--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The earliest impetuses for writing, for…" description: "\"The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about in the grocery ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png" --- # The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply… ![“The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about in the grocery store tabloids my mom bought, situations that struck me as compelling, anecdotes I'd heard, images, words, metaphors.” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png) > “The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about in the grocery store tabloids my mom bought, situations that struck me as compelling, anecdotes I'd heard, images, words, metaphors.” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everyday curiosities, media, and personal anecdotes spark the impulse to write. **In simple terms:** Ordinary observations inspire writing. Key Takeaway Pay attention to the strange in daily life. Themes creativity observation inspiration Mood curious reflective Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - creative writing - teaching - marketing Key Concepts curiosity storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What mundane detail could become a story? - How do you filter ideas? A Different Perspective Not all observations lead to compelling stories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anecdotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotes/) [Compelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compelling/) [Compelling Anecdotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compelling-anecdotes-5403914/) [Day life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-life/) [Earliest Impetuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earliest-impetuses-5403912/) [Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) [Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Groceries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groceries/) [Grocery store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-store/) [Grocery stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-stores/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Impetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impetus/) [Impetuses Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impetuses-writing-5403913/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom/) [My mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-mom/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stores/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Tabloids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tabloids/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-simply-1689774/) ## Related quotes > [Thinking is the activity I love best, and writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers. I can write up to 18 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/thinking-is-the-activity-i-love-best-and-writing-to-me-is-simply/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Once the grammar has been learned, writing is simply talking on paper and in time learning what not to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-bainbridge/once-the-grammar-has-been-learned-writing-is-simply-talking-on-paper/) [Beryl Bainbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-bainbridge/) > [Writing must be a machine for breaking down, that is, allowing the now uncontrolled and uncontrollable reconstitutions of thoughts and expressions. All other kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/writing-must-be-a-machine-for-breaking-down-that-is-allowing-the-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Maybe the hardest thing in writing is simply to tell the truth about things as we see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/maybe-the-hardest-thing-in-writing-is-simply-to-tell-the-truth-about/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Writing is simply one thought after another dying upon the one before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/writing-is-simply-one-thought-after-another-dying-upon-the-one-before/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“Most days, writing simply requires work-ethic, discipline, clarity, focus, time. Other days...it will demand absolutely everything of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/most-days-writing-simply-requires-work-ethic-discipline-clarity-focus/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [Writing is simply something you must do. It's rather like virtue in that it is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-simply-something-you-must-do-it-s-rather-like-virtue-in/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/writing-to-me-is-simply-thinking-through-my-fingers/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I am basically analytical, not creative; my writing is simply a creative way of handling analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-am-basically-analytical-not-creative-my-writing-is-simply-a/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Writing simply means no dependent clauses, no dangling things, no flashbacks, and keeping the subject near the predicate. We throw in as many fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/writing-simply-means-no-dependent-clauses-no-dangling-things-no/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [I'm certainly very influenced by what you would call 'contemporary headline horror,' stuff that is true crime or for one reason or another catches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-m-certainly-very-influenced-by-what-you-would-call-contemporary-2/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I've been singing since I was born. It's something I do everywhere I go. In the shower, walking down the street. I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idina-menzel/i-ve-been-singing-since-i-was-born-it-s-something-i-do-everywhere-i/) [Idina Menzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idina-menzel/) > [The new dynamics between brands and consumers, driven by social media, are proving to be a powerful impetus for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-new-dynamics-between-brands-and-consumers-driven-by-social-media/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [It is not the child as a physical but as a psychic being that can provide a strong impetus to the betterment of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-the-child-as-a-physical-but-as-a-psychic-being-that-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [It wasn't like, 'I'ma lose weight and start doing dramas.' I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/it-wasn-t-like-i-ma-lose-weight-and-start-doing-dramas-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## More Anecdotes quotes > [“There was a skill to organizing your life into neatly bundled anecdotes, and he lacked it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/there-was-a-skill-to-organizing-your-life-into-neatly-bundled/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [There comes a point where certain things are becoming my Achilles heel; you know when you start repeating yourself and saying the same anecdotes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elson/there-comes-a-point-where-certain-things-are-becoming-my-achilles/) [Karen Elson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elson/) > [Why should I ever get fed up talking about my father? He was a brilliant, colorful man who left us with thousands of memories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-huston/why-should-i-ever-get-fed-up-talking-about-my-father-he-was-a/) [Danny Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-huston/) > [If you would stick to the concrete, and put your discoveries in the form of entertaining anecdotes about your adventures with women, your conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-you-would-stick-to-the-concrete-and-put-your-discoveries-in-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Painters were also attorneys, happy storytellers of anecdote, psychologists, botanists, zoologists, archaeologists, engineers, but there were no creative painters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazimir-malevich/painters-were-also-attorneys-happy-storytellers-of-anecdote/) [Kazimir Malevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazimir-malevich/) > [Art isn't anecdote. It's the consciousness we bring to bear in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/art-isn-t-anecdote-it-s-the-consciousness-we-bring-to-bear-in-our/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/something-about-the-possession-of-a-book-an-object-that-can-contain/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Men grind and grind in the mill of a truism, and nothing comes out but what was put in. But the moment they desert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-grind-and-grind-in-the-mill-of-a-truism-and-nothing-comes-out-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Anecdote: The extent of Michael Jackson's fame at its height, and his eagerness to exploit it is shown by an incident in 1984 when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/anecdote-the-extent-of-michael-jackson-s-fame-at-its-height-and-his/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I don't have a lot of thrilling anecdotes about my career or personal life. All the stuff that is interesting is private and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/i-don-t-have-a-lot-of-thrilling-anecdotes-about-my-career-or-personal/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [Life divides into amazing enjoyable times and appalling experiences that will make future amazing anecdotes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/life-divides-into-amazing-enjoyable-times-and-appalling-experiences/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I write and write and write, and then I edit it down to the parts that I think are amusing, or that help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-write-and-write-and-write-and-then-i-edit-it-down-to-the-parts-that/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [If you notice phrases, ideas, and anecdotes that closely resemble those that appear elsewhere in my writing, it's not a matter of sloppy editing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/if-you-notice-phrases-ideas-and-anecdotes-that-closely-resemble-those/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [At the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, Sanford Meisner said, 'When you go into the professional world, at a stock theatre somewhere, backstage, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/at-the-neighborhood-playhouse-school-of-theatre-sanford-meisner-said/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Browse all 180 Anecdotes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anecdotes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about in the grocery store tabloids my mom bought, situations that struck me as compelling, anecdotes I'd heard, images, words, metaphors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anecdotes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62e/dan-chaon-2729_anecdotes_the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-m_683497.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my…” — Dan Chaon", "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": "Dan Chaon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The earliest impetuses for writing, for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/#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 } } ] } ```