--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an…" description: "\"I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know why I wanted to write. I did some short stories at that time, but very infrequently. I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/don-delillo-294_explanation_i-didn-t-do-anything-i-don-t-have-an-exp_1132364.jpg" --- # I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t… ![“I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know why I wanted to write. I did some short stories at that time, but very infrequently. I quit my job just to quit. I didn’t quit my job to write fiction. I just didn’t want to work anymore” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/don-delillo-294_explanation_i-didn-t-do-anything-i-don-t-have-an-exp_1132364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/don-delillo-294_explanation_i-didn-t-do-anything-i-don-t-have-an-exp_1132364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/don-delillo-294_explanation_i-didn-t-do-anything-i-don-t-have-an-exp_1132364.jpg) > “I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know why I wanted to write. I did some short stories at that time, but very infrequently. I quit my job just to quit. I didn’t quit my job to write fiction. I just didn’t want to work anymore” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker confesses a lack of conscious motivation for writing, highlighting an instinctive drive to abandon work and create art without clear purpose. **In simple terms:** Writing without a clear reason, driven by a desire to stop working. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and let instinct guide creative pursuits. Themes creativity existentialism work motivation Mood conflicted reflective Type personal existential When to use this quote - career transition - creative block - personal crisis - artistic experimentation Key Concepts autonomy self‑expression psychology Questions to Reflect On - What subconscious forces drive your creative urges? - How does quitting work affect your identity? A Different Perspective The lack of explanation may mask deeper psychological needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Short stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-stories/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I quit my job just to quit. I didn't quit my job to write fiction. I just didn't want to work anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-quit-my-job-just-to-quit-i-didn-t-quit-my-job-to-write-fiction-i/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I quit because I didn't feel like the Detroit Lions had a chance to win. It just killed my enjoyment of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-sanders/i-quit-because-i-didn-t-feel-like-the-detroit-lions-had-a-chance-to/) [Barry Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-sanders/) > [I think it's hard to have a full-time job and write fiction, but for essays, you need to be in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-think-it-s-hard-to-have-a-full-time-job-and-write-fiction-but-for/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [I was even superior to the Communists and when they didn't go along with me, I quit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/i-was-even-superior-to-the-communists-and-when-they-didn-t-go-along/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [I didn't quit drinking because I was a bad drunk. I quit because I was a spectacular drunk. It got to be like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-feherty/i-didn-t-quit-drinking-because-i-was-a-bad-drunk-i-quit-because-i-was/) [David Feherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-feherty/) > [“I've quit. I didn't get your resignation letter. Invite me in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/i-ve-quit-i-didn-t-get-your-resignation-letter-invite-me-in/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [A couple months after my heart attack, fifty-seven years after I'd given it up, I started to write again. I did it for myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/a-couple-months-after-my-heart-attack-fifty-seven-years-after-i-d/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“i write because if i did not, i would surely go mad. but perhaps being a little bit mad is why i write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunk-on-writing/i-write-because-if-i-did-not-i-would-surely-go-mad-but-perhaps-being/) Drunk-On-Writing > [I don't think there was a particular book that made me want to write. They all did. I always wanted to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-don-t-think-there-was-a-particular-book-that-made-me-want-to-write/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I could have gone the route of a lot of these former child actors, but I didn't want that for myself. Like I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/i-could-have-gone-the-route-of-a-lot-of-these-former-child-actors-but/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [Jobs did not know that Sculley had told Eisenstat he wanted to quit, but by then it didn't matter. Overnight, he had changed his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-did-not-know-that-sculley-had-told-eisenstat-he-wanted-to-quit/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Every Monday, we have to write about what we did at the weekend.” It didn’t appear that her mother understood the agony of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-davis/every-monday-we-have-to-write-about-what-we-did-at-the-weekend-it/) [Jane Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-davis/) > [I have been a fearless man. I have been a ridiculous man. I finished my engineering and got a job. And then one day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/i-have-been-a-fearless-man-i-have-been-a-ridiculous-man-i-finished-my/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [I would show my jobs to my mother, and she would always say the same thing: "That's nice dear". And then she would say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-webb/i-would-show-my-jobs-to-my-mother-and-she-would-always-say-the-same/) Brian Webb > [“I never thought I wanted to write. Never did I know I can either, until now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-dimayuga/i-never-thought-i-wanted-to-write-never-did-i-know-i-can-either-until/) [C.A. Dimayuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-dimayuga/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Explanation quotes > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) > [Before I had kids, I thought you should never lie to a kid. But now I've had them, I realize you almost lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/before-i-had-kids-i-thought-you-should-never-lie-to-a-kid-but-now-i/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [To prevent discussion of any other explanations of human origins is hardly what I would expect from open-minded educators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/to-prevent-discussion-of-any-other-explanations-of-human-origins-is/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-q-wilson/what-most-needs-explanation-is-not-why-some-people-are-criminals-but/) [James Q. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-q-wilson/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ \[Barack Obama\] will spend long periods of time explaining to people why he won't use it. At the end of the explanation, nobody knows… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/barack-obama-will-spend-long-periods-of-time-explaining-to-people-why/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? 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When you fully accept that you do not know, you give up struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-are-situations-when-all-answers-and-explanations-fade-when-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,440 Explanation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I didn’t do anything. I don’t have an explanation, I don’t know why I wanted to write. I did some short stories at that time, but very infrequently. I quit my job just to quit. I didn’t quit my job to write fiction. 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