--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think many people have wonderful…" description: "\"I think many people have wonderful stories inside them and the talent to tell those stories. But the writing life, with its isolation and uncertain out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/ellen-ullman-3943_isolation_i-think-many-people-have-wonderful-stori_1829768.jpg" --- # I think many people have wonderful stories inside them and… ![“I think many people have wonderful stories inside them and the talent to tell those stories. But the writing life, with its isolation and uncertain outcomes, keeps most from the task.” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/ellen-ullman-3943_isolation_i-think-many-people-have-wonderful-stori_1829768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/ellen-ullman-3943_isolation_i-think-many-people-have-wonderful-stori_1829768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/ellen-ullman-3943_isolation_i-think-many-people-have-wonderful-stori_1829768.jpg) > “I think many people have wonderful stories inside them and the talent to tell those stories. But the writing life, with its isolation and uncertain outcomes, keeps most from the task.” [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers possess rich inner stories, yet isolation and uncertainty often deter them from creating. **In simple terms:** Isolation hinders writers from sharing stories. Key Takeaway Seek community and structure. Themes creativity isolation uncertainty Mood introspective encouraging Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - writing groups - deadline setting - mentorship Key Concepts narrative voice creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you overcome creative blocks? - What support systems help you write? A Different Perspective Isolation can also foster deep focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I like to tell stories in my writing but I definitely use my own life experiences to tell that story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoh-aalegra/i-like-to-tell-stories-in-my-writing-but-i-definitely-use-my-own-life/) [Snoh Aalegra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoh-aalegra/) > [“Storytelling is an ancient art. The lucent vibes of stories express what we cannot articulate directly. When we hear someone’s story, we respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/storytelling-is-an-ancient-art-the-lucent-vibes-of-stories-express/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Writing was a way to get away from my life as a programmer, so I wanted to write about other things, but of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/writing-was-a-way-to-get-away-from-my-life-as-a-programmer-so-i/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“In writing short stories—as in writing novels—take one thing at a time. (For some writers, this advice I'm giving may apply best to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-writing-short-stories-as-in-writing-novels-take-one-thing-at-a/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“I learned that books are never finished, that it is possible for stories to go on writing themselves without an author.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-learned-that-books-are-never-finished-that-it-is-possible-for/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I love stories. When I'm writing, what I pretend subconsciously is that we're cavemen, we're sitting around the fire, and I'm telling you stories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-love-stories-when-i-m-writing-what-i-pretend-subconsciously-is-that/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“I did not imagine anyone reading my rambling, ranting stories. I was writing for myself, trying to shape my life outside my terrors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-did-not-imagine-anyone-reading-my-rambling-ranting-stories-i-was/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I was very in my own head as a kid. But I liked it there! I was just writing poetry, writing stories, writing plays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-parks/i-was-very-in-my-own-head-as-a-kid-but-i-liked-it-there-i-was-just/) [Arlo Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-parks/) > [I probably won't direct the stories I am writing but will star in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satyadev-kancharana/i-probably-won-t-direct-the-stories-i-am-writing-but-will-star-in-them/) [Satyadev Kancharana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satyadev-kancharana/) > [“I'm just letting you know that these stories I'm writing are not going to be about a superhero TV kind of dog. Our dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerard-bauer/i-m-just-letting-you-know-that-these-stories-i-m-writing-are-not/) [Michael Gerard Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerard-bauer/) > [I started a writing class, not in service of writing a script or writing anything specific. I've just really been enjoying that, and oddly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemarie-dewitt/i-started-a-writing-class-not-in-service-of-writing-a-script-or/) [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemarie-dewitt/) > [Writing detective stories is about writing light literature, for entertainment. It isn't primarily a question of writing propaganda or classical literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-detective-stories-is-about-writing-light-literature-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Trawling through a dusty attic of my addled memory I found that I’d been rather in a lot of daft and amusing situations, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-pratt/trawling-through-a-dusty-attic-of-my-addled-memory-i-found-that-i-d/) Guy Pratt > [The first fiction I ever wrote was short stories. I was writing short stories in my late teens and early twenties, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/the-first-fiction-i-ever-wrote-was-short-stories-i-was-writing-short/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money's in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/you-learn-by-writing-short-stories-keep-writing-short-stories-the/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) ## More