--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I can be writing, I can take a certain…" description: "\"If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of control when so much around me is upsetting.\" — Carolyn Chute" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg" --- # If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of… ![“If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of control when so much around me is upsetting.” quote by Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg) > “If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of control when so much around me is upsetting.” [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing provides agency, allowing control over inner turmoil when external circumstances are chaotic. **In simple terms:** Writing gives control over chaos. Key Takeaway Write to regain stability. Themes control writing emotional regulation creativity self‑expression Mood introspective empowering Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - journaling during stress - creative writing workshops - therapy sessions - daily writing practice Key Concepts psychology literature mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your perspective? - What topics help you feel empowered? A Different Perspective Writing may not solve external problems directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-control-1729650/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Control Upsetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-upsetting-3318034/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Upset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upset/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-certain-2409891/) ## Related quotes > [“I seem to have mastered a certain amount of control over physical reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/i-seem-to-have-mastered-a-certain-amount-of-control-over-physical/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [For filmmakers that want to have certain control, there are certain things you can't do in VR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/for-filmmakers-that-want-to-have-certain-control-there-are-certain/) [Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/) > [As I'm writing, certain things become clear to me and certain things begin to feel right and make sense. The pieces start to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/as-i-m-writing-certain-things-become-clear-to-me-and-certain-things/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [You have a great deal of yourself on the line, writing- your vanity is at stake. You discover a tricky thing about fiction writing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-have-a-great-deal-of-yourself-on-the-line-writing-your-vanity-is/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [It's so difficult to be conscious of a development of a style. You find yourself writing in a certain style, and the analysis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-rooney/it-s-so-difficult-to-be-conscious-of-a-development-of-a-style-you/) [Sally Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-rooney/) > [I strive to use references that may still make some kind of sense once our age has passed into history. That robs my writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-faber/i-strive-to-use-references-that-may-still-make-some-kind-of-sense/) [Michel Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-faber/) > [Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writing-in-certain-environments-carries-with-it-an-occupational-risk/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [As Im writing, certain things become clear to me and certain things begin to feel right and make sense. The pieces start to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/as-im-writing-certain-things-become-clear-to-me-and-certain-things/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [The real goal of Zen is to find a way of life that's easy and undramatic. Strong attachments lead to upset and drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/the-real-goal-of-zen-is-to-find-a-way-of-life-that-s-easy-and/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [The time frame and how people treated each other was upsetting, but what's great about this story is that they really focus on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/the-time-frame-and-how-people-treated-each-other-was-upsetting-but/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [You get those hunger pains. 'I am so hungry. We don't have any food. What are we going to eat?' Your stomach hurts. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mclemore/you-get-those-hunger-pains-i-am-so-hungry-we-don-t-have-any-food-what/) [Ben McLemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mclemore/) > [I wanted to see what sports were like... I went out for the track team. And then I got a D on my report…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-gatlin/i-wanted-to-see-what-sports-were-like-i-went-out-for-the-track-team/) [Justin Gatlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-gatlin/) > [Why can't I find that one person who makes me smile when upset, who's spirit, love and joy overwhelms my whole body... Who's there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/why-can-t-i-find-that-one-person-who-makes-me-smile-when-upset-who-s/) [Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/) > [I am sorry to upset my colleagues by saying we wasted four years in opposition, but if you do get so badly defeated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/i-am-sorry-to-upset-my-colleagues-by-saying-we-wasted-four-years-in/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## More by Carolyn Chute > [I feel at times that I'm making up these little people and I've lost my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/i-feel-at-times-that-i-m-making-up-these-little-people-and-i-ve-lost/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [I feel like a lot of time my writing is like having about twenty boxes of Christmas decorations. But no tree. You're going, Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/i-feel-like-a-lot-of-time-my-writing-is-like-having-about-twenty/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [Writing is like meditation or going into an ESP trance, or prayer. Like dreaming. You are tapping into your unconscious. To be fully conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/writing-is-like-meditation-or-going-into-an-esp-trance-or-prayer-like/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [That’s the way we see life: your community is your survival. And if you live in a small community like this, even the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/that-s-the-way-we-see-life-your-community-is-your-survival-and-if-you/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [The writing process is sort of like when you've got no electricity and you've gotten up in the middle of the night to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/the-writing-process-is-sort-of-like-when-you-ve-got-no-electricity/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) > [I'd rather be a born-once hog than a born-again Christian any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/i-d-rather-be-a-born-once-hog-than-a-born-again-christian-any-day/) [Carolyn Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) [Explore all 7 Carolyn Chute quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [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/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. 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To have to worry about your loved ones and still try and live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/i-have-a-tremendous-amount-of-respect-for-military-families-to-have/) [Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) [Browse all 4,202 Amount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of control when so much around me is upsetting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carolyn Chute" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain-amount-of-control-when-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amount" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain-amount-of-control-when-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/carolyn-chute-51300_amount_if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain_1160255.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I can be writing, I can take a certain amount of control when so much around me is upsetting.” — Carolyn Chute", "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": "Carolyn Chute", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-chute/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I can be writing, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain-amount-of-control-when-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-chute/if-i-can-be-writing-i-can-take-a-certain-amount-of-control-when-so/#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 } } ] } ```