--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To me writing was not a career but a…" description: "\"To me writing was not a career but a necessity. And so it remains, though I am now, technically, a professional writer. The strength of this inborn des..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/dervla-murphy-20135_baffled_to-me-writing-was-not-a-career-but-a-nec_3184253.png" --- # To me writing was not a career but a necessity. And so it… ![“To me writing was not a career but a necessity. And so it remains, though I am now, technically, a professional writer. The strength of this inborn desire to write has always baffled me. It is understandable that the really gifted should feel an overwhelming urge to use their gift; but a strong…” quote by Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/dervla-murphy-20135_baffled_to-me-writing-was-not-a-career-but-a-nec_3184253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/dervla-murphy-20135_baffled_to-me-writing-was-not-a-career-but-a-nec_3184253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d2/dervla-murphy-20135_baffled_to-me-writing-was-not-a-career-but-a-nec_3184253.png) > “To me writing was not a career but a necessity. And so it remains, though I am now, technically, a professional writer. The strength of this inborn desire to write has always baffled me. It is understandable that the really gifted should feel an overwhelming urge to use their gift; but a strong urge with only a slight gift seems almost a genetic mistake.” [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is a deep, essential drive rather than a mere profession; the intensity of the urge may not match the level of talent, creating internal tension. **In simple terms:** Writing is a necessary drive, not just a job. Key Takeaway Embrace your writing drive. Themes creativity identity purpose Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career counseling - creative workshops - personal journaling Key Concepts psychology self-actualization Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance skill and passion? - What drives you to write beyond success? A Different Perspective Talent alone may not guarantee fulfillment without purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baffled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baffled/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-write-834883/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Gifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gifted/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming/) [Overwhelming urge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming-urge-138451/) [Professional Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-writer/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Urges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urges/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Writer Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-strength-5847216/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-career/) ## Related quotes > [“When he pictured her so many thousands of miles away he plummeted, so much so that he had an overwhelming urge to wrap his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/when-he-pictured-her-so-many-thousands-of-miles-away-he-plummeted-so/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“I have the overwhelming urge to pull her up out of her chair and kiss her in front of everyone, then scream my resignation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-have-the-overwhelming-urge-to-pull-her-up-out-of-her-chair-and-kiss/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I had an overwhelming urge to hit him-or kiss him. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I feel like I've really made Laguna my home, and I've got this overwhelming urge now to sort of make friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-anstead/i-feel-like-i-ve-really-made-laguna-my-home-and-i-ve-got-this/) [Ant Anstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-anstead/) > [I've always had a desire to write something and capture people's imagination like Peter Pan had captured mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-ve-always-had-a-desire-to-write-something-and-capture-people-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I have more of a desire to write songs about being an independent woman than being in love, songs about getting up and moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-more-of-a-desire-to-write-songs-about-being-an-independent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just don't think I've had the desire yet to write a vicious animal - like a dog-gone-bad or anything - where I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/i-just-don-t-think-i-ve-had-the-desire-yet-to-write-a-vicious-animal/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [I can't think why I was cursed with this inordinate desire to write, if the high gods weren't going to give me some more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/i-can-t-think-why-i-was-cursed-with-this-inordinate-desire-to-write/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [A writers desire to write can only have come from previous experience of literature, and he'll start by imitating whatever he's read, which usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/a-writers-desire-to-write-can-only-have-come-from-previous-experience/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ “\[...\] as I have seen with other people whose sense of their work is vocational rather than pragmatic, my desire to write, to understand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-dowrick/as-i-have-seen-with-other-people-whose-sense-of-their-work-is/) [Stephanie Dowrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-dowrick/) ## More by Dervla Murphy > [“Even a brief glimpse of what we were is valuable to help understand what we are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/even-a-brief-glimpse-of-what-we-were-is-valuable-to-help-understand/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one feels guilty on behalf of Western civilisation. 