Bad idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) [Comparing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparing/) [Comparing Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparing-oneself-655126/) [Fellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow/) [Fellow Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-writer-655131/) [Fellow Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-writers-655129/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Review](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/review/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Terribly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terribly/) [Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-unless-655127/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-bad-655124/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Comparing oneself to others in such terms as "Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I," he should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/comparing-oneself-to-others-in-such-terms-as-just-as-i-am-so-are-they/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Most comic scriptwriters are very bad. 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You have no business wanting to be a writer unless you are a reader. You should read fantasies and essays, biographies and poetry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/read-you-have-no-business-wanting-to-be-a-writer-unless-you-are-a/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [“There is nothing quite like the expectancy of the beginning writer, unless it is the conceit of the successful one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-nothing-quite-like-the-expectancy-of-the-beginning-writer/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I love being in touch with my readers and fellow writers! It's just amazing to have such access to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/i-love-being-in-touch-with-my-readers-and-fellow-writers-it-s-just/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [When I first read the story 'Guts' in workshop - my fellow writers that I've been meeting with for almost 20 years - they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/when-i-first-read-the-story-guts-in-workshop-my-fellow-writers-that-i/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by W. G. Sebald > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [“In the warmer months of the year one or other of those nocturnal insects quite often strays indoors from the small garden behind my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/in-the-warmer-months-of-the-year-one-or-other-of-those-nocturnal/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [“It is a sore point, because you do have advantages if you have access to more than one language. You also have problems, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/it-is-a-sore-point-because-you-do-have-advantages-if-you-have-access/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [When I was a boy, I'd hide under the kitchen table and wind string around the chairs. I have a sense now that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/when-i-was-a-boy-i-d-hide-under-the-kitchen-table-and-wind-string/) [W. G. 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Once you reveal even part of what your real problems might be in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-don-t-want-to-talk-about-my-trials-and-tribulations-once-you-reveal/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [Mine is a European imagination, shaped largely by my very promiscuous reading in German, French, English and, with greater difficulty, Italian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/mine-is-a-european-imagination-shaped-largely-by-my-very-promiscuous/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) > [I was brought up largely by my grandfather because my father only returned from a prisoner-of-war camp in 1947 and worked in the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-was-brought-up-largely-by-my-grandfather-because-my-father-only/) [W. G. 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