--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Really the writer doesn't want success…" description: "\"Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg" --- # Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he… ![“Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivion, and he wants to leave a scratch on that wall - Kilroy was here - that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see.” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg) > “Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivion, and he wants to leave a scratch on that wall - Kilroy was here - that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see.” [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. Writers seek to leave a lasting mark that endures beyond their lifetime. **In simple terms:** Leave a lasting mark. Key Takeaway Create enduring work. Themes legacy writing immortality Mood contemplative determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - poetry - public speaking - teaching Key Concepts artistic expression memory Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you wish to leave? - How can you ensure your work endures? A Different Perspective Fear of obscurity can stall creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doesn Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-want/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Kilroy Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kilroy-somebody-5147708/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Oblivion Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion-wants-5147707/) [Scratches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scratches/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wall Kilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-kilroy-5147709/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-doesn/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Either a writer doesn't want to talk about his work, or he talks about it more than you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/either-a-writer-doesn-t-want-to-talk-about-his-work-or-he-talks-about/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“The writer doesn’t need economic freedom. All he needs is a pencil and some paper. I’ve never known anything good in writing to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-doesn-t-need-economic-freedom-all-he-needs-is-a-pencil-and-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The writer doesn't need economic freedom. All he needs is a pencil and some paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-doesn-t-need-economic-freedom-all-he-needs-is-a-pencil-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-aim-of-every-artist-is-to-arrest-motion-which-is-life-by/) [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/) > [First of all you are a writer, a writer is what you are, so it doesn't actually stop the moment you leave your desk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/first-of-all-you-are-a-writer-a-writer-is-what-you-are-so-it-doesn-t/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If being a writer doesn't make you humble, nothing else will." ~ Verge Le Noir”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verge-lenoir/if-being-a-writer-doesn-t-make-you-humble-nothing-else-will-verge-le/) [Verge LeNoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verge-lenoir/) > [I had a very high opinion of my father's judgement of things and he said, "You better get a job that pays the bills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-had-a-very-high-opinion-of-my-father-s-judgement-of-things-and-he/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [ “\[The writer\] doesn't want a new world which might be established immediately, because he knows it would never suit him. He wants an impossible… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-writer-doesn-t-want-a-new-world-which-might-be-established/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“You can be a writer who doesn't read everyday. But you're not fooling anyone. It shows, rather embarrassingly, in your work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/you-can-be-a-writer-who-doesn-t-read-everyday-but-you-re-not-fooling/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [A writer doesn't write about just anything. He writes about things he has an affinity for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-munoz-molina/a-writer-doesn-t-write-about-just-anything-he-writes-about-things-he/) [Antonio Munoz Molina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-munoz-molina/) > [“If a writer doesn't believe his fictional characters are actually real, how can he expect the readers to?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-power/if-a-writer-doesn-t-believe-his-fictional-characters-are-actually/) [Jim Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-power/) > [“I'm looking for a writer who doesn't know where the sentence is leading her; a writer who starts with her obsessions and whose heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-safransky/i-m-looking-for-a-writer-who-doesn-t-know-where-the-sentence-is/) [Sy Safransky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-safransky/) > [I am hard-pressed to find a successful writer who doesn't have a similar story to mine - transformation through the public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-am-hard-pressed-to-find-a-successful-writer-who-doesn-t-have-a/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“And if the book is too silly, I find that it's often because the writer doesn't really have anything to say - or there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/and-if-the-book-is-too-silly-i-find-that-it-s-often-because-the/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) ## 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 Hundred quotes > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/most-of-the-time-they-buy-what-other-people-buy-they-move-in-great/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Even a liar tells a hundred truths to one lie; he has to, to make the lie good for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/even-a-liar-tells-a-hundred-truths-to-one-lie-he-has-to-to-make-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented persons and one ingrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-xiv/every-time-i-bestow-a-vacant-office-i-make-a-hundred-discontented/) [Louis XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-xiv/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/tradition-does-not-mean-a-dead-town-it-does-not-mean-that-the-living/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I am hands-on in any project that I am associated with. I just don't want to put my face or name and lend it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-am-hands-on-in-any-project-that-i-am-associated-with-i-just-don-t/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-story-being-told-in-star-wars-is-a-classic-one-every-few-hundred/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) [Browse all 3,414 Hundred quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come when he must pass through the wall of oblivion, and he wants to leave a scratch on that wall - Kilroy was here - that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-he-knows-he-has-a-short-span/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hundred" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-he-knows-he-has-a-short-span/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-faulkner-306_hundred_really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-h_3063272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Really the writer doesn't want success. . . . He knows he has a short span of life, that the day will come…” — William Faulkner", "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": "William Faulkner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Really the writer doesn't want success....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-he-knows-he-has-a-short-span/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/really-the-writer-doesn-t-want-success-he-knows-he-has-a-short-span/#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 } } ] } ```