--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you compose, it's like writing…" description: "\"When you compose, it's like writing. You're like a writer. You just think all the time.\" — Alexandre Desplat" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/alexandre-desplat-4905_like_when-you-compose-it-s-like-writing-you-r_1887887.png" --- # When you compose, it's like writing. You're like a writer… ![“When you compose, it's like writing. You're like a writer. You just think all the time.” quote by Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/alexandre-desplat-4905_like_when-you-compose-it-s-like-writing-you-r_1887887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/alexandre-desplat-4905_like_when-you-compose-it-s-like-writing-you-r_1887887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/alexandre-desplat-4905_like_when-you-compose-it-s-like-writing-you-r_1887887.png) > “When you compose, it's like writing. You're like a writer. You just think all the time.” [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Composition is a continuous thought process, similar to writing prose. **In simple terms:** Writing music is like writing text, always thinking. Key Takeaway Embrace constant thinking in creative work. Themes creativity process writing music Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - film scoring - songwriting - creative workshops Key Concepts flow cognitive artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance thinking and execution? - What techniques keep ideas fresh? A Different Perspective Continuous thinking can lead to burnout without breaks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compose Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compose-like-2708296/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-writer/) [Like Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-writing/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-like/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always writing - its what I like to do. But when I'm not writing, I'm reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/i-m-always-writing-its-what-i-like-to-do-but-when-i-m-not-writing-i-m/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I don't like writing. I like having written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-like-writing-i-like-having-written/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't always like writing, but I very much like having written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-always-like-writing-but-i-very-much-like-having-written/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I like writing about what to me are like questions that I have about myself and the human condition. I find quantum physics fascinating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-vangsness/i-like-writing-about-what-to-me-are-like-questions-that-i-have-about/) [Kirsten Vangsness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-vangsness/) > [“We don't like writing. We like having written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-dixon/we-don-t-like-writing-we-like-having-written/) [Debra Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-dixon/) > [“Making a self can be like writing, and now I think writing can be like home: a space you make that you dwell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/making-a-self-can-be-like-writing-and-now-i-think-writing-can-be-like/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [“And maybe these words have become something more than emails; maybe they are a kind of journal. Writing to you is like writing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/and-maybe-these-words-have-become-something-more-than-emails-maybe/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Writing is like a mental masturbation to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-is-like-a-mental-masturbation-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writing is like a relationship. 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For one thing, I didn't feel like I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-didn-t-do-anything-as-active-as-deciding-that-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I read like everybody - like every other writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-read-like-everybody-like-every-other-writer/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) ## More by Alexandre Desplat > [When synthesizers appeared everyone was a composer suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-synthesizers-appeared-everyone-was-a-composer-suddenly/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [I've been pretty lucky to work with directors who were quite influenced by European cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/i-ve-been-pretty-lucky-to-work-with-directors-who-were-quite/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [I guess the passion I have for cinema is as strong as the one that I have for music. And I've always tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/i-guess-the-passion-i-have-for-cinema-is-as-strong-as-the-one-that-i/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [That's the main lesson I've learned from working in the theater: respect the dramaturgy. I don't want to overwhelm everything with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/that-s-the-main-lesson-i-ve-learned-from-working-in-the-theater/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [I'm not a script composer. I'm a film composer and my brain is excited by images and moving elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/i-m-not-a-script-composer-i-m-a-film-composer-and-my-brain-is-excited/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [There are some moments in your life and in your career when you meet a movie and the director that suddenly just turns you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/there-are-some-moments-in-your-life-and-in-your-career-when-you-meet/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [I never thought the orchestra should be big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/i-never-thought-the-orchestra-should-be-big/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [The main difference I'd say is that European cinema has always used less music than American cinema for historical reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/the-main-difference-i-d-say-is-that-european-cinema-has-always-used/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [Mozart for me is the No. 1 composer. His music is not just joy or sadness. It's deep emotion with a touch of lightness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/mozart-for-me-is-the-no-1-composer-his-music-is-not-just-joy-or/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [I liked 'The Darjeeling Limited' very much. There was a melancholy about that film that I liked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/i-liked-the-darjeeling-limited-very-much-there-was-a-melancholy-about/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [When you work on animation, the music has a great task: to create a sound and melodies and mood and atmosphere and energy dedicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-you-work-on-animation-the-music-has-a-great-task-to-create-a/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [My parents had a lot of movie soundtracks that they brought back from the States. So very early on I heard film music at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/my-parents-had-a-lot-of-movie-soundtracks-that-they-brought-back-from/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [It's very hard to understand what's happening in someone's brain and what goes into their experience and their death, and the music has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/it-s-very-hard-to-understand-what-s-happening-in-someone-s-brain-and/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [It's not easy to write an understated score over a loud one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/it-s-not-easy-to-write-an-understated-score-over-a-loud-one/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [As a child brought up in Paris, I dreamed of America, that lost world my parents had left behind - it was in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/as-a-child-brought-up-in-paris-i-dreamed-of-america-that-lost-world/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) [Explore all 105 Alexandre Desplat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) ## More Like quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. 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