I have me brave women who are exploring the outer edge of human possibility, with no history to guide them, and with a courage to make themselves vulnerable that I find moving beyond words.
Gloria SteinemRead
I do not like to write - I like to have written.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses a common struggle with the writing process, highlighting the difference between actually writing and the satisfaction of completed work.
Gloria Steinem encapsulates the feeling many writers experience—dreading the act of writing itself, yet cherishing the joy and fulfillment that comes with having completed a piece of work. This dichotomy speaks to the challenges of creative expression, where the journey often feels arduous, but the end result is rewarding.
Themes
WritingProcessCreationSatisfactionStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop to encourage fellow writers who may feel overwhelmed.
More from Gloria Steinem
All quotes →If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long?
Gloria SteinemRead
Age brings a freedom. When you're young, you're much more subject to the idea of what feminine is or how you should look or how you should behave.
Gloria SteinemRead
All those chemicals that create empathy only work when you are in a room together.
Gloria SteinemRead
Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
Gloria SteinemRead
Obviously, there is much similarity among the challenges of transgender people and all women - from health care to harassment to discrimination in the workplace.
Gloria SteinemRead
Similar quotes
And there was that poor sucker Flaubert rolling around on his floor for three days looking for the right word.
Dorothy ParkerRead
One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones. This is like dressing up a household pet in evening clothes. The pet is embarrassed and the person who committed this act of premeditated cuteness should be even more embarrassed.
Stephen KingRead
You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you're on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.
Margaret AtwoodRead
There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.
Elmore LeonardRead
I consider the process of gestation just as important as when you're actually sitting down putting words to the paper.
Wole SoyinkaRead
I've tried writing on a computer thinking it would make me more efficient, but if you're writing crummy stuff, being efficient is no help.
Jennifer EganRead