--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beware the fictionist writing his own…" description: "\"Beware the fictionist writing his own life. Even candor becomes a strategy.\" — Wilfrid Sheed" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/wilfrid-sheed-18089_candor_beware-the-fictionist-writing-his-own-li_1479673.jpg" --- # Beware the fictionist writing his own life. Even candor… ![“Beware the fictionist writing his own life. Even candor becomes a strategy.” quote by Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/wilfrid-sheed-18089_candor_beware-the-fictionist-writing-his-own-li_1479673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/wilfrid-sheed-18089_candor_beware-the-fictionist-writing-his-own-li_1479673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/wilfrid-sheed-18089_candor_beware-the-fictionist-writing-his-own-li_1479673.jpg) > “Beware the fictionist writing his own life. Even candor becomes a strategy.” [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing about one’s life can become self‑serving, turning honesty into a tactic. **In simple terms:** Self‑storytelling can become a strategic mask. Key Takeaway Beware of using honesty as manipulation. Themes self‑awareness authenticity literature Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal journals - public speeches - social media posts Key Concepts narrative control ego truthfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure genuine candor? - What risks arise when honesty is strategic? A Different Perspective May blur line between truth and performance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Candor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candor/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [Take lack of candor. ... I'm not talking about boldface lying, but a tendency to withhold information. That behavior is far more common, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/take-lack-of-candor-i-m-not-talking-about-boldface-lying-but-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Judicial excellence requires candor before confirmation. We are being asked to give the nominee enormous power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/judicial-excellence-requires-candor-before-confirmation-we-are-being/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [Getting candor right - with your reports, your peers, and your boss - is a skill that can make or break your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/getting-candor-right-with-your-reports-your-peers-and-your-boss-is-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-ventured-to-write-more-intimately-about-my-personal-life-than/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“Clare wasn't worried anymore about their being mean to each other. She imagined that someday she'd be part of a friendship in which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-de-los-santos/clare-wasn-t-worried-anymore-about-their-being-mean-to-each-other-she/) [Marisa de los Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-de-los-santos/) > [“He is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk but then insist on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/he-is-the-kind-of-person-i-should-expect-to-rescue-one-from-a-mad-dog/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [Yet if strict criticism should till frown on our method, let candor and good humor forgive what is done to the best of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/yet-if-strict-criticism-should-till-frown-on-our-method-let-candor/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) Lani Guinier > [Jennifer Fulwiler's story of finding God when you aren't looking for Him is a universal tale which will touch many hearts. With warmth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-arroyo/jennifer-fulwiler-s-story-of-finding-god-when-you-aren-t-looking-for/) [Raymond Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-arroyo/) > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/truth-is-a-risky-proposition-it-s-the-nature-of-mediocre-human-beings/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I struggle to keep my hard, expressionless mask in place. The doctor's most powerful weapon has always been his particular brand of brutal honesty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristin-terrill/i-struggle-to-keep-my-hard-expressionless-mask-in-place-the-doctor-s/) [Cristin Terrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristin-terrill/) > [“Instead of fleeing God scrutiny, David welcomed it. It's like he was saying, "Look God, since I can't hide from you, since you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-davis-jr/instead-of-fleeing-god-scrutiny-david-welcomed-it-it-s-like-he-was/) [Will Davis Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-davis-jr/) ## More by Wilfrid Sheed > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [I myself have not met a self-confessed liberal since the late fifties (and even then it was a tacky thing to admit, like coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/i-myself-have-not-met-a-self-confessed-liberal-since-the-late-fifties/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [For Catholics before Vatican II, the land of the free was pre-eminently the land of Sister Says-except, of course, for Sister, for whom it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-catholics-before-vatican-ii-the-land-of-the-free-was-pre/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [I picked up the writing on the very day he died. It was the only consolation I could find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/i-picked-up-the-writing-on-the-very-day-he-died-it-was-the-only/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [It is possible that the malice of writers has been overrated (by myself among others). Reading their ruminations on their craft, one sees why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/it-is-possible-that-the-malice-of-writers-has-been-overrated-by/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [As things now stand, the office is a slightly meaner battleground than the home. Male bosses seem to dominate their women underlings as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/as-things-now-stand-the-office-is-a-slightly-meaner-battleground-than/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Mankind has always made too much of its saints and heroes, and how the latter handle the fuss might be called their final test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/mankind-has-always-made-too-much-of-its-saints-and-heroes-and-how-the/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Mushy reviews are a breach of faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/mushy-reviews-are-a-breach-of-faith/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [The actual Irish weather report is really a recording made in 1922, which no one has had occasion to change. "Scattered showers, periods of sunshine."