--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Characters must not brood too long. They…" description: "\"Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste time running up and down ladders in their own insides.\" — E. M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png" --- # Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste… ![“Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste time running up and down ladders in their own insides.” quote by E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png) > “Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste time running up and down ladders in their own insides.” [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters should act decisively rather than overthinking, avoiding wasted time on internal conflict. **In simple terms:** Act, don’t overthink. Key Takeaway Take decisive action. Themes action decision efficiency Mood motivational pragmatic Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal goals - creative projects Key Concepts psychology of procrastination character development Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from acting? - How to balance thought and action? A Different Perspective Too much action can be reckless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brood Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brood-long-1366353/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Brood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-brood-1366350/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Ladders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladders/) [Ladders Insides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladders-insides-1366352/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running Ladders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-ladders-1366351/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) [Up and down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up-and-down/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wasting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasting-time/) ## Related quotes > [It's sort of the American way to go up and down the ladder, maybe several times in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/it-s-sort-of-the-american-way-to-go-up-and-down-the-ladder-maybe/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [There is no straight path from your seat today to where you are going. Don't try to draw that line. You will not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/there-is-no-straight-path-from-your-seat-today-to-where-you-are-going/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [For the three decades after WWII, incomes grew at about 3 percent a year for people up and down the income ladder, but since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-frank/for-the-three-decades-after-wwii-incomes-grew-at-about-3-percent-a/) [Robert H. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-frank/) > [We spend a remarkably small, shamefully small, percentage of our income on food. We manage to spend money on lots of other things. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/we-spend-a-remarkably-small-shamefully-small-percentage-of-our-income/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [It's a crazy game that goes up and down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/it-s-a-crazy-game-that-goes-up-and-down/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [It's up and down, and people are going to love things you do, people are going to hate things you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hoechlin/it-s-up-and-down-and-people-are-going-to-love-things-you-do-people/) [Tyler Hoechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hoechlin/) > [I go for as much feeling as I can rather than show what I can do up and down the neck. I don't play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-trower/i-go-for-as-much-feeling-as-i-can-rather-than-show-what-i-can-do-up/) [Robin Trower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-trower/) > [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Ohio State is an up and down team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booger-mcfarland/ohio-state-is-an-up-and-down-team/) [Booger McFarland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booger-mcfarland/) > [And as the hour approached for the execution, in his own mind, Collins became both the executioner and the victim. He would pace up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/and-as-the-hour-approached-for-the-execution-in-his-own-mind-collins/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [We all know that there are many people that can play the instrument perfectly today, up and down with technical perfection, but does the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/we-all-know-that-there-are-many-people-that-can-play-the-instrument/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [Last but not least my family. My brother Tony, I love you. Thank you for beating me up when I was a kid. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/last-but-not-least-my-family-my-brother-tony-i-love-you-thank-you-for/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [I was the dork in high school who sang musical numbers up and down the hallways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-adams/i-was-the-dork-in-high-school-who-sang-musical-numbers-up-and-down/) [Amy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-adams/) > [Put tattoos all up and down our thighs, do anything our parents would despise. Take uppers, downers, blues, and reds and yellows, our brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/put-tattoos-all-up-and-down-our-thighs-do-anything-our-parents-would/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) ## More by E. M. Forster > [Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/do-not-be-proud-of-your-inconsistency-it-is-a-pity-it-is-a-pity-that/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Reverence is fatal to literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/reverence-is-fatal-to-literature/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/railway-termini-are-our-gates-to-the-glorious-and-the-unknown/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Ah, but you see, I didn't want to be fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/ah-but-you-see-i-didn-t-want-to-be-fair/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/the-final-test-for-a-novel-will-be-our-affection-for-it-as-it-is-the/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for It will probably be interesting, and it is sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/america-is-rather-like-life-you-can-usually-find-in-it-what-you-look/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [A critic has no right to the narrowness which is the frequent prerogative of the creative artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/a-critic-has-no-right-to-the-narrowness-which-is-the-frequent/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Before the civil war, Pottibakia was a normal member of the Comity of Nations. She erected tariff walls, broke treaties, persecuted minorities, obstructed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/before-the-civil-war-pottibakia-was-a-normal-member-of-the-comity-of/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Chess is a forcing house where the fruits of character can ripen more fully than in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/chess-is-a-forcing-house-where-the-fruits-of-character-can-ripen-more/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I distrust Great Men... I believe in aristocracy, though... Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/i-distrust-great-men-i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-its-members-are/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Liking one person is an extra reason for liking another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/liking-one-person-is-an-extra-reason-for-liking-another/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/we-are-not-concerned-with-the-very-poor-they-are-unthinkable-and-only/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) [Explore all 287 E. M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste time running up and down ladders in their own insides.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. M. Forster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they-must-not-waste-time-running/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they-must-not-waste-time-running/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/e-m-forster-1118_character_characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they_2533425.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Characters must not brood too long. They must not waste time running up and down ladders in their own insides.” — E. M. Forster", "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": "E. M. Forster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Characters must not brood too long....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they-must-not-waste-time-running/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/characters-must-not-brood-too-long-they-must-not-waste-time-running/#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 } } ] } ```