--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing all writers do best is find…" description: "\"The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.\" — Alan Dean Foster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/alan-dean-foster-11565_way_the-thing-all-writers-do-best-is-find-wa_1752347.jpg" --- # The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing. ![“The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.” quote by Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/alan-dean-foster-11565_way_the-thing-all-writers-do-best-is-find-wa_1752347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/alan-dean-foster-11565_way_the-thing-all-writers-do-best-is-find-wa_1752347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/alan-dean-foster-11565_way_the-thing-all-writers-do-best-is-find-wa_1752347.jpg) > “The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.” [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often avoid the act of writing by seeking shortcuts or distractions. **In simple terms:** Writers find ways to avoid writing. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront avoidance. Themes creativity productivity writing Mood motivational practical Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - blogging - academic papers Key Concepts procrastination self‑sabotage Questions to Reflect On - What distracts you from writing? - How can you stay disciplined? A Different Perspective Avoidance can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoid Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoid-writing-697737/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Ways Avoid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-avoid-1616657/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-best-323008/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Expect nothing, rely on no one and never show how you're feeling...3 ways to avoid getting hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/expect-nothing-rely-on-no-one-and-never-show-how-you-re-feeling-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the ways to avoid being beaten by the system is to laugh at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cook/one-of-the-ways-to-avoid-being-beaten-by-the-system-is-to-laugh-at-it/) [Peter Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cook/) > [“To become better writers we must become the best thieves and liars in the business. We slink around the pages of everyone else’s work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-stocking/to-become-better-writers-we-must-become-the-best-thieves-and-liars-in/) [Chris Stocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-stocking/) > [If you want to teach women to be great writers, you should show them the best, and the best was often done by men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/if-you-want-to-teach-women-to-be-great-writers-you-should-show-them/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I love writers. All of my best friends are writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-clarkson/i-love-writers-all-of-my-best-friends-are-writers/) [Patricia Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-clarkson/) > [Writing is 90% procrastination. It is a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudnick/writing-is-90-procrastination-it-is-a-matter-of-doing-everything-you/) [Paul Rudnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudnick/) > [If you do everything in your power to avoid writing and still can't, then you must be a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/if-you-do-everything-in-your-power-to-avoid-writing-and-still-can-t/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [If you are destined to become a writer, you can't help it. If you can help it, you aren't destined to become a writer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-harington/if-you-are-destined-to-become-a-writer-you-can-t-help-it-if-you-can/) [Donald Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-harington/) > [I'm always writing. A friend of mine once said, 'You avoid re-writing by writing.' Which is kind of a good point, because re-writing seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-crowe/i-m-always-writing-a-friend-of-mine-once-said-you-avoid-re-writing-by/) [Cameron Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-crowe/) > [I love reading; it's a great way to avoid writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-love-reading-it-s-a-great-way-to-avoid-writing/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [As a writer, I need an enormous amount of time alone. Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudnick/as-a-writer-i-need-an-enormous-amount-of-time-alone-writing-is-90/) [Paul Rudnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudnick/) > [I have been, earlier in my life, a lazy writer. I'd spend three hours at the gym to avoid writing, or I'd just find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-susan-rapp/i-have-been-earlier-in-my-life-a-lazy-writer-i-d-spend-three-hours-at/) [Emily Susan Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-susan-rapp/) > [Many writers-in-waiting spend a lot of time avoiding the work at hand. The most common way to avoid writing is by procrastination. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/many-writers-in-waiting-spend-a-lot-of-time-avoiding-the-work-at-hand/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I tend to avoid writing music about initial reactions to situations, like frustration or anger. I’d rather wait till I go through the problem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/i-tend-to-avoid-writing-music-about-initial-reactions-to-situations/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) > [Write to exhaustion so that you can no longer manage to avoid writing the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-schappell/write-to-exhaustion-so-that-you-can-no-longer-manage-to-avoid-writing/) [Elissa Schappell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-schappell/) ## More by Alan Dean Foster > [“Mankind must without a doubt be the most conceited race in the universe, for who else believes that God has nothing better to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/mankind-must-without-a-doubt-be-the-most-conceited-race-in-the/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [An apex is always surrounded only by emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/an-apex-is-always-surrounded-only-by-emptiness/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [“No one understands the lonely perfection of my dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/no-one-understands-the-lonely-perfection-of-my-dreams/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. 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There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/i-see-the-jedi-mission-as-giving-up-a-normal-life-in-exchange-for/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [There is nothing in art, in philosophy, or in politics to match the fervor of mutual cooperation among discordant bands of fanatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/there-is-nothing-in-art-in-philosophy-or-in-politics-to-match-the/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [“It illuminated a vision Dante could not have imagined in his wildest nightmares, nor Poe in the grasp of an uncontrollable delirium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/it-illuminated-a-vision-dante-could-not-have-imagined-in-his-wildest/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a traveler and explorer. Science-fiction allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/growing-up-i-never-gave-a-thought-to-being-a-writer-all-i-ever-wanted-2/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [How much research I have to do depends on the nature of the story. For fantasy, none at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/how-much-research-i-have-to-do-depends-on-the-nature-of-the-story-for/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [Besides the mistakes that are pointed out, I love the way readers become involved with the characters. When readers start asking about character motivations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/besides-the-mistakes-that-are-pointed-out-i-love-the-way-readers/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [The storm hit with all the fury of a woman who’d been dieting for six months, only to discover she’d gained four pounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/the-storm-hit-with-all-the-fury-of-a-woman-who-d-been-dieting-for-six/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [“That which is beautiful is magnified by being shared with others.That which is painful is often moderated by being shared. Both are logical. -Spock”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/that-which-is-beautiful-is-magnified-by-being-shared-with-others-that/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [“Acknowledge beauty when you see it. Even if its appearance disturbs you, surely you can admire the skill that went into its design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/acknowledge-beauty-when-you-see-it-even-if-its-appearance-disturbs/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) [Explore all 58 Alan Dean Foster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) ## More Way quotes > [Clearly, I'm way older than everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/clearly-i-m-way-older-than-everyone/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It's sort of the American way to go up and down the ladder, maybe several times in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/it-s-sort-of-the-american-way-to-go-up-and-down-the-ladder-maybe/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [That we have the vote means nothing. 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It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [ The best way to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood \[in Egypt\] is in the ballot box, not through arrests and killing people. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/the-best-way-to-marginalize-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-egypt-is-in-the/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. 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