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/the-actual-irish-weather-report-is-really-a-recording-made-in-1922/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [The town is as full as ever of 'characters,' all created by each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/the-town-is-as-full-as-ever-of-characters-all-created-by-each-other/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [You noodle around with tempo and sound until you get the perfect fit for that particular song, and then, so long as you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/you-noodle-around-with-tempo-and-sound-until-you-get-the-perfect-fit/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Every writer is a writer of the generation before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/every-writer-is-a-writer-of-the-generation-before/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Mr Michener, as timeless as a stack of National Geographics, is the ultimate Summer Writer. Just as one goes back to the cottage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/mr-michener-as-timeless-as-a-stack-of-national-geographics-is-the/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Of course, history is only a muddle of facts and a fuddle of professors, and anyone who thinks it is one clear voice saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/of-course-history-is-only-a-muddle-of-facts-and-a-fuddle-of/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [How does one make a movie about decadence these days? Now that we're allowed to do it, it's too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/how-does-one-make-a-movie-about-decadence-these-days-now-that-we-re/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) [Explore all 35 Wilfrid Sheed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) ## More Candor quotes > [Take lack of candor. ... I'm not talking about boldface lying, but a tendency to withhold information. That behavior is far more common, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/take-lack-of-candor-i-m-not-talking-about-boldface-lying-but-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [“I struggle to keep my hard, expressionless mask in place. The doctor's most powerful weapon has always been his particular brand of brutal honesty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristin-terrill/i-struggle-to-keep-my-hard-expressionless-mask-in-place-the-doctor-s/) [Cristin Terrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristin-terrill/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/truth-is-a-risky-proposition-it-s-the-nature-of-mediocre-human-beings/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Jennifer Fulwiler's story of finding God when you aren't looking for Him is a universal tale which will touch many hearts. With warmth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-arroyo/jennifer-fulwiler-s-story-of-finding-god-when-you-aren-t-looking-for/) [Raymond Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-arroyo/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) Lani Guinier > [Yet if strict criticism should till frown on our method, let candor and good humor forgive what is done to the best of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-fielding/yet-if-strict-criticism-should-till-frown-on-our-method-let-candor/) [Sarah Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-fielding/) > [“He is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk but then insist on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/he-is-the-kind-of-person-i-should-expect-to-rescue-one-from-a-mad-dog/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [“Clare wasn't worried anymore about their being mean to each other. She imagined that someday she'd be part of a friendship in which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-de-los-santos/clare-wasn-t-worried-anymore-about-their-being-mean-to-each-other-she/) [Marisa de los Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-de-los-santos/) > [I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-ventured-to-write-more-intimately-about-my-personal-life-than/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Getting candor right - with your reports, your peers, and your boss - is a skill that can make or break your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/getting-candor-right-with-your-reports-your-peers-and-your-boss-is-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Judicial excellence requires candor before confirmation. We are being asked to give the nominee enormous power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/judicial-excellence-requires-candor-before-confirmation-we-are-being/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [“Instead of fleeing God scrutiny, David welcomed it. It's like he was saying, "Look God, since I can't hide from you, since you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-davis-jr/instead-of-fleeing-god-scrutiny-david-welcomed-it-it-s-like-he-was/) [Will Davis Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-davis-jr/) [Browse all 176 Candor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beware the fictionist writing his own life. 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