--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm…" description: "\"I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when I'm not.\" — Fannie Hurst" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg" --- # I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when… ![“I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when I'm not.” quote by Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg) > “I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when I'm not.” [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing brings discomfort, yet not writing brings greater unhappiness, highlighting the necessity of creative expression for personal fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Writing is hard but not writing is harder. Key Takeaway Embrace writing despite discomfort. Themes creativity self‑expression mental health Mood reflective determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - journaling - professional writing - creative projects - personal reflection Key Concepts artistic drive emotional necessity Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to write even when it feels painful? - How can you make writing more sustainable? A Different Perspective Creative work can be draining and may lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [As long as there are things to wonder about, there are stories to be written about them. That makes me happy, because writing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-petroski/as-long-as-there-are-things-to-wonder-about-there-are-stories-to-be/) [Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-petroski/) > [Pivotal to a happy writing life is a practice of daily personal writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/pivotal-to-a-happy-writing-life-is-a-practice-of-daily-personal/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [A lot has to do with the writing. If you're the writer people seem to remember you. But my part is singing the high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-meisner/a-lot-has-to-do-with-the-writing-if-you-re-the-writer-people-seem-to/) [Randy Meisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-meisner/) > [What's the challenge in writing a novel that few people will read? I'm more than happy writing what I do and have no plans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-challenge-in-writing-a-novel-that-few-people-will-read-i-m/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [But, yeah, I'm really happy when I'm writing. When I'm being creative and when I have something that I can put down. You know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-radnor/but-yeah-i-m-really-happy-when-i-m-writing-when-i-m-being-creative/) [Josh Radnor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-radnor/) > [I like to be happy when I'm writing. If not, then how will the reader manage?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/i-like-to-be-happy-when-i-m-writing-if-not-then-how-will-the-reader/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [I am so happy to be on a show with writing I wanted to participate in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yancy-butler/i-am-so-happy-to-be-on-a-show-with-writing-i-wanted-to-participate-in/) [Yancy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yancy-butler/) > [I am happy writing and being a producer not a director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanika-dhillon/i-am-happy-writing-and-being-a-producer-not-a-director/) [Kanika Dhillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanika-dhillon/) > [I'm most happy when I am writing at night, because I need space and time to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-m-most-happy-when-i-am-writing-at-night-because-i-need-space-and/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [Anything that keeps you happy and writing is part of my writing ritual: I like music, so I tend to have it playing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/anything-that-keeps-you-happy-and-writing-is-part-of-my-writing/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I love performance, but I'm quite happy making videos as well, and I'm inordinately happy writing songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-murphy/i-love-performance-but-i-m-quite-happy-making-videos-as-well-and-i-m/) [Roisin Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-murphy/) > [I'm honestly as happy writing Superman Adventures as I am writing Wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/i-m-honestly-as-happy-writing-superman-adventures-as-i-am-writing/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [“Can you be happy when you are unhappy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fosse/can-you-be-happy-when-you-are-unhappy/) Jon Fosse > [If you are happy, you can give happiness. If you don't love yourself and if you are unhappy with yourself, you can't give anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gisele-bundchen/if-you-are-happy-you-can-give-happiness-if-you-don-t-love-yourself/) [Gisele Bundchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gisele-bundchen/) > [You are unhappy because you believe in such a thing as happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-are-unhappy-because-you-believe-in-such-a-thing-as-happy/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More by Fannie Hurst > [The creative writer is usually captive to his next book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/the-creative-writer-is-usually-captive-to-his-next-book/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Oh - oh, why is it that the members of a family feel privileged to treat one another with a cruelty they would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/oh-oh-why-is-it-that-the-members-of-a-family-feel-privileged-to-treat/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Crushed to earth and rising again is an author's gymnastic. Once he fails to struggle to his feet and grab his pen, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/crushed-to-earth-and-rising-again-is-an-author-s-gymnastic-once-he/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [It would be a fallacy to deduce that the slow writer necessarily comes up with superior work. 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There's always that frustrating chasm to bridge between the concept and the writing of it. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/writing-is-the-loneliest-job-in-the-world-there-s-always-that/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Luscious feet that listened to the soil and stole its secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/luscious-feet-that-listened-to-the-soil-and-stole-its-secrets/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Life owes me a living worth living. Yes, Eden regarded life as her debtor, she its relentless paymaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/life-owes-me-a-living-worth-living-yes-eden-regarded-life-as-her/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Some authors have what amounts to a metaphysical approach. They admit to inspiration. Sudden and unaccountable urgencies to writecatapult them out of sleep and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/some-authors-have-what-amounts-to-a-metaphysical-approach-they-admit/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [There is no adequate definition for creative writing, any more than it is possible to describe pain or flavor or color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/there-is-no-adequate-definition-for-creative-writing-any-more-than-it/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) [Explore all 33 Fannie Hurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when I'm not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fannie Hurst" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-more-unhappy-when-i-m-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-more-unhappy-when-i-m-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/fannie-hurst-19326_happiness_i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-m_983009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not happy when I'm writing, but I'm more unhappy when I'm not.” — Fannie Hurst", "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": "Fannie Hurst", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not happy when I'm writing,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-more-unhappy-when-i-m-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/i-m-not-happy-when-i-m-writing-but-i-m-more-unhappy-when-i-m-not/#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 } } ] } ```