--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel…" description: "\"“I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel glamorous. But only glamorous, I’d guess, in the way a stretch limo might feel glamorous. No matter the pomp, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/durga-chew-bose-9010_writing_i-ve-heard-rumors-that-writing-can-feel_884403.jpg" --- # I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel glamorous. But… ![“I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel glamorous. But only glamorous, I’d guess, in the way a stretch limo might feel glamorous. No matter the pomp, one still has to crouch inside. Like skulking through a low-lit leather tunnel. An uncooperative space. Writing is awkward work and it’s become…” quote by Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/durga-chew-bose-9010_writing_i-ve-heard-rumors-that-writing-can-feel_884403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/durga-chew-bose-9010_writing_i-ve-heard-rumors-that-writing-can-feel_884403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/durga-chew-bose-9010_writing_i-ve-heard-rumors-that-writing-can-feel_884403.jpg) > ““I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel glamorous. But only glamorous, I’d guess, in the way a stretch limo might feel glamorous. No matter the pomp, one still has to crouch inside. Like skulking through a low-lit leather tunnel. An uncooperative space. Writing is awkward work and it’s become clearer to me why friends of mine have relinquished their desks and write instead from the comfort of their beds. Not in bed. From bed. Like sea otters floating on their backs, double-chinned and banging their front paws on a keyboard.”” [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) ## 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 portrayed as an uncomfortable, solitary act that feels glamorous only in illusion, akin to a cramped, low‑light tunnel. **In simple terms:** Writing feels awkward and hidden despite its glamorous image. Key Takeaway Embrace the discomfort of the writing process. Themes creativity solitude illusion workplace comfort zones Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type inspirational observational When to use this quote - freelance writing - remote work - creative retreats - home office setup Key Concepts psychology of creativity artistic labor environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - Why do we glorify struggle in creative work? - How can writers create healthier work environments? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize hardship, ignoring practical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desks Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks-write-1084507/) [Space Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-writing-1084506/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Awkward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-awkward-1084505/) [Writing Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-feel/) ## Related quotes > [In writing, the point is not to manifest or exalt the act of writing, nor is it to pin a subject within language; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/in-writing-the-point-is-not-to-manifest-or-exalt-the-act-of-writing/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I have the infinite galaxy from '2001 as my screensaver - so if I space out while I'm writing and it goes to screensaver,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-have-the-infinite-galaxy-from-2001-as-my-screensaver-so-if-i-space/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [One problem with writing on the computer, as I do, is that the page is never really 'blank." It is backed by all this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/one-problem-with-writing-on-the-computer-as-i-do-is-that-the-page-is/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [The space where writing happens is a unique space that's hard to define, and when you're kicked out of it because you're travelling or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/the-space-where-writing-happens-is-a-unique-space-that-s-hard-to/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [...It's an unmeetable level of writing. But even if it's something I feel like I can't ever attain, it doesn't crush my spirit. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-banks/it-s-an-unmeetable-level-of-writing-but-even-if-it-s-something-i-feel/) [Paul Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-banks/) > [A lot of cookbooks also have incredible food writing, even though I feel like a lot of cookbook authors don't necessarily identify with being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-zauner/a-lot-of-cookbooks-also-have-incredible-food-writing-even-though-i/) [Michelle Zauner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-zauner/) > [Through all this other stuff I was doing, I always went back to the writing, and it was writing that made me feel whole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannah-gresh/through-all-this-other-stuff-i-was-doing-i-always-went-back-to-the/) [Dannah Gresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannah-gresh/) > [I love writing. I feel ridiculously lucky that this is what I get to do all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-love-writing-i-feel-ridiculously-lucky-that-this-is-what-i-get-to/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [With non-fiction writing I feel like I'm confined and driven by what actually happened. That makes the "plot". So it's a process of getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/with-non-fiction-writing-i-feel-like-i-m-confined-and-driven-by-what/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I don't have one favourite spot - I love writing anywhere that I feel inspired. I have to admit that I do love getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-woodward/i-don-t-have-one-favourite-spot-i-love-writing-anywhere-that-i-feel/) [Ella Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-woodward/) > [“Only in the moments of writing, do I feel like I am worthy. That I love what has been given me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-glazebrook/only-in-the-moments-of-writing-do-i-feel-like-i-am-worthy-that-i-love/) [Anna Glazebrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-glazebrook/) > [The whole trick is to make it feel like you're spying on real people's lives as they get through the day. When I'm writing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/the-whole-trick-is-to-make-it-feel-like-you-re-spying-on-real-people/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [I've