--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think writing is a part-time career…" description: "\"I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise you get a little stale, maybe even self-indulgent, when you have to fill the hours with senten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg" --- # I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise… ![“I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise you get a little stale, maybe even self-indulgent, when you have to fill the hours with sentences. I don't think, if I wrote 12 hours a day, my work would be much better.” quote by Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg) > “I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise you get a little stale, maybe even self-indulgent, when you have to fill the hours with sentences. I don't think, if I wrote 12 hours a day, my work would be much better.” [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing in short bursts keeps ideas fresh; long sessions can lead to stale, self‑indulgent work. **In simple terms:** Short writing sessions preserve freshness. Key Takeaway Write in focused, limited time blocks. Themes creativity discipline writing process Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice personal insight When to use this quote - daily journaling - short story drafts - blog posts - creative workshops Key Concepts flow self‑regulation productivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you schedule your writing time? - What signs tell you you’re becoming stale? A Different Perspective Long sessions may still produce breakthroughs for some writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Fill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fill/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Hours Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours-sentences-636428/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little/) [Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [Otherwise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/otherwise/) [Part time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/part-time/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Stale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stale/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-writing/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-time/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [Make sure your family and loved ones don’t interrupt you during your writing time. If you’re a lawyer or doctor, friends don’t just stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/make-sure-your-family-and-loved-ones-don-t-interrupt-you-during-your/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [Because my writing time has always been very limited, I try to be very choosy about which stories I work on. There are many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/because-my-writing-time-has-always-been-very-limited-i-try-to-be-very/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Life's too short to be sat at home writing all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hodgman/life-s-too-short-to-be-sat-at-home-writing-all-the-time/) [Helen Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hodgman/) > [“I thought of summer as the living time; the rest of the year was the backward time, the writing time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/i-thought-of-summer-as-the-living-time-the-rest-of-the-year-was-the/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Writing time has to be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-roberts/writing-time-has-to-be-created/) [Gillian Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-roberts/) > [The actual writing time is a lot shorter than the thinking time. I don't do too many notes. I keep it mostly in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-actual-writing-time-is-a-lot-shorter-than-the-thinking-time-i-don/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I have a great many shortcomings, but writing for something on time has never bothered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-previn/i-have-a-great-many-shortcomings-but-writing-for-something-on-time/) [Andre Previn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-previn/) > [When I started writing full time I had not long stopped being a teacher and when at last I had a full day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/when-i-started-writing-full-time-i-had-not-long-stopped-being-a/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [I write until the first draft is finished, and then I feel that I can get out. But, during the time of the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-write-until-the-first-draft-is-finished-and-then-i-feel-that-i-can/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Is that how it goes with writing? That as long as you are writing, no time is ever completely in the past? Is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyung-sook-shin/is-that-how-it-goes-with-writing-that-as-long-as-you-are-writing-no/) [Kyung-Sook Shin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyung-sook-shin/) > [You have to be very clear with yourself about how you're going to spend your time. When a child is at school or napping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/you-have-to-be-very-clear-with-yourself-about-how-you-re-going-to/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [“But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/but-later-coming-back-and-reading-what-i-have-produced-i-am-unable-to/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [For me, writing is fun. The day I quit my job and take up writing full time, writing will become just another job. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/for-me-writing-is-fun-the-day-i-quit-my-job-and-take-up-writing-full/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [To make time for writing, one has to take time out from somewhere. Obviously, a fair amount of time that you spend with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/to-make-time-for-writing-one-has-to-take-time-out-from-somewhere/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [“Writing time is for writing, not for checking e-mail, reading the news, or browsing the latest issues of journals. Sometimes I think it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-silvia/writing-time-is-for-writing-not-for-checking-e-mail-reading-the-news/) [Paul J. Silvia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-silvia/) ## More by Cynthia Voigt > [You must not let yourself become too respectable. Keep yourself a little wild. What is life for, if not for the living of it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/you-must-not-let-yourself-become-too-respectable-keep-yourself-a/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“On a bright Sunday morning in the early years of the last century,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/on-a-bright-sunday-morning-in-the-early-years-of-the-last-century/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“People had no more choice than animals about the burdens they carried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/people-had-no-more-choice-than-animals-about-the-burdens-they-carried/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [The worst things weren't outside of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-worst-things-weren-t-outside-of-you/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“He knew it was perfect, and perfectly beautiful. He thought about how much she would like it. When he thought like that, happiness swelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/he-knew-it-was-perfect-and-perfectly-beautiful-he-thought-about-how/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“You were going to fall, you always did, but you had to get up fast and keep going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/you-were-going-to-fall-you-always-did-but-you-had-to-get-up-fast-and/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [Even the bad books I write are satisfying. I'm my least critical reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/even-the-bad-books-i-write-are-satisfying-i-m-my-least-critical-reader/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [People can be unimaginably foolish...and they can be unimaginably grand, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/people-can-be-unimaginably-foolish-and-they-can-be-unimaginably-grand/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“And so I was. I can put on the cloak of the world I find myself in, however I happen to find myself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/and-so-i-was-i-can-put-on-the-cloak-of-the-world-i-find-myself-in/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“The people they had been last summer, the person she had been--Dicey guessed she'd never be afraid again, not the way she had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-people-they-had-been-last-summer-the-person-she-had-been-dicey/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“ I felt that the world itself had changed and that it would never be steady under my feet again. I felt I understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-felt-that-the-world-itself-had-changed-and-that-it-would-never-be/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [Kids are really tougher than adults, but we tend to forget this in an affluent society that lets kids indulge themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/kids-are-really-tougher-than-adults-but-we-tend-to-forget-this-in-an/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“Mina thought to herself, watching, her momma was the kind of woman she wanted to be, wherever else she got to in her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/mina-thought-to-herself-watching-her-momma-was-the-kind-of-woman-she/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“The No filled the whole air of the house. Every time she breathed in she breathed in that No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-no-filled-the-whole-air-of-the-house-every-time-she-breathed-in/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“Mina wanted some of the kind of love Momma gave to her children, where love was the first and deepest thing, and the questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/mina-wanted-some-of-the-kind-of-love-momma-gave-to-her-children-where/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) [Explore all 78 Cynthia Voigt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I was contacted by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MP, through the Pune Film Institute and offered the post in the NFDC. I accepted it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-contacted-by-rajyavardhan-singh-rathore-mp-through-the-pune/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) [Browse all 15,485 Because quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise you get a little stale, maybe even self-indulgent, when you have to fill the hours with sentences. I don't think, if I wrote 12 hours a day, my work would be much better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cynthia Voigt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-because-otherwise-you-get-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Because" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-because-otherwise-you-get-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/cynthia-voigt-8736_because_i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-be_840311.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think writing is a part-time career, because otherwise you get a little stale, maybe even self-indulgent…” — Cynthia Voigt", "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": "Cynthia Voigt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think writing is a part-time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-because-otherwise-you-get-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-think-writing-is-a-part-time-career-because-otherwise-you-get-a/#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 } } ] } ```