---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With writing ... you must keep in the…"
description: "\"With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse it will take you not an hour, but a week, a month, maybe, to find your mood again - that moo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg"
---

#  With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse…

![“With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse it will take you not an hour, but a week, a month, maybe, to find your mood again - that mood in which things drop from heaven. There's no forcing it; you can't set your notions in front of you, and stare at them till they take shape; they…” quote by Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg)

> “With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse it will take you not an hour, but a week, a month, maybe, to find your mood again - that mood in which things drop from heaven. There's no forcing it; you can't set your notions in front of you, and stare at them till they take shape; they have to come to you whether you ask them or not. ... And you have to be in the habit of that mood! Of inspiration!”

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Consistent writing cultivates a receptive mindset; breaks disrupt it, requiring time to regain the flow where ideas emerge naturally.

**In simple terms:** Writing habit creates a mood for ideas to appear; losing it takes time to restore.

Key Takeaway

Maintain daily writing to keep inspiration alive.

Themes

creativity habit inspiration

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

advice inspirational

When to use this quote

- daily journaling
- creative projects
- writing workshops
- artist retreats
- blogging

Key Concepts

flow mindset discipline

Questions to Reflect On

- How does a regular writing schedule affect your creative output?
- What strategies help you regain momentum after a break?

A Different Perspective

If you skip too long, you may lose momentum and confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Lapses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lapses/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“I've probably put my 10,000 hours into writing, but I believe writing well is also greatly influenced by certain intangibles like mood and inspiration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-loguidice/i-ve-probably-put-my-10-000-hours-into-writing-but-i-believe-writing/)

[Bill Loguidice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-loguidice/)

> [Change as change is mere flux and lapse; it insults intelligence. Genuinely to know is to grasp a permanent end that realizes itself through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/change-as-change-is-mere-flux-and-lapse-it-insults-intelligence/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/what-makes-authentic-disciples-is-not-visions-ecstasies-biblical/)

[Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/)

> [The text moves like a small crustacean with compound eye and complex nervous system; throbbing, involuted, it becomes a parasite on a different body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-brossard/the-text-moves-like-a-small-crustacean-with-compound-eye-and-complex/)

[Nicole Brossard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-brossard/)

> [Who knows what beautiful and winged life, whose egg has been buried for ages under many concretic layers of woodenness in the dead dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/who-knows-what-beautiful-and-winged-life-whose-egg-has-been-buried/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I can forgive the body breaking down. It's a little tougher to forgive that mental lapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hale-irwin/i-can-forgive-the-body-breaking-down-it-s-a-little-tougher-to-forgive/)

[Hale Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hale-irwin/)

> [The Saint whose water can light lamps, the clairvoyant whose lapse in recall is the breath of God, the true paranoid for whom all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/the-saint-whose-water-can-light-lamps-the-clairvoyant-whose-lapse-in/)

[Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/)

> [...a genuine work of art, can never be false, nor can it be discredited through the lapse of time, for it does not present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-genuine-work-of-art-can-never-be-false-nor-can-it-be-discredited/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ Some \[intentional communities\], like the Shakers and the Harmony Society, have endured for a century or even longer. The Hutterians, to cite an extreme… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-zablocki/some-intentional-communities-like-the-shakers-and-the-harmony-society/)

Benjamin Zablocki

> [Music. Close your eyes and it's a rosebush blooming in time lapse so that it shoots and blossoms flow outward in a swift choreography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/music-close-your-eyes-and-it-s-a-rosebush-blooming-in-time-lapse-so/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [OLD, adj. In that stage of usefulness which is not inconsistent with general inefficiency, as an "old man". Discredited by lapse of time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/old-adj-in-that-stage-of-usefulness-which-is-not-inconsistent-with/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [There is no lapse in His character or inconsistency in His nature. Our God is everything he says He is… for now and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-redman/there-is-no-lapse-in-his-character-or-inconsistency-in-his-nature-our/)

[Matt Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-redman/)

