--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing seems to be the only profession…" description: "\"Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you can do by thinking about doing it.\" — Anna Quindlen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png" --- # Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you… ![“Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you can do by thinking about doing it.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png) > “Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you can do by thinking about doing it.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the romanticized view of writing as a career, highlighting that many imagine it without understanding its challenges. **In simple terms:** Writing is often idealized, ignoring its difficulties. Key Takeaway Recognize the hard work behind creative professions. Themes career creativity reality Mood thoughtful realistic Type motivational cautionary When to use this quote - career planning - creative writing - job market Key Concepts labor expectations Questions to Reflect On - Do you romanticize your own work? - What realistic steps can you take? A Different Perspective May overlook those who succeed despite challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-thinking-890874/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-imagine/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-doing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-profession-309553/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing pleases people more than to go on thinking what they have always thought, and at the same time imagine that they are thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/nothing-pleases-people-more-than-to-go-on-thinking-what-they-have/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Writing ... is a profession that can only be learned by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/writing-is-a-profession-that-can-only-be-learned-by-writing/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Writers were never meant to be professionals. Writing is not a profession, it is an activity, an essentially amateur occupation. It is what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/writers-were-never-meant-to-be-professionals-writing-is-not-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Writing is not a profession, occupation or job; it is not a way of life: it is a comprehensive response to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-mcdonald/writing-is-not-a-profession-occupation-or-job-it-is-not-a-way-of-life/) [Gregory Mcdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-mcdonald/) > [The mystique and the false glamour of the writing profession grow partly out of a mistaken belief that people who can express profound ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-burroway/the-mystique-and-the-false-glamour-of-the-writing-profession-grow/) [Janet Burroway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-burroway/) > [To me, writing is not a profession. You might as well call living a profession. Or having children. Anything you can't help doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/to-me-writing-is-not-a-profession-you-might-as-well-call-living-a/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) > [Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/writing-is-the-only-profession-where-no-one-considers-you-ridiculous/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/writing-is-something-you-do-alone-its-a-profession-for-introverts-who/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Writing is the only profession where nobody considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. Money is like an arm or a leg; use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/writing-is-the-only-profession-where-nobody-considers-you-ridiculous/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“I have never thought of writing as a profession. It is a solitary independent activity in which practice can never bestow seniority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/i-have-never-thought-of-writing-as-a-profession-it-is-a-solitary/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“And though creative writing as an intellectual exercise may be pursued with profit by anyone, writing as a profession is not a job for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/and-though-creative-writing-as-an-intellectual-exercise-may-be/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Writing is a profession that has no real career structure and your best advice when you hit a difficulty is probably going to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/writing-is-a-profession-that-has-no-real-career-structure-and-your/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Writing- the profession in which you stare at a computer screen, stare out the window, type a few words, then curse repeatedly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-goodman/writing-the-profession-in-which-you-stare-at-a-computer-screen-stare/) [Drew Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-goodman/) > [Writing is my profession. Photography is my hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi/writing-is-my-profession-photography-is-my-hobby/) [Avi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) [Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you can do by thinking about doing it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession-people-imagine-you-can-do-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession-people-imagine-you-can-do-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15c/anna-quindlen-467_can-do_writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession_864787.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing seems to be the only profession people imagine you can do by thinking about doing it.” — Anna Quindlen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing seems to be the only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession-people-imagine-you-can-do-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/writing-seems-to-be-the-only-profession-people-imagine-you-can-do-by/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```