--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's one of the strangest attributes of…" description: "\"It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another.\" — Dan Simmons" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg" --- # It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession… ![“It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another.” quote by Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg) > “It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another.” [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers avoid burnout by switching topics, using variety as mental refreshment. **In simple terms:** Changing writing focus helps maintain creativity. Key Takeaway Rotate tasks to stay fresh. Themes creativity writing mental health productivity Mood reflective inspirational Type creative motivational When to use this quote - Novel drafting - blogging - academic writing Key Concepts Flow theory cognitive switching burnout prevention Questions to Reflect On - What topics rejuvenate you? - How can you balance depth and variety? A Different Perspective May fragment focus if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Politics, which really is about the art of expression, ought to be a logical profession for writers (it's very hard to explain to politics-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-which-really-is-about-the-art-of-expression-ought-to-be-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [I'm an extremely introverted and isolated writer, but I was starting to feel exhausted and as if my writing was becoming redundant. As much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/i-m-an-extremely-introverted-and-isolated-writer-but-i-was-starting/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [With my students I give them lots and lots of guided writing. Part of it is as simple as writing a lot but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-lundy-martin/with-my-students-i-give-them-lots-and-lots-of-guided-writing-part-of/) [Dawn Lundy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-lundy-martin/) > [You know what they're writing about Baby you know what they're writing about It's a thing called love down through the ages Makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/you-know-what-they-re-writing-about-baby-you-know-what-they-re/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I did the co-writing thing all through the '90s and I got one hit out of it - a Keith Urban song called 'But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wiedlin/i-did-the-co-writing-thing-all-through-the-90s-and-i-got-one-hit-out/) [Jane Wiedlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wiedlin/) > [“Writing the thing is the journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigia-stephens/writing-the-thing-is-the-journey/) [Nigia Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigia-stephens/) > [Writing is the only thing I am good for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/writing-is-the-only-thing-i-am-good-for/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [It was relatively easy to write 'The Cave of Lost Souls', though, because it came to me one night in a dream. I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kane/it-was-relatively-easy-to-write-the-cave-of-lost-souls-though-because/) [Paul Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kane/) > [“I wish i could write them down, these little coloured parables or poems that live for a moment in some cell of my brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-wish-i-could-write-them-down-these-little-coloured-parables-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The silver lining of those years when I was trying to get 'Tinkers' published but couldn't were the years when I had to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-silver-lining-of-those-years-when-i-was-trying-to-get-tinkers/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [Reading and writing are the same thing; it's just one's the more active and the other's the more passive. They flow into each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/reading-and-writing-are-the-same-thing-it-s-just-one-s-the-more/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [But when it comes to writing the thing that I've sort of been thinking about lately, is why? You know, is it rational? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/but-when-it-comes-to-writing-the-thing-that-i-ve-sort-of-been/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Writing is the only thing in my life that doesn't get easier. It just doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/writing-is-the-only-thing-in-my-life-that-doesn-t-get-easier-it-just/) [Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/) > [I spend so much time on the screen when I am writing, the last thing you want to do is spend more time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-spend-so-much-time-on-the-screen-when-i-am-writing-the-last-thing/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I never question the way I write. Writing is the only thing that's without seams for me. It's an effort to talk because my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-never-question-the-way-i-write-writing-is-the-only-thing-that-s/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## More by Dan Simmons > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The Song of Kali is with us. It has been with us for a very long time. Its chorus grows and grows and grows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-song-of-kali-is-with-us-it-has-been-with-us-for-a-very-long-time/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In the end, thought Sol, past logic and hope, it is dreams and the love of those dearest to us that form Abraham’s answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/in-the-end-thought-sol-past-logic-and-hope-it-is-dreams-and-the-love/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“After seven centuries of existence and at least four centuries where few citizens existed without it, the datasphere – including the All Thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/after-seven-centuries-of-existence-and-at-least-four-centuries-where/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Pain is an interesting and off-putting thing. Few if any things in life concentrate our attention so completely and terribly, and few things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/pain-is-an-interesting-and-off-putting-thing-few-if-any-things-in/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Luckily, even as a young man not yet become himself, John Bridgens had two things besides indecision that kept him from self-destruction - books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/luckily-even-as-a-young-man-not-yet-become-himself-john-bridgens-had/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“To be a poet, I realized, a true poet, was to become the Avatar of humanity incarnate; to accept the mantle of poet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/to-be-a-poet-i-realized-a-true-poet-was-to-become-the-avatar-of/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Those who ignore history's lessons in the ultimate folly of war are forced to do more than relive them ... they may be forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/those-who-ignore-history-s-lessons-in-the-ultimate-folly-of-war-are/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The day before the Queen's Ball, Father had a visitor--a very young girl with literary aspirations, someone Lord Lytton had recommended visit Father and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-day-before-the-queen-s-ball-father-had-a-visitor-a-very-young/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [You've probably heard about the theory of steam-engine time - that even after the steam engine had been invented, it had to wait until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/you-ve-probably-heard-about-the-theory-of-steam-engine-time-that-even/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER MISUSE OF THIS CHANNEL. YOU ARE DISTURBING OTHERS WHO ARE USING IT TO SERIOUS PURPOSE. ACCESS WILL BE RESTORED…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/there-will-be-no-further-misuse-of-this-channel-you-are-disturbing/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“I know the fucking Bible, and there ain't no fucking Book of Leviathan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-know-the-fucking-bible-and-there-ain-t-no-fucking-book-of-leviathan/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [ “Men who read a lot have a more sensitive disposition, added Fowler. \[...\] I did not know what to say to this. Maybe reading… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/men-who-read-a-lot-have-a-more-sensitive-disposition-added-fowler-i/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) [Explore all 307 Dan Simmons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/developing-christlike-attributes-in-our-lives-is-not-an-easy-task/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Simmons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of-this-profession-that-when-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attributes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of-this-profession-that-when-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/dan-simmons-968_attributes_it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of_1493790.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one…” — Dan Simmons", "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 Simmons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's one of the strangest attributes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of-this-profession-that-when-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/it-s-one-of-the-strangest-attributes-of-this-profession-that-when-we/#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 } } ] } ```