> [The mere lapse of years is not life. To eat, to drink, and sleep; to be exposed to darkness and the light; to pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/the-mere-lapse-of-years-is-not-life-to-eat-to-drink-and-sleep-to-be/)

[James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/)

> [The House ...She lays her beams in music, In music everyone, To the cadence of the whirling world Which dances around the sun- That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-house-she-lays-her-beams-in-music-in-music-everyone-to-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [I just have these lapses. Guess I'm stuck with it. But I play better when I get behind. I say to myself, 'Now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-just-have-these-lapses-guess-i-m-stuck-with-it-but-i-play-better/)

[Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/)

## More by Anne Bosworth Greene

> [My field-mouse had made a set of brand-new tracks; here and there they etched themselves, following the brown flowers. It seemed as if uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/my-field-mouse-had-made-a-set-of-brand-new-tracks-here-and-there-they/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [Fingers get habits - have memories of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/fingers-get-habits-have-memories-of-their-own/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [But I shall like my battle. This sort of day puts one in mood for it. Plenty of wood in the shed, jam and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/but-i-shall-like-my-battle-this-sort-of-day-puts-one-in-mood-for-it/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [I love old moons. There is something humanized about them; they are dulled a little, and rich in color. One can stare all night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/i-love-old-moons-there-is-something-humanized-about-them-they-are/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [How different a loved and familiar spot appears, when viewed with the eye of probable guests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/how-different-a-loved-and-familiar-spot-appears-when-viewed-with-the/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [A farm is like a very large and extended baby. It takes a great deal of time and very little mentality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/a-farm-is-like-a-very-large-and-extended-baby-it-takes-a-great-deal/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [November at its best - with a sort of delightful menace in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/november-at-its-best-with-a-sort-of-delightful-menace-in-the-air/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [timeliness is an enemy to art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/timeliness-is-an-enemy-to-art/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [a sarcastic expression, on a beast, is far more sinister than rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/a-sarcastic-expression-on-a-beast-is-far-more-sinister-than-rage/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [Songs are usually unfit for whistling - indeed, whistling (except to the person doing it) is unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/songs-are-usually-unfit-for-whistling-indeed-whistling-except-to-the/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [What a strange joy it was to talk, to fish gleefully into the past and fling its fragments about us, with the unfailing aroma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/what-a-strange-joy-it-was-to-talk-to-fish-gleefully-into-the-past-and/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [the breeze brought us a faint sound, as of a distant rat, a huge and mystic rat, gnawing, maybe, at the horizon!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/the-breeze-brought-us-a-faint-sound-as-of-a-distant-rat-a-huge-and/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

> [The thing one resents about winter is its inactivity; the perpetual sameness of ice-armored hills and snow-blanketed woods. Great things, of course, may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/the-thing-one-resents-about-winter-is-its-inactivity-the-perpetual/)

[Anne Bosworth Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

[Explore all 14 Anne Bosworth Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/)

## More Asks quotes

> [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/)

[Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/)

> [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/)

[Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/)

> [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/)

[Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/)

> [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/)

[Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/)

> [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

> [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/)

[Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/)

> [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/)

[Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/)

Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse it will take you not an hour, but a week, a month, maybe, to find your mood again - that mood in which things drop from heaven. There's no forcing it; you can't set your notions in front of you, and stare at them till they take shape; they have to come to you whether you ask them or not. ... And you have to be in the habit of that mood! Of inspiration!",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anne Bosworth Greene"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit-after-a-lapse-it-will-take/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Asks"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit-after-a-lapse-it-will-take/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/anne-bosworth-greene-34780_asks_with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit_236832.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“With writing ... you must keep in the habit. After a lapse it will take you not an hour, but a week, a…” — Anne Bosworth Greene",
                "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": "Anne Bosworth Greene",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bosworth-greene/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "With writing ... you must keep...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit-after-a-lapse-it-will-take/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bosworth-greene/with-writing-you-must-keep-in-the-habit-after-a-lapse-it-will-take/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
