--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many of those late nights, when he'd…" description: "\"“Many of those late nights, when he'd paced his apartment, his mind roaming the world he'd painstakingly created and could finally inhabit - moving wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/adelle-waldman-26847_psychology_many-of-those-late-nights-when-he-d-pace_1776597.jpg" --- # Many of those late nights, when he'd paced his apartment… ![“Many of those late nights, when he'd paced his apartment, his mind roaming the world he'd painstakingly created and could finally inhabit - moving within it from character to character, feverishly distilling into words thoughts not his own but theirs - had been ecstasies of absorption and…” quote by Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/adelle-waldman-26847_psychology_many-of-those-late-nights-when-he-d-pace_1776597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/adelle-waldman-26847_psychology_many-of-those-late-nights-when-he-d-pace_1776597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6d/adelle-waldman-26847_psychology_many-of-those-late-nights-when-he-d-pace_1776597.jpg) > ““Many of those late nights, when he'd paced his apartment, his mind roaming the world he'd painstakingly created and could finally inhabit - moving within it from character to character, feverishly distilling into words thoughts not his own but theirs - had been ecstasies of absorption and self-forgetfulness.”” [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense creative immersion can cause the writer to lose personal identity, merging with characters and experiencing ecstatic focus. **In simple terms:** Writing can erase self, merging with characters. Key Takeaway Embrace deep focus, but stay grounded. Themes creativity identity absorption Mood reflective introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - artistic retreats Key Concepts flow state narrative empathy self-transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain personal boundaries while writing? - What practices keep you centered? A Different Perspective May lead to burnout or loss of self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Self forgetfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-forgetfulness/) ## Related quotes > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [By the experience of active love. Strive to love your neighbour actively and indefatigably. In as far as you advance in love you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-the-experience-of-active-love-strive-to-love-your-neighbour/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But what after all, behind appearances, is this seeming mystery? 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Simply thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/this-is-gospel-humility-blessed-self-forgetfulness-not-thinking-less/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [But what after all, behind appearance, is the seeming mystery? We can see that it is the Consciousness which had lost itself, returning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/but-what-after-all-behind-appearance-is-the-seeming-mystery-we-can/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Happiness lies in a large measure of self-forgetfulness, either in work . . . or in the love of others. ♥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/happiness-lies-in-a-large-measure-of-self-forgetfulness-either-in/) [Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/) > [For with eyes made clear by many tears, and a heart softened by the tenderest sorrow, she recognized the beauty of her sister's life—uneventful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/for-with-eyes-made-clear-by-many-tears-and-a-heart-softened-by-the/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“But it’s mostly the act itself that brings relief, the self-forgetfulness, the diving and plunging into other lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/but-it-s-mostly-the-act-itself-that-brings-relief-the-self/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Humility is self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/humility-is-self-forgetfulness/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [By means of Invocation, the being awakens, and awakening becomes fullness. By means of balancing, fullness becomes internal wholeness. By virtue of exteriorized attention,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-truman/by-means-of-invocation-the-being-awakens-and-awakening-becomes/) [David Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-truman/) > [“Ignorance might be bliss. But self-forgetfulness is pure ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/ignorance-might-be-bliss-but-self-forgetfulness-is-pure-ecstasy/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Self-forgetfulness in creativity can lead to self-transcendence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ashton-warner/self-forgetfulness-in-creativity-can-lead-to-self-transcendence/) [Sylvia Ashton-Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ashton-warner/) ## More by Adelle Waldman > [“...in a certain sense, it's harder for men to say no to sex than it is for women. When a woman says no, nobody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/in-a-certain-sense-it-s-harder-for-men-to-say-no-to-sex-than-it-is/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“If his relative success hadn't made him happy, it had, on average, made him less unhappy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/if-his-relative-success-hadn-t-made-him-happy-it-had-on-average-made/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“Of course, these women ought to have listened when he told them he wasn't looking for anything serious. But on a certain level, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/of-course-these-women-ought-to-have-listened-when-he-told-them-he/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“It was not always unpleasant to deal with a hysterical woman. One feels so thoroughly righteous in comparison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/it-was-not-always-unpleasant-to-deal-with-a-hysterical-woman-one/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“Dating is probably the most fraught human interaction there is. 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It gusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/as-he-tore-his-eyes-from-the-books-to-meet-hers-he-was-as-a-matter-of/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“He had a bad habit of initially zeroing in on one or two things he liked about every new girl he found himself interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/he-had-a-bad-habit-of-initially-zeroing-in-on-one-or-two-things-he/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“I’m sure a lot of it is my fault,” he said. He smiled ruefully. “And by a lot, I mean all.” “Ah, the self-deprecating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/i-m-sure-a-lot-of-it-is-my-fault-he-said-he-smiled-ruefully-and-by-a/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“...good drivers are people who can put their brains on cruise control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/good-drivers-are-people-who-can-put-their-brains-on-cruise-control/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“What began, after a few more minutes, to irritate him was that she didn’t even attempt to be engaging—made no effort toward wit or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/what-began-after-a-few-more-minutes-to-irritate-him-was-that-she-didn/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) > [“Aurit argued that for the person with more power in a relationship to refuse to take seriously the unhappiness of the other, simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelle-waldman/aurit-argued-that-for-the-person-with-more-power-in-a-relationship-to/) [Adelle Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) [Explore all 21 Adelle Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelle-waldman/) ## More Mind quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. 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A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. 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