--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To great writers, finished works weigh…" description: "\"“To great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they work throughout their lives.”\" — Walter Benjamin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/walter-benjamin-1723_fragments_to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-li_747067.jpg" --- # To great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those… ![“To great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they work throughout their lives.” quote by Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/walter-benjamin-1723_fragments_to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-li_747067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/walter-benjamin-1723_fragments_to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-li_747067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/walter-benjamin-1723_fragments_to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-li_747067.jpg) > ““To great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they work throughout their lives.”” [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that the process of writing, with its drafts and revisions, holds more significance than the final polished piece. **In simple terms:** Writing process matters more than the finished product. Key Takeaway Value the ongoing work of creation. Themes creativity process artistry Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - authoring a novel - academic research - script development - continuous learning Key Concepts Literary theory drafting revision Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the work in progress? - What habits keep you engaged with ongoing creation? A Different Perspective The final work may still be judged by external standards, diminishing the process's intrinsic value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finished Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished-works-364663/) [Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Lighter Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighter-fragments-938855/) [Works Weigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-weigh-938857/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-finished-678231/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“to great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they labor their entire lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-lighter-than-those-fragments-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I do tend to feel more connected to dead writers, perhaps because they have finished their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-do-tend-to-feel-more-connected-to-dead-writers-perhaps-because-they/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [It's important to see the work of as many directors as possible but you must not become self-conscious. 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Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-field/) ## More by Walter Benjamin > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than of convictions, and of such facts as have scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-construction-of-life-is-at-present-in-the-power-of-facts-far-more/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“It should be pointed out that certain correlative concepts retain their meaning, and possibly their foremost significance, if they are referred exclusively to man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/it-should-be-pointed-out-that-certain-correlative-concepts-retain/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/allegories-are-in-the-realm-of-thought-what-ruins-are-in-the-realm-of/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Things are only mannequins and even the great world-historical events are only costumes beneath which they exchange glances with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/things-are-only-mannequins-and-even-the-great-world-historical-events/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“to great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they labor their entire lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-lighter-than-those-fragments-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. 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