--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't imagine why you would want to…" description: "\"I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly consists of sitting in a room typin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/daniel-handler-1043_careers_i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-ta_24049.jpg" --- # I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to… ![“I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly consists of sitting in a room typing, or going to the library and looking something up. Those are not exciting things to watch.” quote by Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/daniel-handler-1043_careers_i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-ta_24049.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/daniel-handler-1043_careers_i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-ta_24049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/daniel-handler-1043_careers_i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-ta_24049.jpg) > “I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly consists of sitting in a room typing, or going to the library and looking something up. Those are not exciting things to watch.” [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges the notion that a writer's work is inherently thrilling to observe, emphasizing its solitary, research‑heavy nature. **In simple terms:** Writing is often solitary, research‑driven work. Key Takeaway Writing lacks visual spectacle. Themes Perception of creativity Work reality vs. myth Educational expectations Artistic labor Mood Reflective Skeptical Type Cautionary Observational When to use this quote - Parents considering career exposure - Students exploring writing - Career fairs - Literature classes Key Concepts Solitude Research Process Practical Applications - Use for realistic career counseling - Informing curriculum design Questions to Reflect On - How might we make invisible creative work visible? - What experiences reveal the value of writing beyond its routine? A Different Perspective While the process may be quiet, the impact of storytelling can be profoundly engaging for audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Exciting things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting-things/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [After having a child, my career just skyrocketed. You have all that weight to kill off - you're working 10 times harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mcdonald/after-having-a-child-my-career-just-skyrocketed-you-have-all-that/) [Jessica McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mcdonald/) > [It's the best thing ever - I love being a mom. This is my only child. My career was a priority earlier in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/it-s-the-best-thing-ever-i-love-being-a-mom-this-is-my-only-child-my/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [I think a lot of people assume you need to be born into a special creative family to have a career as a writer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fallon/i-think-a-lot-of-people-assume-you-need-to-be-born-into-a-special/) [Jane Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fallon/) > [It took me 40 years to write my first book. When I was a child, I was encouraged to go to school. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-took-me-40-years-to-write-my-first-book-when-i-was-a-child-i-was/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“It’s the natural trajectory of a writing career that a writer becomes better at being herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/it-s-the-natural-trajectory-of-a-writing-career-that-a-writer-becomes/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [“Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/any-man-who-keeps-working-is-not-a-failure-he-may-not-be-a-great/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I'm sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I've had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-sometimes-asked-how-i-would-like-to-be-remembered-i-ve-had-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to starve to death. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-was-not-encouraged-to-follow-the-career-of-a-writer-because-my/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-ve-written-about-2-000-short-stories-i-ve-only-published-300-and-i/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [In my career as a writer, I preferred to avoid current events: I wrote young adult novels and book reviews and lifestyle journalism about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-moser/in-my-career-as-a-writer-i-preferred-to-avoid-current-events-i-wrote/) [Laura Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-moser/) > [When you're trying to create a career as a writer, a little delusional thinking goes a long way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/when-you-re-trying-to-create-a-career-as-a-writer-a-little-delusional/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Nobody ever got started on a career as a writer by exercising good judgment, and no one ever will, either, so the sooner you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-v-higgins/nobody-ever-got-started-on-a-career-as-a-writer-by-exercising-good/) [George V. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-v-higgins/) > [“If you don’t put 99 percent of yourself into the writing, there will be no publishing career. There’s the writer and there’s the author.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/if-you-don-t-put-99-percent-of-yourself-into-the-writing-there-will/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) > [The career of a writer is comparable to that of a woman of easy virtue. You write first for pleasure, later for the pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-achard/the-career-of-a-writer-is-comparable-to-that-of-a-woman-of-easy/) [Marcel Achard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-achard/) > [I just feel really fortunate to build a career as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/i-just-feel-really-fortunate-to-build-a-career-as-a-writer/) [Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/) ## More by Daniel Handler > [We laughed the rest of the way, because the point of this story is, it is not the cookies. It is the love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/we-laughed-the-rest-of-the-way-because-the-point-of-this-story-is-it/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I started making plans, thinking we would get that far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-started-making-plans-thinking-we-would-get-that-far/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“All the deaths are dead for nothing but you're not dead at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/all-the-deaths-are-dead-for-nothing-but-you-re-not-dead-at-all/) [daniel handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“I love you so soundly and I will do anything to drag you forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-you-so-soundly-and-i-will-do-anything-to-drag-you-forward/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I’d ruin any day, all my days, for those long nights with you, and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-d-ruin-any-day-all-my-days-for-those-long-nights-with-you-and-i-did/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Chestnuts in stuffing tastes like someone chewed up a tree branch and then French-kissed it into your mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/chestnuts-in-stuffing-tastes-like-someone-chewed-up-a-tree-branch-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Lemony Snicket. Now, I'm told - the books, of course, starting from the very first one, became hugely popular, selling millions and millions. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/lemony-snicket-now-i-m-told-the-books-of-course-starting-from-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“The matches were a little 'he loves me, he loves me not,' but then I saw right on the box that I had twenty-four,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-matches-were-a-little-he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not-but-then-i-saw/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I didn't like books where people played on a sports team and won a bunch of games, or went to summer camp and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-didn-t-like-books-where-people-played-on-a-sports-team-and-won-a/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I love no one but you, I have discovered, but you are far away and I am here alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-no-one-but-you-i-have-discovered-but-you-are-far-away-and-i-am/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Basic Eight and Watch Your Mouth both have first-person voices, and I ended up investigating those voices and investing so much in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-basic-eight-and-watch-your-mouth-both-have-first-person-voices/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Long Goodbye' is one book I like to read over and over again, and it was an enormous inspiration for 'All The Wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-long-goodbye-is-one-book-i-like-to-read-over-and-over-again-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The whole thing of what I’ve been trying,” you said, “is that you’re different, and you keep asking about the other girls, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-whole-thing-of-what-i-ve-been-trying-you-said-is-that-you-re/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I was never a fan of anything, and yet some people are fans of my books. That's a bit odd. But I like meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-was-never-a-fan-of-anything-and-yet-some-people-are-fans-of-my/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) [Explore all 295 Daniel Handler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## More Careers quotes > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [The only thing I try to watch carefully is that I never lose the love for the instrument. 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My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [Everything I've been through, everything I'm about to go through in my career and my life, if my family wasn't with me and didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-malone/everything-i-ve-been-through-everything-i-m-about-to-go-through-in-my/) [Karl Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-malone/) > [An image has stuck for most of my career and it isn't flattering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-fowler/an-image-has-stuck-for-most-of-my-career-and-it-isn-t-flattering/) [Robbie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-fowler/) Browse all 6,154 Careers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly consists of sitting in a room typing, or going to the library and looking something up. 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