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They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [“I thank God for my sanguine temperament, which refuses to allow me to believe in disaster until it is finally manifest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/i-thank-god-for-my-sanguine-temperament-which-refuses-to-allow-me-to/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [ \[On Addis Ababa:\] Among the city's handicaps are an immaturity for which no one can be blamed, as it was founded only eighty years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-addis-ababa-among-the-city-s-handicaps-are-an-immaturity-for-which/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Buying a bicycle is a momentous event, akin to marriage: you are acquiring a partner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/buying-a-bicycle-is-a-momentous-event-akin-to-marriage-you-are/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one of the advantages of cycling is that it automatically prevents a journey from becoming an Expedition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/one-of-the-advantages-of-cycling-is-that-it-automatically-prevents-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [hatred, however apparently justifiable, excusable or inevitable, always damages the hater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/hatred-however-apparently-justifiable-excusable-or-inevitable-always/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as gifts, and a few days later I decided to cycle to India...However, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-my-tenth-birthday-a-bicycle-and-an-atlas-coincided-as-gifts-and-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Is this something else our age does - on the one hand make communication easier than ever before, while on the other hand widening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/is-this-something-else-our-age-does-on-the-one-hand-make/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [apartheid still hangs in the air like a poisonous cloud left over from chemical warfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/apartheid-still-hangs-in-the-air-like-a-poisonous-cloud-left-over/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [the sudden violent dispossession accompanying a refugee flight is much more than the loss of a permanent home and a traditional occupation, or than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/the-sudden-violent-dispossession-accompanying-a-refugee-flight-is/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [... strong bonds are forged in high emotional temperatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/strong-bonds-are-forged-in-high-emotional-temperatures/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) [Explore all 31 Dervla Murphy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## More Baffled quotes > [If you're texting Magnus to say 'I think u r kewl,' I'm going to kill you." "Who's Magnus?" Max inquired. "He's a warlock," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-you-re-texting-magnus-to-say-i-think-u-r-kewl-i-m-going-to-kill/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Identity confusion... is as if somebody lost their mental road map and has no appreciation of who they are or what is going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-chefetz/identity-confusion-is-as-if-somebody-lost-their-mental-road-map-and/) [Richard A. Chefetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-chefetz/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. The notion that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [It is sometimes of God's mercy that men in the eager pursuit of worldly aggrandizement are baffled; for they are very like a train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-sometimes-of-god-s-mercy-that-men-in-the-eager-pursuit-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [There is such a thing as the courage in remaining baffled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-antrim/there-is-such-a-thing-as-the-courage-in-remaining-baffled/) [Donald Antrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-antrim/) > [“The only side God chooses is one of commonsense. If it doesn’t make sense; it is not God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-only-side-god-chooses-is-one-of-commonsense-if-it-doesn-t-make/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Unbelievable," I heard Christian mutter behind me. "She toops them both?" I head Drustan ask. "And they permit it?" Dageus sounded baffled. I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/unbelievable-i-heard-christian-mutter-behind-me-she-toops-them-both-i/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Gail had a baby named Ned who was four months old, and a new look of baffled hurt, a left-behind sadness, like she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/gail-had-a-baby-named-ned-who-was-four-months-old-and-a-new-look-of/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [The fanatical Communist refuses to believe any unfavorable report or evidence about Russia, nor will he be disillusioned by seeing with his own eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-fanatical-communist-refuses-to-believe-any-unfavorable-report-or/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Books are in no hurry. 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He has disclosed Himself on the platform of both creation and redemption that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/god-has-sovereignly-pulled-back-the-curtain-on-his-glory-he-has/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) > [One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds would break, Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/one-who-never-turned-his-back-but-marched-breast-forward-never-2/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) [Browse all 127 Baffled quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baffled/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To me writing was not a career but a necessity. And so it remains, though I am now, technically, a professional writer. The strength of this inborn desire to write has always baffled me. 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