QuoteProject
Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.
E. B. White
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Writing requires belief in the power of words rather than just grammatical skill.

E. B. White's quote emphasizes that the essence of writing goes beyond merely knowing grammar; it is rooted in the writer's faith in the significance of their words and ideas. This act of faith drives writers to convey their thoughts and emotions, suggesting that true writing comes from conviction and creativity rather than technical perfection.

Themes

WritingFaithCreativityExpressionWords

In practice

Example use cases

In a writing workshop, to inspire students about the importance of belief in their writing.

More from E. B. White

It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
It isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
E. B. WhiteRead
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WhiteRead
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
E. B. WhiteRead
A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
E. B. WhiteRead
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
E. B. WhiteRead

Similar quotes

A great many people seem to think writing poetry is worthwhile, even though it pays next to nothing and is not as widely read as it should be.
Mark StrandRead
My music is mostly for the music. And it gives the liberty to do anything which I want. And nobody limits me to one genre of music. But I learn from life and I try to give back to life, in a way, whether it's the thought of the song or whether it's the approach to the arrangement or anything.
A. R. RahmanRead
I just admire people like Woody Allen, who every year writes an original screenplay. It's astonishing. I always wished that I could do that.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work that way. I tend to get the idea for a novel in a big splash.
Zadie SmithRead
An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
I've always wanted to be aware of what's going on around me, and I've wanted to use photography as an instrument of research into and reporting on the life of my own time.
Paul StrandRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.