--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I assume that - because you can get…" description: "\"I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism from very reputable universities - I assume that people can be trained to be journalists. I'v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/william-gibson-642_assuming_i-assume-that-because-you-can-get-degree_2988791.jpg" --- # I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism… ![“I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism from very reputable universities - I assume that people can be trained to be journalists. I've never been entirely certain that anyone can be trained to be a novelist in the same way.” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/william-gibson-642_assuming_i-assume-that-because-you-can-get-degree_2988791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/william-gibson-642_assuming_i-assume-that-because-you-can-get-degree_2988791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/william-gibson-642_assuming_i-assume-that-because-you-can-get-degree_2988791.jpg) > “I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism from very reputable universities - I assume that people can be trained to be journalists. I've never been entirely certain that anyone can be trained to be a novelist in the same way.” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker questions whether creative writing can be taught like journalism, suggesting uncertainty about training novelists. **In simple terms:** Can novelists be trained like journalists? Key Takeaway Consider the limits of formal training in creative fields. Themes education creativity skill acquisition Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - creative writing courses - journalism programs - writing workshops - self‑directed study Key Concepts pedagogy literary theory craftsmanship Questions to Reflect On - Is talent more important than instruction? - How can curricula foster originality? A Different Perspective Training may not capture innate imagination or personal voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [The reliance on stereotypes is in part the result of a structural problem within the media. 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According to a recent poll conducted by the Freedom Forum, a liberal foundation in Tennessee, 89 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/this-is-not-a-small-matter-according-to-a-recent-poll-conducted-by/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [Humor is, I think, the subtlest and chanciest of literary forms. It is surely not accidental that there are a thousand novelists, essayists, poets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-rosten/humor-is-i-think-the-subtlest-and-chanciest-of-literary-forms-it-is/) [Leo Rosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-rosten/) > [The dominant and most deep-dyed trait of the journalist is his timorousness. Where the novelist fearlessly plunges into the water of self-exposure, the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-dominant-and-most-deep-dyed-trait-of-the-journalist-is-his/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The most common human act that writing a novel resembles is lying. The working novelist lies daily, very complexly, and at great length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-most-common-human-act-that-writing-a-novel-resembles-is-lying-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. His sympathy, like that of the historian, must be unbounded, and untainted by sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldwin-smith/the-novelist-must-look-on-humanity-without-partiality-or-prejudice/) [Goldwin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldwin-smith/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/things-that-appear-on-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper-as-fact-are-far/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I always counsel aspiring novelists that passion is the most important quality for a writer to possess - technique can be taught, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-always-counsel-aspiring-novelists-that-passion-is-the-most/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“She'll be an excellent novelist: a monster of self-absorption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lan-samantha-chang/she-ll-be-an-excellent-novelist-a-monster-of-self-absorption/) [Lan Samantha Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lan-samantha-chang/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/no-said-blackwell-she-won-t-because-that-would-be-a-violation-of-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Music was strange that way though; there were people into any damned thing, it seemed like, and if you got enough of them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/music-was-strange-that-way-though-there-were-people-into-any-damned/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). 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The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I assume that - because you can get degrees in journalism from very reputable universities - I assume that people can be trained to be journalists. 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