--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What difference does it make if you live…" description: "\"What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque little outhouse surrounded by 300 feeble minded goats and your faithful dog? The question is:..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg" --- # What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque… ![“What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque little outhouse surrounded by 300 feeble minded goats and your faithful dog? The question is: Can you write?” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg) > “What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque little outhouse surrounded by 300 feeble minded goats and your faithful dog? The question is: Can you write?” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line juxtaposes a rustic, absurd setting with the act of writing, questioning whether environment matters for creativity. **In simple terms:** Writing can happen anywhere, even in odd places. Key Takeaway Focus on writing regardless of surroundings. Themes creativity environment absurdity Mood playful contemplative Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - remote cabin - unusual living spaces - writing practice Key Concepts existential humor artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - Does setting influence your voice? - Can absurdity fuel imagination? A Different Perspective A whimsical scenario may distract from serious artistic concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dog Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog-question-781446/) [Faithful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faithful/) [Goats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goats/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Minded Goats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-goats-781445/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Question Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-write-449258/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My writing process often begins with a question. I write down ideas and let them stew for about a year. Then, when I sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/my-writing-process-often-begins-with-a-question-i-write-down-ideas/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“If someone asks me, “Why do you write?” I can reply by pointing out that it is a very dumb question. Nevertheless, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/if-someone-asks-me-why-do-you-write-i-can-reply-by-pointing-out-that/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [It's a kind of zen question: if you write a book and no one reads it, is it really a book?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/it-s-a-kind-of-zen-question-if-you-write-a-book-and-no-one-reads-it/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [“To fill in all the gaps in my knowledge beforehand was out of the question for me. I had to write now, or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/to-fill-in-all-the-gaps-in-my-knowledge-beforehand-was-out-of-the/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [There was a message written in pencil on the tiles by the roller towel. This was it: What is the purpose of life? Trout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-was-a-message-written-in-pencil-on-the-tiles-by-the-roller/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Men may die like lambs and yet have their place forever with the goats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/men-may-die-like-lambs-and-yet-have-their-place-forever-with-the-goats/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [I hate pigs. I hate goats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/i-hate-pigs-i-hate-goats/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [“I'm for traditional marriage, mostly because I want to know how many goats I'm worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-zbasnik/i-m-for-traditional-marriage-mostly-because-i-want-to-know-how-many/) [Sabrina Zbasnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-zbasnik/) > [The constantly recurring question must be: What shall we unite with and from what shall we separate? The question of coexistence does not enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-constantly-recurring-question-must-be-what-shall-we-unite-with/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I noticed that all the prayers I used to offer to God, and all the prayers I now offer to Joe Pesci, are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-noticed-that-all-the-prayers-i-used-to-offer-to-god-and-all-the/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Go along, go along quickly, and set all you have on the table for us. We don't want doughnuts, honey buns, poppy cakes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/go-along-go-along-quickly-and-set-all-you-have-on-the-table-for-us-we/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [The male has more teeth than the female in mankind, and sheep and goats, and swine. This has not been observed in other animals.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-male-has-more-teeth-than-the-female-in-mankind-and-sheep-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [As in 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'?" The skull howled with laughter. "You just got your ass handed to you by a nursery tale?""I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/as-in-the-three-billy-goats-gruff-the-skull-howled-with-laughter-you/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque little outhouse surrounded by 300 feeble minded goats and your faithful dog? The question is: Can you write?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live-in-a-picturesque-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live-in-a-picturesque-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/944/ernest-hemingway-83_differences_what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live_854233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What difference does it make if you live in a picturesque little outhouse surrounded by 300 feeble minded…” — Ernest Hemingway", "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": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What difference does it make if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live-in-a-picturesque-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-difference-does-it-make-if-you-live-in-a-picturesque-little/#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 } } ] } ```