by Ellen Ullman > [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [The web is just another stunning point in the two-hundred-thousand-year history of human beings on earth. The taming of fire; the discovery of penicillin;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-web-is-just-another-stunning-point-in-the-two-hundred-thousand/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [When I am writing, and occasionally achieve single focus and presence, I finally feel that is where I'm supposed to be. Everything else is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/when-i-am-writing-and-occasionally-achieve-single-focus-and-presence/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't know where anyone ever got the idea that technology, in and of itself, was a savior. Like all human-created 'progress,' computers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-know-where-anyone-ever-got-the-idea-that-technology-in-and-of/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I hate to see capable, smart people out of work - young or old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-hate-to-see-capable-smart-people-out-of-work-young-or-old/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“I believed my motivations were clear: to help the patient see the pattern that had been imposed upon her, this endless repetition of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-believed-my-motivations-were-clear-to-help-the-patient-see-the/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/it-had-to-happen-to-me-sometime-sooner-or-later-i-would-have-to-lose/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Software and digital devices are imbued with the values of their creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/software-and-digital-devices-are-imbued-with-the-values-of-their/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [ I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers \[who\] did not come out of engineering. \[A\]ll sorts of people were drawn in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-generation-of-programmers-who/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Through the miracle of natural genetic recombination, each child, with the sole exception of an identical twin, is conceived as a unique being. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/through-the-miracle-of-natural-genetic-recombination-each-child-with/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Staring prejudice in the face imposes a cruel discipline: to structure your anger, to achieve a certain dignity, an angry dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/staring-prejudice-in-the-face-imposes-a-cruel-discipline-to-structure/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Y2K has challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/y2k-has-challenged-a-belief-in-digital-technology-that-has-been/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't consider myself a Jewish writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-jewish-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) [Explore all 119 Ellen Ullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## More Isolation quotes > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [Isolation makes me lonesome, but when I'm lonely in a crowd, I feel desolate and forlorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/isolation-makes-me-lonesome-but-when-i-m-lonely-in-a-crowd-i-feel/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [I am very convinced that I did not contract Ebola in the isolation unit, because our process is so safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-brantly/i-am-very-convinced-that-i-did-not-contract-ebola-in-the-isolation/) [Kent Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-brantly/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“Two people who live their lives alone in rooms doing strange, gentle things can sometimes be together in the middle of a dangerous storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-hunt/two-people-who-live-their-lives-alone-in-rooms-doing-strange-gentle/) [Samantha Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-hunt/) > [“In good company your thoughts run, in solitude your thought is still; it goes deeper and makes for itself a deeper groove, delves. Delve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/in-good-company-your-thoughts-run-in-solitude-your-thought-is-still/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > ['Mulk' is a film that needed to be made. We can no longer sweep the isolation of the Indian Muslim under the carpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/mulk-is-a-film-that-needed-to-be-made-we-can-no-longer-sweep-the/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [Helping reproductive services doesn't just help women in isolation. It helps men just as much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/helping-reproductive-services-doesn-t-just-help-women-in-isolation-it/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [“This is one of the harshest after effects of the pandemic that I am witnessing some and experiencing some, a diminished ability to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/this-is-one-of-the-harshest-after-effects-of-the-pandemic-that-i-am/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“This was the difference, she thought, between solitude and isolation. And now she knew something about herself she hadn’t known before. It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/this-was-the-difference-she-thought-between-solitude-and-isolation/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Oh, the solitariness of sin! There is nothing like it, except, perhaps, the solitariness of death. In that isolation none can reach you, none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-reginald-haweis/oh-the-solitariness-of-sin-there-is-nothing-like-it-except-perhaps/) [Hugh Reginald Haweis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-reginald-haweis/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Browse all 1,128 Isolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think many people have wonderful stories inside them and the talent to tell those stories. 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