--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So it is written - but so, too, it is…" description: "\"“So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write it over again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/catherynne-m-valente-375_rewritten_so-it-is-written-but-so-too-it-is-crosse_1977098.png" --- # So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can… ![“So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write it over again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You can, and you must, edit and rewrite and reshape and pull out the wrong parts like bones and find just the thing and you can forever, forever, write…” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/catherynne-m-valente-375_rewritten_so-it-is-written-but-so-too-it-is-crosse_1977098.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/catherynne-m-valente-375_rewritten_so-it-is-written-but-so-too-it-is-crosse_1977098.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8c/catherynne-m-valente-375_rewritten_so-it-is-written-but-so-too-it-is-crosse_1977098.png) > ““So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write it over again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You can, and you must, edit and rewrite and reshape and pull out the wrong parts like bones and find just the thing and you can forever, forever, write more and more and more, thicker and longer and clearer. Living is a paragraph, constantly rewritten. It is Grown-Up Magic. Children are heartless; their parents hold them still, squirming and shouting, until a heart can get going in their little lawless wilderness. Teenagers crash their hearts into every hard and thrilling thing to see what will give and what will hold. And Grown-Ups, when they are very good, when they are very lucky, and very brave, and their wishes are sharp as scissors, when they are in the fullness of their strength, use their hearts to start their story over again.”” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a continuously edited narrative; we must rewrite, reshape, and grow, learning from each stage of development. **In simple terms:** Life is a rewriteable story. Key Takeaway Embrace continual self‑revision. Themes growth creativity self‑reflection Mood hopeful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career changes - artistic endeavors - personal crises - educational pursuits Key Concepts narrative theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - What part of your story needs editing? - How do you balance continuity with change? A Different Perspective Constant change can cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I'd had my whole life to write my first album. I had my No. 1 and my third single out, and they go, 'Hey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/i-d-had-my-whole-life-to-write-my-first-album-i-had-my-no-1-and-my/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [I will always, forever, write songs, and wherever they're meant to be is where they'll be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-rexha/i-will-always-forever-write-songs-and-wherever-they-re-meant-to-be-is/) [Bebe Rexha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-rexha/) > [It takes me forever to write songs most of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-linkous/it-takes-me-forever-to-write-songs-most-of-the-time/) [Mark Linkous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-linkous/) > [You're young forever when you write. Alfred Hitchcock directed until the day he died. As long as you don't have any dementia or Alzheimer's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/you-re-young-forever-when-you-write-alfred-hitchcock-directed-until/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But what I really long to know you do not tell either: what you feel, although I've given you hints by the score of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/but-what-i-really-long-to-know-you-do-not-tell-either-what-you-feel/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [“History has to be rewritten in every generation, because although the past does not change, the present does; each generation asks new questions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hill/history-has-to-be-rewritten-in-every-generation-because-although-the/) Christopher Hill > [If Al Gore had allowed us and if the Florida Supreme Court had not intervened and rewritten the law, which they're not supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-harris/if-al-gore-had-allowed-us-and-if-the-florida-supreme-court-had-not/) [Katherine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-harris/) > [I was sand, I was snow—written on, rewritten, smoothed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-was-sand-i-was-snow-written-on-rewritten-smoothed-over/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Writing is rewriting what you have rewritten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-engle/writing-is-rewriting-what-you-have-rewritten/) [Paul Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-engle/) > [“The New Testament does not need to be rewritten, but it needs to reread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-lizorkin-eyzenberg/the-new-testament-does-not-need-to-be-rewritten-but-it-needs-to-reread/) Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg > [In an upside down world, with all the rules being rewritten as the game goes on and spectators invading the pitch, it is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-more/in-an-upside-down-world-with-all-the-rules-being-rewritten-as-the/) [Kenneth More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-more/) > [When I did '1,2,3,4' on 'Sesame Street' they'd rewritten the song and made it about counting. At first, I balked. I was like, 