--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's always struck me as unfair that…" description: "\"It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little sensation when it's going well.\" — Francis Spufford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png" --- # It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little… ![“It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little sensation when it's going well.” quote by Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png) > “It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little sensation when it's going well.” [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing feels less exciting when it flows well, creating a paradox of effort and reward. **In simple terms:** Success can feel less thrilling. Key Takeaway Find joy in the process. Themes creativity effort reward paradox writing Mood contemplative inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing sessions - creative projects - teaching - personal hobbies Key Concepts Flow state intrinsic motivation artistic fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - Why does success feel dull? - How can you stay engaged during success? A Different Perspective May lead to complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Sensation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensation/) [Struck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struck/) [Struck Unfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struck-unfair-3099377/) [Unfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfair/) [Unfair Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfair-writing-3099376/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-little-777599/) ## Related quotes > [The music began, and it was one of those life-changing moments. I saw an artist, Janis Joplin. She was exhilarating. She was vibrating. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-davis/the-music-began-and-it-was-one-of-those-life-changing-moments-i-saw/) [Clive Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-davis/) > [All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story... You've got good characters... People think there's some dramatic difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/all-the-writing-elements-are-the-same-you-need-to-tell-a-good-story/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Book writing is a little different because, in my case, my editor is a year younger than me and basically has the same sensibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/book-writing-is-a-little-different-because-in-my-case-my-editor-is-a/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I started writing when I was so little so it just feels like a natural response to any situation emotionally for me - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-abrams/i-started-writing-when-i-was-so-little-so-it-just-feels-like-a/) [Gracie Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-abrams/) > [Writing is a little door. Some fantasies, like big pieces of furniture, won’t come through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/writing-is-a-little-door-some-fantasies-like-big-pieces-of-furniture/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I do like writing. When I was a little kid, I used to love writing funny, silly stories - and my mom would always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-hernandez/i-do-like-writing-when-i-was-a-little-kid-i-used-to-love-writing/) [Laurie Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-hernandez/) > [I love writing to my little sister. It's a very nice, easy kind of way I always find inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-hervey/i-love-writing-to-my-little-sister-it-s-a-very-nice-easy-kind-of-way/) [Jillian Hervey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-hervey/) > [I started writing while I was a little boy. Maybe it's because I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/i-started-writing-while-i-was-a-little-boy-maybe-it-s-because-i-was/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [As soon as I could write with a little pencil, I was writing these little hymns and illustrating them, and I thought they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/as-soon-as-i-could-write-with-a-little-pencil-i-was-writing-these/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [A day without writing was a little death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/a-day-without-writing-was-a-little-death/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Writing is so wrapped up in ego, but with math one is just trying to get it right, although you're often wrong. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/writing-is-so-wrapped-up-in-ego-but-with-math-one-is-just-trying-to/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Sometimes ... it takes me an entire day to write a recipe, to communicate it correctly. It's really like writing a little short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/sometimes-it-takes-me-an-entire-day-to-write-a-recipe-to-communicate/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [The process of writing is a little like madness, a kind of possession not altogether benign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/the-process-of-writing-is-a-little-like-madness-a-kind-of-possession/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Twenty to one offend more in writing too much than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/twenty-to-one-offend-more-in-writing-too-much-than-too-little/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [I take my inspiration for the song writing from little experiences, not even if I've experienced them myself but say if something has made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pixie-lott/i-take-my-inspiration-for-the-song-writing-from-little-experiences/) [Pixie Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pixie-lott/) ## More by Francis Spufford > [If your memory was OK you could descend upon on a bookshop – a big enough one so that the staff wouldn’t hassle a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/if-your-memory-was-ok-you-could-descend-upon-on-a-bookshop-a-big/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [There have been low moments before, but Christianity is an incredibly adaptable organism, using different parts of its repertoire to mutate into new ecological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/there-have-been-low-moments-before-but-christianity-is-an-incredibly/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [“Beyond the breakwater you can no longer touch bottom, but you are not afraid, for in this sea the harder you swim the stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/beyond-the-breakwater-you-can-no-longer-touch-bottom-but-you-are-not/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [Self-awareness is not the same thing as self-approval, any more than imagination is the same thing as day-dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/self-awareness-is-not-the-same-thing-as-self-approval-any-more-than/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [What follows is more about books than it is about me, but nonetheless it is my inward autobiography, for the words we take into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/what-follows-is-more-about-books-than-it-is-about-me-but-nonetheless/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [Despite the best efforts of apologists like William Lane Craig, the 'evidence' for Christianity's truth is, in truth, not the kind that science will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/despite-the-best-efforts-of-apologists-like-william-lane-craig-the/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [“You do not chuse where You bestow your Heart. Your Heart bestows Itself, will-you-nill-you, in the Midst of other Business. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-do-not-chuse-where-you-bestow-your-heart-your-heart-bestows/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [Anyone can be self-educated if they find the loose end of something to care about passionately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/anyone-can-be-self-educated-if-they-find-the-loose-end-of-something/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [You never came out the way you came in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-never-came-out-the-way-you-came-in/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [For a believer, Christian faith is true to the human heart, not in the sense that any old thing we fancy believing in will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/for-a-believer-christian-faith-is-true-to-the-human-heart-not-in-the/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [When I'm tired and therefore indecisive, it can take half an hour to choose the book I am going to have with me while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/when-i-m-tired-and-therefore-indecisive-it-can-take-half-an-hour-to/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [“...what goes on inside believers is mysterious. So far as it can be guessed at - if for some reason you wanted to guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/what-goes-on-inside-believers-is-mysterious-so-far-as-it-can-be/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [I can always tell when you're reading somewhere in the house,' my mother used to say. 'There's a special silence, a reading silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/i-can-always-tell-when-you-re-reading-somewhere-in-the-house-my/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [I think I have made allowances for the kind of despair which would test my faith, but you cannot know in advance what disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/i-think-i-have-made-allowances-for-the-kind-of-despair-which-would/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [You don't have to become an investment banker as a way of demonstrating that education has worked for you. But librarians have to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-don-t-have-to-become-an-investment-banker-as-a-way-of/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) [Explore all 54 Francis Spufford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [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/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little sensation when it's going well.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Spufford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-writing-has-so-little-sensation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-writing-has-so-little-sensation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/francis-spufford-12650_always_it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-wri_1130047.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's always struck me as unfair that writing has so little sensation when it's going well.” — Francis Spufford", "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": "Francis Spufford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's always struck me as unfair...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-writing-has-so-little-sensation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/it-s-always-struck-me-as-unfair-that-writing-has-so-little-sensation/#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 } } ] } ```