--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know why I started writing. I…" description: "\"I don't know why I started writing. I don't know why anybody does it. Maybe they're bored, or failures at something else.\" — Cormac McCarthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/cormac-mccarthy-181_bored_i-don-t-know-why-i-started-writing-i-don_1317111.jpg" --- # I don't know why I started writing. I don't know why… ![“I don't know why I started writing. I don't know why anybody does it. Maybe they're bored, or failures at something else.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/cormac-mccarthy-181_bored_i-don-t-know-why-i-started-writing-i-don_1317111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/cormac-mccarthy-181_bored_i-don-t-know-why-i-started-writing-i-don_1317111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/cormac-mccarthy-181_bored_i-don-t-know-why-i-started-writing-i-don_1317111.jpg) > “I don't know why I started writing. I don't know why anybody does it. Maybe they're bored, or failures at something else.” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing often stems from boredom or a sense of failure, not clear purpose. **In simple terms:** Writing can be a refuge from boredom or failure. Key Takeaway Identify why you write and give it purpose. Themes creativity motivation purpose Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - overcoming writer's block - personal journaling - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism selfreflection Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to write? - Can boredom become creative fuel? A Different Perspective Writing without purpose may lead to emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Bored Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored-failures-4377200/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Maybe Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-bored-4377199/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Started Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-writing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [I was doing theater in my high school, and I started writing sort of silly songs on the piano backstage in summer theater. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/i-was-doing-theater-in-my-high-school-and-i-started-writing-sort-of/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [Till the time I found a creative outlet, I was trying to be extra creative at business, which would always put me in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/till-the-time-i-found-a-creative-outlet-i-was-trying-to-be-extra/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [When I started writing about art, there were no curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldemar-januszczak/when-i-started-writing-about-art-there-were-no-curators/) [Waldemar Januszczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waldemar-januszczak/) > [As soon as I started writing Julia, by which I mean while writing its first sentence, I felt a sudden, reassuring charge of excitement.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/as-soon-as-i-started-writing-julia-by-which-i-mean-while-writing-its/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [It wasn't until after college that I started writing. I had just applied randomly for jobs in the media and got one on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/it-wasn-t-until-after-college-that-i-started-writing-i-had-just/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [When I first broke out, everyone was like, 'OK, so is this a joke?' They had to wait until I sold out shows before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yung-lean/when-i-first-broke-out-everyone-was-like-ok-so-is-this-a-joke-they/) [Yung Lean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yung-lean/) > [I started as a writer; I started writing when I was little. The acting and directing was an outgrowth of my desire to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-white/i-started-as-a-writer-i-started-writing-when-i-was-little-the-acting/) [Mike White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-white/) > [I always sang. I wanted to be in a band with my sister, and I was, at 11. At 12, I started writing seriously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyndi-lauper/i-always-sang-i-wanted-to-be-in-a-band-with-my-sister-and-i-was-at-11/) [Cyndi Lauper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyndi-lauper/) > [I started writing music around 20 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-d/i-started-writing-music-around-20-years-old/) [J.I.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-d/) > [I started writing in the '90s, so I was free to just have an eccentric career and not conform to some idea of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-started-writing-in-the-90s-so-i-was-free-to-just-have-an-eccentric/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I always liked movies, so I started writing for Hollywood, but my day job was physics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/i-always-liked-movies-so-i-started-writing-for-hollywood-but-my-day/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [When I was at UCLA, a professor there encouraged me to write, and so I looked into specializing in creative writing in the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-park/when-i-was-at-ucla-a-professor-there-encouraged-me-to-write-and-so-i/) [Randall Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-park/) > [I started modeling at 14. It's simple. You respond to what the photographer wants and wear other people's ideas. I got bored with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-cole/i-started-modeling-at-14-it-s-simple-you-respond-to-what-the/) [Lily Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-cole/) > [When the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the defeat of grumpy old John McCain began looking, um, inevitable, I started fielding inquiries about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/when-the-2008-victory-of-barack-obama-and-the-defeat-of-grumpy-old/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Bored quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/) [Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When I get bored I say fck the police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-get-bored-i-say-fck-the-police/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [“She wouldn't pick up a fight him just because she was bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-wouldn-t-pick-up-a-fight-him-just-because-she-was-bored/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [...sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get bored. And sometimes all I want, more than anything else in the world, is to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sometimes-i-get-tired-sometimes-i-get-bored-and-sometimes-all-i-want/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) [Browse all 2,067 Bored quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't know why I started writing. I don't know why anybody does it. 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