--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One writes not by will but by surrender." description: "\"One writes not by will but by surrender.\" — Erica Jong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg" --- # One writes not by will but by surrender. ![“One writes not by will but by surrender.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg) > “One writes not by will but by surrender.” [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing emerges from surrender, not force; creativity flows when ego recedes. **In simple terms:** Let go to write better. Key Takeaway Release control to unlock creativity. Themes creativity letting go flow Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing block - creative brainstorming - meditation - artistic collaboration Key Concepts surrender artistic process mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does surrender mean to you? - How can you balance effort and ease? A Different Perspective Surrender may be misinterpreted as weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“A writer lives, at least, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sansom/a-writer-lives-at-least-in-a-state-of-astonishment-beneath-any/) [William Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sansom/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Every musician writes about past relationships. And other than that, I can promise you, I have very little in common with Taylor Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/every-musician-writes-about-past-relationships-and-other-than-that-i/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [A good writer does not write as people write, but as he writes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/a-good-writer-does-not-write-as-people-write-but-as-he-writes/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [One writes not to be read but to breathe...one writes to think, to pray, to analyze. One writes to clear one's mind, to dissipate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/one-writes-not-to-be-read-but-to-breathe-one-writes-to-think-to-pray/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“One expert may be as good as another until one writes a book”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/one-expert-may-be-as-good-as-another-until-one-writes-a-book/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Everything a man writes about himself is instructive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glassco/everything-a-man-writes-about-himself-is-instructive/) John Glassco > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [You know, as somebody who writes op-eds and appears on the television, I appreciate as well as anybody that... there is a limit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/you-know-as-somebody-who-writes-op-eds-and-appears-on-the-television/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [“I think the wilderness is where things happen and no one writes about them. 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An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [He writes nothing whose writings are not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/he-writes-nothing-whose-writings-are-not-read/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-believe-one-writes-because-one-has-to-create-a-world-in-which-one/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More by Erica Jong > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-to-spend-my-declining-years-writing-poetry-and-teaching-but/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Naomi Wolf dares to explode the myth of 'victim feminism' and pleads for allowing women to be as full of good and bad desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/naomi-wolf-dares-to-explode-the-myth-of-victim-feminism-and-pleads/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I knew I was in England by the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-knew-i-was-in-england-by-the-smell/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-lives-of-great-men-are-more-oft-at-variance-with-their-profess-d/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Many, many people have done a lot more sexual experimentation than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/many-many-people-have-done-a-lot-more-sexual-experimentation-than-i/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Is life much too long for an immortal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/is-life-much-too-long-for-an-immortal/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Don't ye know that ev'ry Soul on Earth feels itself to be an Orphan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/don-t-ye-know-that-ev-ry-soul-on-earth-feels-itself-to-be-an-orphan/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) [Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More Surrender quotes > [There is so much temptation to hold on to my career even more now. To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [To serve does not mean to surrender but to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/to-serve-does-not-mean-to-surrender-but-to-share/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [Where did I surrender, can you tell me how and when. I'm the one who's always in control. Leading with my heart like there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/where-did-i-surrender-can-you-tell-me-how-and-when-i-m-the-one-who-s/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [Anderson sent me to give you this he said. I believe the subtext was kiss and makeup. This time I was sure I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-black/anderson-sent-me-to-give-you-this-he-said-i-believe-the-subtext-was/) [Jenna Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-black/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“Don’t surrender to the pain. Know that it’s only temporary and that perseverance is the key to freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-d-scott/don-t-surrender-to-the-pain-know-that-it-s-only-temporary-and-that/) Jason D. Scott > [Marriage is meant to be more about your surrender than about your satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-means/marriage-is-meant-to-be-more-about-your-surrender-than-about-your/) Scott Means > [Engaging the city around us and ministering to its needs reveal to us the remaining bastions of sin in our lives, the areas we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/engaging-the-city-around-us-and-ministering-to-its-needs-reveal-to-us/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Too many people surrender to a place of safety. That place where all they do is long to sleep so they can dream about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-fay/too-many-people-surrender-to-a-place-of-safety-that-place-where-all/) [Kim Fay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-fay/) > [At some point, you just learn to surrender to your path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-hadid/at-some-point-you-just-learn-to-surrender-to-your-path/) [Yolanda Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-hadid/) > [There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/there-is-no-way-for-a-human-being-to-come-to-god-that-does-not/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [At the depths of that dusty soul there is nothing but abject surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/at-the-depths-of-that-dusty-soul-there-is-nothing-but-abject-surrender/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Dear God, I surrender this thought to you, for I would see the miracle that lies behind it. Amen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/dear-god-i-surrender-this-thought-to-you-for-i-would-see-the-miracle/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“Perhaps it is in our best interest to... to surrender rather than waste words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/perhaps-it-is-in-our-best-interest-to-to-surrender-rather-than-waste/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Browse all 1,979 Surrender quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One writes not by will but by surrender.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erica Jong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Surrender" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfb/erica-jong-445_surrender_one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender_837642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One writes not by will but by surrender.” — Erica Jong", "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": "Erica Jong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One writes not by will but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/one-writes-not-by-will-but-by-surrender/#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 } } ] } ```