learned through writing that if something made me feel deeply or anything at all, it was worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-ve-learned-through-writing-that-if-something-made-me-feel-deeply-or/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [You aren't really writing about what you did; you're writing about how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/you-aren-t-really-writing-about-what-you-did-you-re-writing-about-how/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I slightly feel, having written Paraguay and Newfoundland - and both of them have developed eccentricities through isolation - I am quite relieved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gimlette/i-slightly-feel-having-written-paraguay-and-newfoundland-and-both-of/) [John Gimlette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gimlette/) ## More by Durga Chew-Bose > [“A woman carries her inner life—lugs it around or holds it in like fumes that both poison and bless her—while nourishing another’s inner life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/a-woman-carries-her-inner-life-lugs-it-around-or-holds-it-in-like/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“There’s strength in observing one’s miniaturization. That you are insignificant and prone to, and God knows, dumb about a lot. Because doesn’t smallness prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/there-s-strength-in-observing-one-s-miniaturization-that-you-are/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“When those fault lines inside of us quake on account of all that is built up and unkempt between two people in love—on account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/when-those-fault-lines-inside-of-us-quake-on-account-of-all-that-is/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“The best ideas outrun me. That’s why I write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/the-best-ideas-outrun-me-that-s-why-i-write/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Feral rearranging. Letting form ferment. Letting form pass through you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/feral-rearranging-letting-form-ferment-letting-form-pass-through-you/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“There's a recording of Nina Simone's "Ain't Got No", where Simone, after listing all the things she doesn't have - a home, shoes, money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/there-s-a-recording-of-nina-simone-s-ain-t-got-no-where-simone-after/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Nook people confuse emotional truth with other varieties of truth. They are a composite of the last person who complimented them and the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/nook-people-confuse-emotional-truth-with-other-varieties-of-truth/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“There’s might too in the incomplete. In feeling fractional. A failure to carry out is perhaps no failure at all, but rather a minced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/there-s-might-too-in-the-incomplete-in-feeling-fractional-a-failure/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Even then, when time decelerates and the relative importance of our lives, of our hurry, undergoes a sudden, essential audit; even then, our heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/even-then-when-time-decelerates-and-the-relative-importance-of-our/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Like the hurt we cause when we've been enduring too much in silence and have started to trust our own fixed claim that everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/like-the-hurt-we-cause-when-we-ve-been-enduring-too-much-in-silence/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Essays that do not concern these directors’ works but are addressed to them—in spirit, tone, wash—because these directors have, over time, caused me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/essays-that-do-not-concern-these-directors-works-but-are-addressed-to/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“The genius of the word is that it’s more of an expression than a word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/the-genius-of-the-word-is-that-it-s-more-of-an-expression-than-a-word/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“Nook people are those of us who need solitude, but also the sound of someone puttering in the next room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/nook-people-are-those-of-us-who-need-solitude-but-also-the-sound-of/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“First love is all sensation and ambient zooms, and letting the world ebb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/first-love-is-all-sensation-and-ambient-zooms-and-letting-the-world/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“It’s an elbow propped on the edge of a table when you’re wrapping up an argument, or to signify you’re just getting started. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/it-s-an-elbow-propped-on-the-edge-of-a-table-when-you-re-wrapping-up/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) [Explore all 76 Durga Chew-Bose quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) ## More Write quotes > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [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/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [It's a shame that when you've actually lived some life and have something to write about, they're saying you're too old to come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/it-s-a-shame-that-when-you-ve-actually-lived-some-life-and-have/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [You make me want to write bad poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-want-to-write-bad-poetry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I write my story in my books, It show that your name filled in my books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-my-story-in-my-books-it-show-that-your-name-filled-in-my-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) [Browse all 9,848 Write quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ve heard rumors that writing can feel glamorous. But only glamorous, I’d guess, in the way a stretch limo might feel glamorous. No matter the pomp, one still has to crouch inside. Like skulking through a low-lit leather tunnel. An uncooperative space. Writing is awkward work and it’s become clearer to me why friends of mine have relinquished their desks and write instead from the comfort of their beds. Not in bed. From bed. 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