--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: …she was discovering once again that…" description: "\"…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.\" — David Nicholls" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png" --- # …she was discovering once again that reading and writing… ![“…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png) > “…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.” [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading and writing are distinct skills; comprehension does not automatically translate to expression. **In simple terms:** Understanding isn’t the same as creating. Key Takeaway Practice turning ideas into words. Themes learning creativity communication skill process Mood reflective educational thoughtful Type educational process skill When to use this quote - teaching - writing workshops - self‑study - reading groups Key Concepts cognitive development literacy metacognition Questions to Reflect On - What steps help bridge reading to writing? - How can you practice extracting ideas? A Different Perspective Assuming reading alone builds writing skill can mislead learners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“once computers gain good language understanding and we can speak to them, then reading and writing are going to seem cumbersome’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-humphrys/once-computers-gain-good-language-understanding-and-we-can-speak-to/) [John Humphrys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-humphrys/) > [You must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/you-must-find-time-for-reading-or-surrender-yourself-to-self-chosen/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The boy spends most of his time reading. And writing, of course. He copies out sections of books, writes out words and symbols he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/the-boy-spends-most-of-his-time-reading-and-writing-of-course-he/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“You're never as good a writer as you think you are, and you're never as bad. Just keep reading and writing, writing, writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/you-re-never-as-good-a-writer-as-you-think-you-are-and-you-re-never/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [I really struggled, growing up, with reading and writing. I had a hard time to do that, but I was really passionate about storytelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/i-really-struggled-growing-up-with-reading-and-writing-i-had-a-hard/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) > [When I went to school, I was already reading and writing. In fact, I was offended that the other kids couldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/when-i-went-to-school-i-was-already-reading-and-writing-in-fact-i-was/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [“Reading and writing is an escape for me. Where I can imagine and become who I want to be when I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-frerichs/reading-and-writing-is-an-escape-for-me-where-i-can-imagine-and/) Zachary Frerichs > [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/) > [Both reading and writing are experiences--lifelong-- in the course of which we who encounter words used in certain ways are persuaded by them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/both-reading-and-writing-are-experiences-lifelong-in-the-course-of/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Writing has always allowed me to escape. I was a very lonely child. Because I was very socially awkward, I would always have trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-has-always-allowed-me-to-escape-i-was-a-very-lonely-child/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Somebody is observing my writings, I know that. That's one reason why I keep reading and writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/somebody-is-observing-my-writings-i-know-that-that-s-one-reason-why-i/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/reading-and-writing-like-everything-else-improve-with-practice-and-of/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-can-t-believe-it-reading-and-writing-actually-paid-off/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [Reading and writing isn't supposed to be this exclusive club; it's just supposed to be entertaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/reading-and-writing-isn-t-supposed-to-be-this-exclusive-club-it-s/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [What works for eating and swimming might work for reading and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/what-works-for-eating-and-swimming-might-work-for-reading-and-writing/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) ## More by David Nicholls > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [You've got to stop letting women slip drugs into your mouth, Dex, it's unhygienic. And dangerous. One day it'll be a cyanide capsule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/you-ve-got-to-stop-letting-women-slip-drugs-into-your-mouth-dex-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/better-by-far-to-be-good-and-courageous-and-bold-and-to-make/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More Discovering quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/there-is-no-power-for-change-greater-than-a-community-discovering/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [There are people I'll always love to listen to, and I'm always ending up discovering new songs by them, which is crazy. Like Stevie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/there-are-people-i-ll-always-love-to-listen-to-and-i-m-always-ending/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [TV is, as I'm discovering now, a marathon. You have to keep going and going and going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-nolan/tv-is-as-i-m-discovering-now-a-marathon-you-have-to-keep-going-and/) [Jonathan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-nolan/) > [ “d\] One speaks in a language one doesn't understand, uses money whose worth one does not know, and wanders down streets for the very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/d-one-speaks-in-a-language-one-doesn-t-understand-uses-money-whose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can go up or we can do down. I think generally the world is going on an upward swing. We're in a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-can-go-up-or-we-can-do-down-i-think-generally-the-world-is-going/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“There were a lot of stressed out people in the company as we were discovering how dangerous the DeSoto Solar Farm was!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-were-a-lot-of-stressed-out-people-in-the-company-as-we-were/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/coming-to-appreciate-your-worth-can-in-some-cases-dramatically/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. Something about discovering freshly painted walls always fills me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-mitchell/melbourne-where-i-grew-up-is-one-of-the-street-art-capitals-of-the/) [Penelope Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-mitchell/) > [“It's kind of impressive...you know, the idea of discovering something that, for all intents and purposes, goes against your abilities, and yet still deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-s-kind-of-impressive-you-know-the-idea-of-discovering-something/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) Browse all 881 Discovering quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Nicholls" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-discovering-once-again-that-reading-and-writing-were-not-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-discovering-once-again-that-reading-and-writing-were-not-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/david-nicholls-873_discovering_she-was-discovering-once-again-that-read_1972957.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“…she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same — you couldn't just soak it up…” — David Nicholls", "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": "David Nicholls", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "…she was discovering once again that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-discovering-once-again-that-reading-and-writing-were-not-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-discovering-once-again-that-reading-and-writing-were-not-the/#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 } } ] } ```