--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was writing all my childhood. And I…" description: "\"I was writing all my childhood. And I wrote two novels when I was 17, which were terrible. And I'm not sorry I threw them out. So, I wrote. I had to wr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/doris-lessing-501_books_i-was-writing-all-my-childhood-and-i-wro_2821311.png" --- # I was writing all my childhood. And I wrote two novels… ![“I was writing all my childhood. And I wrote two novels when I was 17, which were terrible. And I'm not sorry I threw them out. So, I wrote. I had to write. You know, the thing was, I had no education.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/doris-lessing-501_books_i-was-writing-all-my-childhood-and-i-wro_2821311.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/doris-lessing-501_books_i-was-writing-all-my-childhood-and-i-wro_2821311.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/doris-lessing-501_books_i-was-writing-all-my-childhood-and-i-wro_2821311.png) > “I was writing all my childhood. And I wrote two novels when I was 17, which were terrible. And I'm not sorry I threw them out. So, I wrote. I had to write. You know, the thing was, I had no education.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early writing attempts may be flawed, but persistence and self‑criticism are essential for growth. **In simple terms:** Early drafts are often bad, but keep writing. Key Takeaway Embrace critique and keep creating. Themes creativity growth self‑criticism Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational personal development When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journals - novel drafting Key Concepts learning resilience artistic development Questions to Reflect On - What can you learn from discarded work? - How does criticism fuel improvement? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-wrote-3592178/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Threw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threw/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-childhood-1422118/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-novels-420841/) [Wrote Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-write-1752762/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [Since childhood, I wrote a lot of fiction, a lot of stories, but I most loved writing essays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/since-childhood-i-wrote-a-lot-of-fiction-a-lot-of-stories-but-i-most/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Art is childhood, after all,” wrote Rilke”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-dowrick/art-is-childhood-after-all-wrote-rilke/) [Stephanie Dowrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-dowrick/) > [My first novel, 'You Must be Sisters,' was started in Pakistan. I've wrote several novels and a TV drama set or partly-set there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-moggach/my-first-novel-you-must-be-sisters-was-started-in-pakistan-i-ve-wrote/) [Deborah Moggach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-moggach/) > [“Superficially my war was a comfortable exercise in futility carried out in a grand Scottish hotel amongst the bridge players and swillers of easy-come-by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/superficially-my-war-was-a-comfortable-exercise-in-futility-carried/) [Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/) > [Trollope wrote so many novels and other works that they tend to crowd each other out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/trollope-wrote-so-many-novels-and-other-works-that-they-tend-to-crowd/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [I've got an original graphic novel called 'The Indian and the Bandit' that I'm writing with a childhood friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcmillian/i-ve-got-an-original-graphic-novel-called-the-indian-and-the-bandit/) [Michael McMillian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcmillian/) > [But when I realized it was actually going to be this portrait of the artist, birth to death, I had to then discover who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dutton/but-when-i-realized-it-was-actually-going-to-be-this-portrait-of-the/) [Danielle Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dutton/) > [Writing was not a childhood dream of mine. I do not recall longing to write as a student. I wasn't sure how to start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/writing-was-not-a-childhood-dream-of-mine-i-do-not-recall-longing-to/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“On that piece of white paper, Sam wrote, "Write about me sometime." And I typed back to her, standing right there in her bedroom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/on-that-piece-of-white-paper-sam-wrote-write-about-me-sometime-and-i-2/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“I write because of the fragility of our existence. I write because it's my answer to impermanence. I write because it helps me stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-scott-mcleod/i-write-because-of-the-fragility-of-our-existence-i-write-because-it/) [T. Scott McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-scott-mcleod/) > [I wasn't one of those kids that was like I'm going to be a country music singer or I'm going to be the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-clark-green/i-wasn-t-one-of-those-kids-that-was-like-i-m-going-to-be-a-country/) [William Clark Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-clark-green/) > [on that piece of white paper, sam wrote, "write about me sometime." and i typed something back to her, standing right there in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/on-that-piece-of-white-paper-sam-wrote-write-about-me-sometime-and-i/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“She took me to her room and stood me in front of her dresser, which was covered in a pillowcase with pretty colors. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/she-took-me-to-her-room-and-stood-me-in-front-of-her-dresser-which/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I wrote before I could write. I got my hands on a journal, maybe a hand-me-down; I had three older siblings. My first entries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-wrote-before-i-could-write-i-got-my-hands-on-a-journal-maybe-a-hand/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“I just wrote as much as I could for several pages. Every night I wrote her novels and every morning I mailed them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galloway/i-just-wrote-as-much-as-i-could-for-several-pages-every-night-i-wrote/) [Noah Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galloway/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was writing all my childhood. And I wrote two novels when I was 17, which were terrible. And I'm not sorry I threw them out. So, I wrote. I had to write. 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