--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The easiest way to separate yourself from…" description: "\"The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed blobby mass of \"aspiring\" writers is to a) actually write and b) actually finish. That's how eas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/chuck-wendig-5165_aspiring-writers_the-easiest-way-to-separate-yourself-fro_670732.jpg" --- # The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed… ![“The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed blobby mass of "aspiring" writers is to a) actually write and b) actually finish. That's how easy it is to clamber up the ladder to the second echelon. Write. And finish what you write. That's how you break away from the pack and leave the…” quote by Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/chuck-wendig-5165_aspiring-writers_the-easiest-way-to-separate-yourself-fro_670732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/chuck-wendig-5165_aspiring-writers_the-easiest-way-to-separate-yourself-fro_670732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/chuck-wendig-5165_aspiring-writers_the-easiest-way-to-separate-yourself-fro_670732.jpg) > “The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed blobby mass of "aspiring" writers is to a) actually write and b) actually finish. That's how easy it is to clamber up the ladder to the second echelon. Write. And finish what you write. That's how you break away from the pack and leave the rest of the sickly herd for the hungry wolves of shame and self-doubt. And for all I know, actual wolves.” [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success in writing requires both creation and completion; finishing work distinguishes serious writers from aspirants. **In simple terms:** Write and finish to stand out. Key Takeaway Finish what you start. Themes discipline creativity productivity writing Mood motivational pragmatic Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - writing projects - novel completion - blog series - self‑published works Key Concepts Process orientation goal setting self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What project have you left unfinished? - How can you improve your completion rate? A Different Perspective Finishing may still leave doubts about quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aspiring writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiring-writers/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-doubt/) [Separate Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-yourself/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [First, recognize that you are not a sheep who will be satisfied with only a few nibbles of dry grass or with following the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/first-recognize-that-you-are-not-a-sheep-who-will-be-satisfied-with/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. If you write: you are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/here-are-the-two-states-in-which-you-may-exist-person-who-writes-or/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [One of the big breakthroughs, I think for me, was reading Robert A. Heinlein's four rules of writing, one of which was, 'You must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/one-of-the-big-breakthroughs-i-think-for-me-was-reading-robert-a/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Write a lot. And finish what you write. Don't join writer's clubs and go sit around having coffee reading pieces of your manuscript to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/write-a-lot-and-finish-what-you-write-don-t-join-writer-s-clubs-and/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [I don't sit and write records from start to finish. I write all the time, and when it's time to record you just look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-don-t-sit-and-write-records-from-start-to-finish-i-write-all-the/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [“To be a writer, you must write. To be a published writer you must finish what you write and then get what you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-scithers/to-be-a-writer-you-must-write-to-be-a-published-writer-you-must/) George H. Scithers > [Advice to beginning SF writers? Write a lot, finish what you write, and when it's done, keep sending it out for quite awhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/advice-to-beginning-sf-writers-write-a-lot-finish-what-you-write-and/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [I think that I write about stuff that others don't write about. I don't have a bunch of love songs cuz I don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-larson/i-think-that-i-write-about-stuff-that-others-don-t-write-about-i-don/) [Brie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-larson/) > [I always try to write about something that's actually happened or it doesn't always have to have happened to me, but it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-stone/i-always-try-to-write-about-something-that-s-actually-happened-or-it/) [Joss Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-stone/) > [When I write, I actually hear the characters speak. Almost like an actor - even though I'm not an actor at all - getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-mortimer/when-i-write-i-actually-hear-the-characters-speak-almost-like-an/) [Kareem Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-mortimer/) > [I can write anywhere. I actually wrote more than I ever did when I had small children. My children were never a hindrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-can-write-anywhere-i-actually-wrote-more-than-i-ever-did-when-i-had/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I write almost everything, actually. Songs, poems, stories. And stories out of every genre, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-write-almost-everything-actually-songs-poems-stories-and-stories/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I write because I actually enjoy writing. It's a plus and a fringe benefit that, you know, I can actually provide for my family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/i-write-because-i-actually-enjoy-writing-it-s-a-plus-and-a-fringe/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [I think people who create and write, it actually does flow-just flows from into their head, into their hand, and they write it down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-think-people-who-create-and-write-it-actually-does-flow-just-flows/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [I sing because I love singing. I perform because I love performing. I write because I actually enjoy writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/i-sing-because-i-love-singing-i-perform-because-i-love-performing-i/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) ## More by Chuck Wendig > [You've got all these characters and yet, you're hovering over one character like a fly over a stinky diaper. Realize that you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/you-ve-got-all-these-characters-and-yet-you-re-hovering-over-one/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [When in doubt, the rule of threes is a rule that plays well with all of storytelling. When describing a thing? No more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/when-in-doubt-the-rule-of-threes-is-a-rule-that-plays-well-with-all/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“All hail the light, the dark, and the grey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/all-hail-the-light-the-dark-and-the-grey/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Naughty business, this Empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/naughty-business-this-empire/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Things happen in this life. Sometimes they're good things, and sometimes they're bad things. 