--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good writers are monotonous, like good…" description: "\"Good writers are monotonous, like good composers. They keep trying to perfect the one problem they were born to understand.\" — Alberto Moravia" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1a/alberto-moravia-15553_born_good-writers-are-monotonous-like-good-co_882877.png" --- # Good writers are monotonous, like good composers. They… ![“Good writers are monotonous, like good composers. They keep trying to perfect the one problem they were born to understand.” quote by Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1a/alberto-moravia-15553_born_good-writers-are-monotonous-like-good-co_882877.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1a/alberto-moravia-15553_born_good-writers-are-monotonous-like-good-co_882877.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1a/alberto-moravia-15553_born_good-writers-are-monotonous-like-good-co_882877.png) > “Good writers are monotonous, like good composers. They keep trying to perfect the one problem they were born to understand.” [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great writers, like composers, refine a single core problem through relentless effort. **In simple terms:** Writers focus on one core problem and perfect it. Key Takeaway Persist on your central creative challenge. Themes creativity focus mastery Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - music composition - academic research Key Concepts literature artistic process perfectionism Questions to Reflect On - What core problem are you mastering? - How does repetition improve your craft? A Different Perspective Risk of neglecting broader perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composers Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composers-trying-1069838/) [Good Composers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-composers-1069837/) [Good writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writers/) [Keep trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep-trying/) [Monotonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monotonous/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Monotonous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-monotonous-1069836/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Good composers don't borrow, they steal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/good-composers-don-t-borrow-they-steal/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [In the scientific community you find competent teachers and original researchers, just as in the musical community you find many good performers but very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-bunge/in-the-scientific-community-you-find-competent-teachers-and-original/) [Mario Bunge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-bunge/) > [So many of the sounds that contemporary composers were trying to create were to be found in the traditional musics of the world. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morris/so-many-of-the-sounds-that-contemporary-composers-were-trying-to/) [Robert Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morris/) > [It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-britten/it-is-cruel-you-know-that-music-should-be-so-beautiful/) [Benjamin Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-britten/) > [Mathematics does not grow through a monotonous increase of the number of indubitably established theorems but through the incessant improvement of guesses by speculation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/mathematics-does-not-grow-through-a-monotonous-increase-of-the-number/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [The images, the language, of pornography, and romance are alike; monotonous and mechanically seductive, quickly leading to despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/the-images-the-language-of-pornography-and-romance-are-alike/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/my-life-is-very-monotonous-the-fox-said-i-hunt-chickens-men-hunt-me/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I box a lot, I spin and I surf. I try to mix it up. I obviously have to be in shape 24 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/i-box-a-lot-i-spin-and-i-surf-i-try-to-mix-it-up-i-obviously-have-to/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [For it was Saturday night, the best and bingiest glad-time of the week, one of the fifty-two holidays in the slow-turning Big Wheel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/for-it-was-saturday-night-the-best-and-bingiest-glad-time-of-the-week/) [Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/) > [“Her life was monotonous, but it kept her out of trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/her-life-was-monotonous-but-it-kept-her-out-of-trouble/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [The secret of this kind of climbing, is like Zen. Don't think. Just dance along. It's the easiest thing in the world, actually easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-secret-of-this-kind-of-climbing-is-like-zen-don-t-think-just/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Robert Fripp and I will be recording another LP very soon. It should be even more monotonous than the first one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/robert-fripp-and-i-will-be-recording-another-lp-very-soon-it-should/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone-peace-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) ## More by Alberto Moravia > [When I sit at my table to write, I never know what it's going to be until I'm under way. I trust in inspiration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/when-i-sit-at-my-table-to-write-i-never-know-what-it-s-going-to-be/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [This thought strengthened in me my belief that all men, without exception, deserve to be pitied, if only because they are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/this-thought-strengthened-in-me-my-belief-that-all-men-without/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [Every true writer is like a bird; he repeats the same song, the same theme, all his life. For me, this theme as always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/every-true-writer-is-like-a-bird-he-repeats-the-same-song-the-same/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [And we all know love is a glass which makes even a monster appear fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/and-we-all-know-love-is-a-glass-which-makes-even-a-monster-appear/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [...my boredom might be described as a malady affecting external objects and consisting of a withering process; an almost instantaneous loss of vitality--just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/my-boredom-might-be-described-as-a-malady-affecting-external-objects/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [A writer survives in spite of his beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/a-writer-survives-in-spite-of-his-beliefs/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [The novel as we knew it in the nineteenth century was killed off by Proust and Joyce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/the-novel-as-we-knew-it-in-the-nineteenth-century-was-killed-off-by/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [You can't think on purpose about somebody or something. Either you think about them naturally or you don't think at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/you-can-t-think-on-purpose-about-somebody-or-something-either-you/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [I do not foresee a time when I shall feel that I have nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/i-do-not-foresee-a-time-when-i-shall-feel-that-i-have-nothing-to-say/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [“I gave up the unequal struggle against what appeared to be in my fate, indeed, I welcomed it with more affection. As one embraces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/i-gave-up-the-unequal-struggle-against-what-appeared-to-be-in-my-fate/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [Yes, one uses what one knows, but autobiography means something else. I should never be able to write a real autobiography; I always end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/yes-one-uses-what-one-knows-but-autobiography-means-something-else-i/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [Modern man-whether in the womb of the masses, or with his workmates, or with his family, or alone-can never for one moment forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/modern-man-whether-in-the-womb-of-the-masses-or-with-his-workmates-or/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [An uncertain evil causes anxiety because, at the bottom of one's heart, one goes on hoping till the last moment that it may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/an-uncertain-evil-causes-anxiety-because-at-the-bottom-of-one-s-heart/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [Dictatorships are one-way streets. Democracy boasts two-way traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/dictatorships-are-one-way-streets-democracy-boasts-two-way-traffic/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [It is what we are forced to do that forms our character, not what we do of our own free will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/it-is-what-we-are-forced-to-do-that-forms-our-character-not-what-we/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) [Explore all 31 Alberto Moravia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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