--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is hard work, and if anything's…" description: "\"Writing is hard work, and if anything's true about the process, it's that fact that a good story is hard to find and even trickier to get on paper. Wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/adam-johnson-7721_blank_writing-is-hard-work-and-if-anything-s-t_1297842.png" --- # Writing is hard work, and if anything's true about the… ![“Writing is hard work, and if anything's true about the process, it's that fact that a good story is hard to find and even trickier to get on paper. What's less romantic than staring alone at a blank screen? And edgy? I've changed the cat little because I didn't know what my characters were going…” quote by Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/adam-johnson-7721_blank_writing-is-hard-work-and-if-anything-s-t_1297842.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/adam-johnson-7721_blank_writing-is-hard-work-and-if-anything-s-t_1297842.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/adam-johnson-7721_blank_writing-is-hard-work-and-if-anything-s-t_1297842.png) > “Writing is hard work, and if anything's true about the process, it's that fact that a good story is hard to find and even trickier to get on paper. What's less romantic than staring alone at a blank screen? And edgy? I've changed the cat little because I didn't know what my characters were going to say next.” [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is difficult; finding a good story is harder, and translating it to paper is even tougher. **In simple terms:** Writing is hard; good stories are rare and hard to write. Key Takeaway Embrace the struggle and keep writing. Themes creativity process challenge Mood frustrated determined Type advice motivational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - screenwriting - blogging - academic writing Key Concepts storytelling discipline self‑doubt Questions to Reflect On - What blocks your ideas? - How can you turn doubt into momentum? A Different Perspective Even with effort, inspiration may not appear; writer's block persists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Good story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-story/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In real life, people are constantly saying one thing and doing another, but if you write your characters that way, the story becomes too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-cutler/in-real-life-people-are-constantly-saying-one-thing-and-doing-another/) [Jessica Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-cutler/) > [“Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it's hard to know what story is actually being told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-hollings/every-picture-tells-a-story-but-sometimes-it-s-hard-to-know-what/) Anastasia Hollings > [A famous love story is hard to maintain when you both live in the spotlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/a-famous-love-story-is-hard-to-maintain-when-you-both-live-in-the/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > ['Automa' is probably my first sci-fi story. It's not hard sci-fi but more in the 'Terminator 2' vein.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-forsman/automa-is-probably-my-first-sci-fi-story-it-s-not-hard-sci-fi-but/) [Charles Forsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-forsman/) > [Trying to find the story within the story was hard. 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For breakfast, she murdered an onion and served it raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/the-next-day-she-was-silent-for-breakfast-she-murdered-an-onion-and/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [“Acts of heroism are easy—becoming a hero is a bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/acts-of-heroism-are-easy-becoming-a-hero-is-a-bitch/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [“The urge to create a fictional narrative is a mysterious one, and when an idea comes, the writer's sense of what a story wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/the-urge-to-create-a-fictional-narrative-is-a-mysterious-one-and-when/) [adam johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [But, in North Korea, it's just the opposite. There's one story. It's written by the Kim regime. And 23 million people are conscripted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/but-in-north-korea-it-s-just-the-opposite-there-s-one-story-it-s/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [“What was it about English speakers that allowed them to talk into transmitters as if the sky were a diary?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-johnson/what-was-it-about-english-speakers-that-allowed-them-to-talk-into/) [Adam Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-johnson/) > [“It’s okay if you can’t make sense of that. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t grasp it, either. 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He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/) Emily Shanks > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/) [P. 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