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To change their opinions. To change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/stories-have-the-power-to-make-people-feel-to-give-a-shit-to-change/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“You thought what? That because you’re a nice guy, my panties will just drop because you deserve to have my thighs around your ears?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/you-thought-what-that-because-you-re-a-nice-guy-my-panties-will-just/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Today is a day of celebration. We have triumphed over villainy and oppression and have given our Alliance—and the galaxy beyond it—a chance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/today-is-a-day-of-celebration-we-have-triumphed-over-villainy-and/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Write as much as you can. As fast as you can. Finish your shit. Hit your deadlines. Try very hard not to suck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/write-as-much-as-you-can-as-fast-as-you-can-finish-your-shit-hit-your/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“everyone likes to be sold easy promises, don’t they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/everyone-likes-to-be-sold-easy-promises-don-t-they/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“I would straight up fuck a snowman right now, she says. Just to cool down. - Miriam Black”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/i-would-straight-up-fuck-a-snowman-right-now-she-says-just-to-cool/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [“Writers are made--forged, really, in a kiln of their own madness and insecurities--over the course of many, many moons. The writer you are when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/writers-are-made-forged-really-in-a-kiln-of-their-own-madness-and/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) [Explore all 102 Chuck Wendig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) ## More Aspiring writers quotes > [The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-short-of-it-is-as-an-aspiring-writer-there-is-nothing-as-damaging/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [In many ways, a degree in the history of ideas is the ideal training for an aspiring writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/in-many-ways-a-degree-in-the-history-of-ideas-is-the-ideal-training/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is don't do it unless you're willing to give your whole life to it. Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/the-only-advice-i-can-give-to-aspiring-writers-is-don-t-do-it-unless/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [I tell aspiring writers that you have to find what you MUST write. When you find it, you will know, because the subject matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-tell-aspiring-writers-that-you-have-to-find-what-you-must-write/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of The Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/aspiring-writers-should-read-the-entire-canon-of-literature-that/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [I am dismayed to realize that much of the advice I used to parcel out to aspiring writers has passed its sell-by date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-am-dismayed-to-realize-that-much-of-the-advice-i-used-to-parcel-out/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [Encourage aspiring writers to continue writing when things are going against them, when it feels hard. Explain the typical obstacles that occur, and encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/encourage-aspiring-writers-to-continue-writing-when-things-are-going/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [“Find tricks to keep yourself going,” William Least Heat Moon once advised a group of aspiring writers. “Anything you can do to trick yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-keyes/find-tricks-to-keep-yourself-going-william-least-heat-moon-once/) [Ralph Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-keyes/) > [About a year after (my stories began being published), magazine editor George Scithers, suggested to me that since I was so new at being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-b-longyear/about-a-year-after-my-stories-began-being-published-magazine-editor/) [Barry B. Longyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-b-longyear/) > [The most important thing for aspiring writers is for them to give themselves permission to be brave on the page, to write in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-important-thing-for-aspiring-writers-is-for-them-to-give/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My advice for aspiring writers is threefold.First, read as much as possible, both within and outside the genre you arem working in. By reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/my-advice-for-aspiring-writers-is-threefold-first-read-as-much-as/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [When I read students’ attempts at creative writing it is obvious immediately that most of them have not read much or widely. The aspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-lester/when-i-read-students-attempts-at-creative-writing-it-is-obvious/) [Julius Lester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-lester/) > [“I read daily, not so much for the benefit of my writing, but because I am addicted to it. There is nothing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-read-daily-not-so-much-for-the-benefit-of-my-writing-but-because-i/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I think when you are an aspiring writer, you must write every day. It's not as though anybody will call you up on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-think-when-you-are-an-aspiring-writer-you-must-write-every-day-it-s/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I have very specific advice for aspiring writers: go to New York. And if you can't go to New York, go to the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-have-very-specific-advice-for-aspiring-writers-go-to-new-york-and/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) [Browse all 48 Aspiring writers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiring-writers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed blobby mass of \"aspiring\" writers is to a) actually write and b) actually finish. That's how easy it is to clamber up the ladder to the second echelon. Write. And finish what you write. That's how you break away from the pack and leave the rest of the sickly herd for the hungry wolves of shame and self-doubt. 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