--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You once said that you would like to sit…" description: "\"“You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at all. For writing means revealing oneself t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg" --- # You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I… ![“You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at all. For writing means revealing oneself to excess; that utmost of self-revelation and surrender, in which a human being, when involved with others, would feel he was losing himself, and…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg) > ““You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at all. For writing means revealing oneself to excess; that utmost of self-revelation and surrender, in which a human being, when involved with others, would feel he was losing himself, and from which, therefore, he will always shrink as long as he is in his right mind-- for everyone wants to live as long as he is alive-- even the degree of self-revelation and surrender is not enough for writing. Writing that springs from the surface of existence-- when there is no other way and deeper wells have dried up-- is nothing, and collapses the moment a truer emotion makes the surface shake. That is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes, why even night is not night enough.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing demands deep self‑exposure; surface‑level work collapses when true feeling emerges, requiring solitude and silence. **In simple terms:** Writing needs deep honesty and quiet. Key Takeaway Seek true depth, not shallow expression. Themes creativity solitude authenticity expression Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing retreats - nighttime work - meditative practice - deep journaling Key Concepts existentialism psychology artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you create space for genuine self‑revelation? - What rituals help you reach deeper emotional wells? A Different Perspective Even solitude can’t guarantee the necessary depth; external pressures may intrude. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Silence Writes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-writes-3412322/) [Sit Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-write/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Surrender Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender-writing-3449586/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-means-241076/) ## Related quotes > [you once said to would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen in that case I could not write at all. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/you-once-said-to-would-like-to-sit-beside-me-while-i-write-listen-in/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“O where does he stalk like a horse in pastures very far afield? I cannot hear him, and silence writes more terrible things than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/o-where-does-he-stalk-like-a-horse-in-pastures-very-far-afield-i/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [“That is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/that-is-why-one-can-never-be-alone-enough-when-one-writes-why-there/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Writing means revealing oneself to excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/writing-means-revealing-oneself-to-excess/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You can't sit down and write 300 compositions in a three-month period and think that you're doing it all by yourself. Obviously, there's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zorn/you-can-t-sit-down-and-write-300-compositions-in-a-three-month-period/) [John Zorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zorn/) > [When you sit down to write, write. Don't do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/when-you-sit-down-to-write-write-don-t-do-anything-else-except-go-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I won't usually just sit down to write. I'd have done it in my head already. I visualise a story just like a film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-won-t-usually-just-sit-down-to-write-i-d-have-done-it-in-my-head/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [My process is surprisingly straightforward. I find myself with little to do over a stretch of time and I say, "I should write children's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/my-process-is-surprisingly-straightforward-i-find-myself-with-little/) [Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/) > [Nowadays it seems as though people sit down to write what they know is going to be a trilogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/nowadays-it-seems-as-though-people-sit-down-to-write-what-they-know/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [And sometimes I sit down to write, because that is what I like to do more and more in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-brandis/and-sometimes-i-sit-down-to-write-because-that-is-what-i-like-to-do/) [Jonathan Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-brandis/) > [I'm not that guy who thinks I have all the answers. Writing is a means of communicating, and if enough people say, 'I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/i-m-not-that-guy-who-thinks-i-have-all-the-answers-writing-is-a-means/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [“In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barleycorn less, And the good or bad I say of myself I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/in-all-people-i-see-myself-none-more-and-not-one-a-barleycorn-less/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [My routine is to create activities for myself unrelated to writing that allow little time for writing. This means that when I do get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/my-routine-is-to-create-activities-for-myself-unrelated-to-writing/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [“Formal writing does not mean gratuitously fancy writing; it means clear, clean, maximally considerate writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/formal-writing-does-not-mean-gratuitously-fancy-writing-it-means/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [My pen.’ Funny, I wrote that without noticing. ‘The torch’, ‘the paper’, but ‘my pen’. That shows what writing means to me, I guess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/my-pen-funny-i-wrote-that-without-noticing-the-torch-the-paper-but-my/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Solitude quotes > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“I still love to love my friends, but I punctuate those moments with solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-klein/i-still-love-to-love-my-friends-but-i-punctuate-those-moments-with/) [Stephanie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-klein/) > [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Point is, that’s when I really realized that I don’t think like most people. I’m fine with solitude. In fact, I get antsy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-e-taylor/point-is-that-s-when-i-really-realized-that-i-don-t-think-like-most/) [Dennis E. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-e-taylor/) > [By all means use some time to be alone, salute thyself, see what thy soul doth wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/by-all-means-use-some-time-to-be-alone-salute-thyself-see-what-thy/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“...the solitude was intoxicating. On my first night there I lay on my back on the sticky carpet for hours, in the murky orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/the-solitude-was-intoxicating-on-my-first-night-there-i-lay-on-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The journey towards your inner self is Solitude!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farheen-viquas/the-journey-towards-your-inner-self-is-solitude/) [Farheen Viquas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farheen-viquas/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [“Well…there’s only one glove. Right away, I wonder, where’s the other glove? How did it become separated from its mate? Does it feel lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/well-there-s-only-one-glove-right-away-i-wonder-where-s-the-other/) [Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/) > [“Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-james/seclusion-wasn-t-good-for-anyone-it-made-you-forget-how-to-protect/) [Heather James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-james/) > [I cannot keep quiet even when I am a lone voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-cannot-keep-quiet-even-when-i-am-a-lone-voice/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) [Browse all 4,219 Solitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at all. For writing means revealing oneself to excess; that utmost of self-revelation and surrender, in which a human being, when involved with others, would feel he was losing himself, and from which, therefore, he will always shrink as long as he is in his right mind-- for everyone wants to live as long as he is alive-- even the degree of self-revelation and surrender is not enough for writing. Writing that springs from the surface of existence-- when there is no other way and deeper wells have dried up-- is nothing, and collapses the moment a truer emotion makes the surface shake. That is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes, why even night is not night enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit-beside-me-while-i-write/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Solitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit-beside-me-while-i-write/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/franz-kafka-214_solitude_you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit_2801015.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You once said that you would like to sit beside me while I write. Listen, in that case I could not write at…” — Franz Kafka", "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": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You once said that you would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit-beside-me-while-i-write/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-once-said-that-you-would-like-to-sit-beside-me-while-i-write/#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 } } ] } ```