--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A hack writer who would have been…" description: "\"A hack writer who would have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tried out a few of the old proven 'sure-fire' literary skeletons with sufficien..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/william-faulkner-306_color_a-hack-writer-who-would-have-been-consid_1400186.png" --- # A hack writer who would have been considered fourth rate… ![“A hack writer who would have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tried out a few of the old proven 'sure-fire' literary skeletons with sufficient local color to intrigue the superficial and the lazy.” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/william-faulkner-306_color_a-hack-writer-who-would-have-been-consid_1400186.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/william-faulkner-306_color_a-hack-writer-who-would-have-been-consid_1400186.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/william-faulkner-306_color_a-hack-writer-who-would-have-been-consid_1400186.png) > “A hack writer who would have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tried out a few of the old proven 'sure-fire' literary skeletons with sufficient local color to intrigue the superficial and the lazy.” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## 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 uses familiar, formulaic plots with local detail to attract readers who prefer easy, surface-level stories. **In simple terms:** Formulaic writing with local color appeals to lazy readers. Key Takeaway Beware relying on clichés for depth. Themes literature criticism authenticity Mood critical analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - publishing - creative writing - marketing - literary analysis Key Concepts cliché local color reader expectations Questions to Reflect On - How does reliance on familiar structures affect literary value? - Can local detail compensate for weak storytelling? A Different Perspective Clichés can limit originality and lasting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fourth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fourth/) [Fourth Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fourth-rate-2642501/) [Hack Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hack-writer-2729142/) [Hacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hacks/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Intrigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrigue/) [Lazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy/) [Literary Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-skeletons-4904511/) [Locals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locals/) [Proven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proven/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeletons/) [Sufficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficient/) [Superficial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial/) [Superficial Lazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial-lazy-4904512/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-considered-1797165/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“It isn’t hard being a hack writer. Between Dying Earth II and Dying Earth IX, six standard years had passed relatively painlessly. My research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/it-isn-t-hard-being-a-hack-writer-between-dying-earth-ii-and-dying/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [As a writer, I have always considered it my job to describe the world as I know it; to struggle toward whatever portion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-rebeck/as-a-writer-i-have-always-considered-it-my-job-to-describe-the-world/) [Theresa Rebeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-rebeck/) > [“There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller, as a teacher, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-are-three-points-of-view-from-which-a-writer-can-be-considered/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“I suspect that every teacher hears the same complaints, but that, being seldom a practicing author, he tends to dismiss them as out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-brande/i-suspect-that-every-teacher-hears-the-same-complaints-but-that-being/) [Dorothea Brande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-brande/) > [Handel is only fourth rate. He's not even interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/handel-is-only-fourth-rate-he-s-not-even-interesting/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [The world may be full of fourth-rate writers but it's also full of fourth-rate readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-may-be-full-of-fourth-rate-writers-but-it-s-also-full-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing is as important as dancing. . . . Better a fourth-rate dancer than a first-rate anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-geary/nothing-is-as-important-as-dancing-better-a-fourth-rate-dancer-than-a/) [Patricia Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-geary/) > [We could live like counts. ... If all that money is out there, I might as well hack a little on the side and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/we-could-live-like-counts-if-all-that-money-is-out-there-i-might-as/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The only people that actually like Schiff are media hacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/the-only-people-that-actually-like-schiff-are-media-hacks/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [I love New York, but it's a rough city. It's not dangerous now the way it was in the 70's or the 80's, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-love-new-york-but-it-s-a-rough-city-it-s-not-dangerous-now-the-way/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [ ...The British press... \[claimed that Tony\] Blair was simply Bush's poodle - a favorite phrase, bewilderingly popular, although it made no sense - and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-king/the-british-press-claimed-that-tony-blair-was-simply-bush-s-poodle-a/) [Larry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-king/) > [Every morning I walk by a funeral home, and that's my productivity hack for how to make sure your to-do list is properly prioritized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-dash/every-morning-i-walk-by-a-funeral-home-and-that-s-my-productivity/) [Anil Dash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-dash/) > [“Choose and create a circle of proper advisors around you. Do not discuss your project with your relatives, neighbor, grandmother, friends’ friends, pastor, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmytro-zaporozhtsev/choose-and-create-a-circle-of-proper-advisors-around-you-do-not/) [Dmytro Zaporozhtsev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmytro-zaporozhtsev/) > [“Wireless Hacks, 2nd Edition Table of Contents Foreword”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wireless-hacks-2nd-edition-table-of-contents-foreword/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to hack your way with a meat ax,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moses/when-you-operate-in-an-overbuilt-metropolis-you-have-to-hack-your-way/) [Robert Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moses/) ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. The hat seemed to isolate Luster's skull,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/luster-returned-wearing-a-stiff-new-straw-hat-with-a-colored-band-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [And sure enough, even waiting will end...if you can just wait long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-sure-enough-even-waiting-will-end-if-you-can-just-wait-long-enough/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. 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