--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grub Street turns out good things almost…" description: "\"Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as Parnassus. For if a writer is hard up enough, if he’s far down enough (down where I have been and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png" --- # Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as… ![“Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as Parnassus. For if a writer is hard up enough, if he’s far down enough (down where I have been and am rising from, I am really saying), he can’t afford self-doubt and he can’t let other people’s opinions, even a father’s, keep him from writing.” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png) > “Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as Parnassus. For if a writer is hard up enough, if he’s far down enough (down where I have been and am rising from, I am really saying), he can’t afford self-doubt and he can’t let other people’s opinions, even a father’s, keep him from writing.” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## 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 in dire financial need must ignore self‑doubt and external criticism, especially from family, to keep creating. **In simple terms:** Hardship forces writers to write despite fear of judgment. Key Takeaway Write regardless of doubt or criticism. Themes creative perseverance financial pressure family expectations Mood determined reflective Type literary motivational When to use this quote - when facing writer’s block - during poverty - after harsh feedback Key Concepts authenticity resilience artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does scarcity shape artistic voice? - Can external pressure ever improve work? A Different Perspective Financial desperation can limit creative freedom or lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-doubt/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I haven't hit the bestseller list, but I consider myself one of the luckiest writers in the world, and this is mainly because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-castellani/i-haven-t-hit-the-bestseller-list-but-i-consider-myself-one-of-the/) [Christopher Castellani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-castellani/) > [“Grub Street could be a graveyard for ambition, a pit of quicksand that swallowed authors whole, pulling names and the works attached to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-rubenhold/grub-street-could-be-a-graveyard-for-ambition-a-pit-of-quicksand-that/) Hallie Rubenhold > [“No doubts our generation is producing another form of grub street literature.. Welcome to the world of hack writers..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himmilicious/no-doubts-our-generation-is-producing-another-form-of-grub-street/) Himmilicious > [I love the Grub Street Diet. I am particularly fascinated by what people eat; I think it says a lot about people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-saffitz/i-love-the-grub-street-diet-i-am-particularly-fascinated-by-what/) [Claire Saffitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-saffitz/) > [Before I was ever a poet, my father was writing poems about me, so it was a turning of the tables when I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/before-i-was-ever-a-poet-my-father-was-writing-poems-about-me-so-it/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [“So I often saw my father writing under the lamp, scratching his head to find something to write about, even telling her that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/so-i-often-saw-my-father-writing-under-the-lamp-scratching-his-head/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [If my father were still writing essays, every full-grown 'girl' would probably be transformed into a'woman'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/if-my-father-were-still-writing-essays-every-full-grown-girl-would/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“What I want my father's writing to keep teaching us is that at the table of writing, everyone is welcome. No voice without all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stafford/what-i-want-my-father-s-writing-to-keep-teaching-us-is-that-at-the/) Kim Stafford > [I saw my father writing songs and he would include me in the process when I was little so that kind of sparked my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-capo/i-saw-my-father-writing-songs-and-he-would-include-me-in-the-process/) [Pedro Capo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-capo/) > [A writer must be hard to live with: when not working he is miserable, and when he is working he is obsessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-writer-must-be-hard-to-live-with-when-not-working-he-is-miserable/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [But I think talent as a writer is hard-wired in, it's all there, at least the basic elements of it. You can't change it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-i-think-talent-as-a-writer-is-hard-wired-in-it-s-all-there-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Dostoevsky is such a bad writer it is hard to take him seriously as a novelist, though he is a wonderful philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/dostoevsky-is-such-a-bad-writer-it-is-hard-to-take-him-seriously-as-a/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [We like to think about how smart we are. But I think talent as a writer is hard-wired in, it's all there, at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-like-to-think-about-how-smart-we-are-but-i-think-talent-as-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [As a grad student and later as a writer, I have found it hard to sustain the pure, almost erotic love of reading I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/as-a-grad-student-and-later-as-a-writer-i-have-found-it-hard-to/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Don't say it is too hard or you can't find the words and please don't tell me there isn't enough time in the day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ck-webb/don-t-say-it-is-too-hard-or-you-can-t-find-the-words-and-please-don-t/) [CK Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ck-webb/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/towns-are-like-people-old-ones-often-have-character-the-new-ones-are/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The creative writer is compulsively concrete . . . . His fictional house should be haunted by ideas, not inhabited by them; they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/the-creative-writer-is-compulsively-concrete-his-fictional-house/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Hard writing makes easy reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/hard-writing-makes-easy-reading/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [You married me...but you didn't marry what you could make out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/you-married-me-but-you-didn-t-marry-what-you-could-make-out-of-me/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Wisdom. . .is knowing what you have to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/wisdom-is-knowing-what-you-have-to-accept/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-gave-my-heart-to-the-mountains-the-minute-i-stood-beside-this-river/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Poetry ought to be a by-product of living, and you can't have a by-product unless you've got a product first .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/poetry-ought-to-be-a-by-product-of-living-and-you-can-t-have-a-by/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Some people, I am told, have memories like computers, nothing to do but punch the button and wait for the print-out. Mine is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/some-people-i-am-told-have-memories-like-computers-nothing-to-do-but/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Explore all 251 Wallace Stegner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) Harry Chapman > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as Parnassus. For if a writer is hard up enough, if he’s far down enough (down where I have been and am rising from, I am really saying), he can’t afford self-doubt and he can’t let other people’s opinions, even a father’s, keep him from writing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Stegner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost-as-often-as-parnassus-for-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doubt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost-as-often-as-parnassus-for-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/wallace-stegner-1352_doubt_grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost_3147082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Grub Street turns out good things almost as often as Parnassus. For if a writer is hard up enough, if he’s…” — Wallace Stegner", "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": "Wallace Stegner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Grub Street turns out good things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost-as-often-as-parnassus-for-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/grub-street-turns-out-good-things-almost-as-often-as-parnassus-for-if/#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 } } ] } ```