diff --git a/docs/api-guide/validators.md b/docs/api-guide/validators.md
index 3b50442cc1..0007c718cf 100644
--- a/docs/api-guide/validators.md
+++ b/docs/api-guide/validators.md
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ A default class that can be used to *only set a default argument during create o
 It takes a single argument, which is the default value or callable that should be used during create operations.
 
     created_at = serializers.DateTimeField(
+        read_only=True,
         default=serializers.CreateOnlyDefault(timezone.now)
     )
 
diff --git a/rest_framework/serializers.py b/rest_framework/serializers.py
index 110ffbfa98..3f759405f9 100644
--- a/rest_framework/serializers.py
+++ b/rest_framework/serializers.py
@@ -367,7 +367,8 @@ def fields(self):
     @cached_property
     def _writable_fields(self):
         return [
-            field for field in self.fields.values() if not field.read_only
+            field for field in self.fields.values()
+            if (not field.read_only) or (field.default is not empty)
         ]
 
     @cached_property
diff --git a/tests/test_fields.py b/tests/test_fields.py
index 9a1d049797..3fe4cf8c9c 100644
--- a/tests/test_fields.py
+++ b/tests/test_fields.py
@@ -217,17 +217,10 @@ def example_callable(self):
 class TestReadOnly:
     def setup(self):
         class TestSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
-            read_only = serializers.ReadOnlyField(default="789")
+            read_only = serializers.ReadOnlyField()
             writable = serializers.IntegerField()
         self.Serializer = TestSerializer
 
-    def test_writable_fields(self):
-        """
-        Read-only fields should not be writable, even with default ()
-        """
-        serializer = self.Serializer()
-        assert len(serializer._writable_fields) == 1
-
     def test_validate_read_only(self):
         """
         Read-only serializers.should not be included in validation.
diff --git a/tests/test_serializer.py b/tests/test_serializer.py
index 0650b7c570..c44e830d0e 100644
--- a/tests/test_serializer.py
+++ b/tests/test_serializer.py
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ class ExampleSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
 class TestDefaultInclusions:
     def setup(self):
         class ExampleSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
-            char = serializers.CharField(default='abc')
+            char = serializers.CharField(read_only=True, default='abc')
             integer = serializers.IntegerField()
         self.Serializer = ExampleSerializer