--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps…" description: "\"Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to decide what is superfluous and must be remov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png" --- # Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more… ![“Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to decide what is superfluous and must be removed. And it requires ruthlessness toward yourself -- the greatest ruthlessness and self-sacrifice. You must know how to sacrifice parts in the name…” quote by Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png) > “Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to decide what is superfluous and must be removed. And it requires ruthlessness toward yourself -- the greatest ruthlessness and self-sacrifice. You must know how to sacrifice parts in the name of the whole.” [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective editing demands ruthless removal of excess to serve the whole work. **In simple terms:** Cutting unnecessary parts strengthens the piece. Key Takeaway Edit ruthlessly for clarity. Themes writing editing creativity Mood critical reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel drafting - academic papers - marketing copy Key Concepts minimalism self‑discipline artistic sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - What parts of your work are essential versus decorative? - How do you balance completeness with brevity? A Different Perspective Over‑editing may strip essential nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-difficult-509514/) [Crossing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossing/) [Crossing Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossing-art-3228502/) [Crossings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossings/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Requires Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-ruthlessness-3228503/) [Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthlessness/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-sacrifice/) [Superfluous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superfluous/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Simplicity requires ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/simplicity-requires-ruthlessness/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [None of us older writers had gone through such a school. We are all self-taught. And, of course, there is always, in such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/none-of-us-older-writers-had-gone-through-such-a-school-we-are-all/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Art is not difficult because it wishes to be difficult, but because it wishes to be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/art-is-not-difficult-because-it-wishes-to-be-difficult-but-because-it/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [“Because his art is such a difficult one, the writer is not likely to advance in the world as visibly as do his neighbors:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/because-his-art-is-such-a-difficult-one-the-writer-is-not-likely-to/) [john gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [Criticizing is easy, art is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/criticizing-is-easy-art-is-difficult/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Making television is difficult. Making any art is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stuhlbarg/making-television-is-difficult-making-any-art-is-difficult/) [Michael Stuhlbarg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stuhlbarg/) > [“Great art is difficult," Caleb said. After a few moments, he said, "But I don't understand why it has to be so difficult sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/great-art-is-difficult-caleb-said-after-a-few-moments-he-said-but-i/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) > [Criticism is easy, art is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/criticism-is-easy-art-is-difficult/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are drawn to artists who tell us that art is difficult to do and takes a spiritual effort, because we are still puritan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/we-are-drawn-to-artists-who-tell-us-that-art-is-difficult-to-do-and/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [It has always been difficult for Man to realize that his life is all an art. It has been more difficult to conceive it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/it-has-always-been-difficult-for-man-to-realize-that-his-life-is-all/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [Art is difficult, transient is her reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/art-is-difficult-transient-is-her-reward/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Art is difficult. It's not entertainment. There are only a few people who can say something about art - it's very restricted. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-is-difficult-it-s-not-entertainment-there-are-only-a-few-people/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Art is difficult. It's not entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-is-difficult-it-s-not-entertainment/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Art is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-thompson/art-is-difficult/) [Scott Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-thompson/) > [“In which, if any, of these constitutions do we find the art of ruling being practiced in the actual government of men? What art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/in-which-if-any-of-these-constitutions-do-we-find-the-art-of-ruling/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Yevgeny Zamyatin > [“Homo sapiens is only man, in the fullest sense of the word, when his grammar contains no question marks, only exclamation marks, commas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/homo-sapiens-is-only-man-in-the-fullest-sense-of-the-word-when-his/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [knowledge, absolutely sure of its infallibility, is faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/knowledge-absolutely-sure-of-its-infallibility-is-faith/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“Do you know this feeling? When you're in an aero speeding up through a blue spiral, the window open, the wind whistling, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/do-you-know-this-feeling-when-you-re-in-an-aero-speeding-up-through-a/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [ “Heretics are the only \[bitter\] remedy against the entropy of human thought. ("Literature, Revolution, and Entropy")” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/heretics-are-the-only-bitter-remedy-against-the-entropy-of-human/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential — I know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/and-everyone-must-lose-his-mind-everyone-must-the-sooner-the-better/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“No, I did not understand. But I nodded silently. I was dissolved, I was infinitely small, I was a point... There is, after all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-i-did-not-understand-but-i-nodded-silently-i-was-dissolved-i-was/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Revolution is everywhere, in everything. There is no final revolution, no final number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/revolution-is-everywhere-in-everything-there-is-no-final-revolution/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [In adopting the form of the adventure novel, Wells deepened it, raised its intellectual value, and brought into it elements of social philosophy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/in-adopting-the-form-of-the-adventure-novel-wells-deepened-it-raised/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“You're in a bad way! Apparently, you have developed a soul." A soul? That strange, ancient, long-forgotten word. We sometimes use the words "soul-stirring,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/you-re-in-a-bad-way-apparently-you-have-developed-a-soul-a-soul-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“But how was I going to explain my whole being, this whole disease that I've been jotting down in these pages? So I shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/but-how-was-i-going-to-explain-my-whole-being-this-whole-disease-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom. (“A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-lilac-branches-are-bowed-under-the-weight-of-the-flowers-blooming/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-primitive-tastes-the-ancients-must-have-had-if-their-poets-were/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“I felt I hadn't breathed since early morning, that my heart had not beat-and only now for the first time I took a breath,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/i-felt-i-hadn-t-breathed-since-early-morning-that-my-heart-had-not/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“What is the matter -a soul? You say a soul? Oh, damn it! We may soon retrogress even to the cholera epidemics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-is-the-matter-a-soul-you-say-a-soul-oh-damn-it-we-may-soon/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The literature of the immediate future will inevitably turn away from painting, whether respectably realistic or modern, and from daily life, whether old or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-literature-of-the-immediate-future-will-inevitably-turn-away-from/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) [Explore all 263 Yevgeny Zamyatin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to decide what is superfluous and must be removed. And it requires ruthlessness toward yourself -- the greatest ruthlessness and self-sacrifice. You must know how to sacrifice parts in the name of the whole.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yevgeny Zamyatin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-even-more-difficult-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-even-more-difficult-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-e_1959790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to…” — Yevgeny Zamyatin", "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": "Yevgeny Zamyatin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Crossing out is an art that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-even-more-difficult-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/crossing-out-is-an-art-that-is-perhaps-even-more-difficult-than/#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 } } ] } ```