'Counting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/when-i-did-1-2-3-4-on-sesame-street-they-d-rewritten-the-song-and/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [I've been rewritten on past projects and thought, 'That's not what she was - she was this really powerful woman, and there's nothing wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/i-ve-been-rewritten-on-past-projects-and-thought-that-s-not-what-she/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/books-aren-t-written-they-re-rewritten-including-your-own-it-is-one/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“Our family history was erased and rewritten a thousand times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/our-family-history-was-erased-and-rewritten-a-thousand-times/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Rewritten quotes > [“Our family history was erased and rewritten a thousand times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/our-family-history-was-erased-and-rewritten-a-thousand-times/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/books-aren-t-written-they-re-rewritten-including-your-own-it-is-one/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I've been rewritten on past projects and thought, 'That's not what she was - she was this really powerful woman, and there's nothing wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/i-ve-been-rewritten-on-past-projects-and-thought-that-s-not-what-she/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [When I did '1,2,3,4' on 'Sesame Street' they'd rewritten the song and made it about counting. At first, I balked. I was like, 'Counting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/when-i-did-1-2-3-4-on-sesame-street-they-d-rewritten-the-song-and/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [In an upside down world, with all the rules being rewritten as the game goes on and spectators invading the pitch, it is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-more/in-an-upside-down-world-with-all-the-rules-being-rewritten-as-the/) [Kenneth More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-more/) > [“The New Testament does not need to be rewritten, but it needs to reread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-lizorkin-eyzenberg/the-new-testament-does-not-need-to-be-rewritten-but-it-needs-to-reread/) Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg > [Writing is rewriting what you have rewritten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-engle/writing-is-rewriting-what-you-have-rewritten/) [Paul Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-engle/) > [I was sand, I was snow—written on, rewritten, smoothed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-was-sand-i-was-snow-written-on-rewritten-smoothed-over/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [If Al Gore had allowed us and if the Florida Supreme Court had not intervened and rewritten the law, which they're not supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-harris/if-al-gore-had-allowed-us-and-if-the-florida-supreme-court-had-not/) [Katherine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-harris/) > [“History has to be rewritten in every generation, because although the past does not change, the present does; each generation asks new questions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hill/history-has-to-be-rewritten-in-every-generation-because-although-the/) Christopher Hill > [What happens is that as the scripts are rewritten and re-edited in order to make the story more compelling, you sometimes end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-loceff/what-happens-is-that-as-the-scripts-are-rewritten-and-re-edited-in/) [Michael Loceff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-loceff/) > [Back when the Bible was written, then edited, then rewritten, then rewritten, then re-edited, then translated from dead languages, then re-translated, then edited, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/back-when-the-bible-was-written-then-edited-then-rewritten-then/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [Good novels are not written, they're rewritten!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/good-novels-are-not-written-they-re-rewritten/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [We've rewritten entire scenes and had them animated twelve hours before the show goes on the air. It's not fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-stone/we-ve-rewritten-entire-scenes-and-had-them-animated-twelve-hours/) [Matt Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-stone/) > [My argument is that history is made by men and women, just as it can also be unmade and rewritten, always with various silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/my-argument-is-that-history-is-made-by-men-and-women-just-as-it-can/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) Browse all 57 Rewritten quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So it is written - but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write it over again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You can, and you must, edit and rewrite and reshape and pull out the wrong parts like bones and find just the thing and you can forever, forever, write more and more and more, thicker and longer and clearer. Living is a paragraph, constantly rewritten. It is Grown-Up Magic. Children are heartless; their parents hold them still, squirming and shouting, until a heart can get going in their little lawless wilderness. Teenagers crash their hearts into every hard and thrilling thing to see what will give and what will hold. And Grown-Ups, when they are very good, when they are very lucky, and very brave, and their wishes are sharp as scissors, when they are in the fullness of their strength, use their hearts to start their story over again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherynne M. 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