--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting…" description: "\"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/george-orwell-57_book_writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting_395314.jpg" --- # Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a… ![“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/george-orwell-57_book_writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting_395314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/george-orwell-57_book_writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting_395314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/322/george-orwell-57_book_writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting_395314.jpg) > “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a book feels like a painful, relentless battle that only a compelling inner drive can justify. **In simple terms:** Writing is a painful struggle driven by an irresistible inner force. Key Takeaway Embrace the struggle, let the inner drive guide you. Themes creativity struggle motivation Mood determined intense Type literary motivational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - overcoming writer's block - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts psychology endurance artistic drive Questions to Reflect On - What inner demon fuels your creative work? - How can you balance pain with joy in creation? A Different Perspective The intense pain can lead to burnout if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Exhausting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausting/) [Exhausting Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausting-struggle-576087/) [Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible/) [Horrible Exhausting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible-exhausting-576088/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) [Writing Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-book-247372/) ## Related quotes > [Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting-struggle-like-a-long-bout-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Writing a book is a horrible exhausting struggle; one would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/writing-a-book-is-a-horrible-exhausting-struggle-one-would-never/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery. Writing a book is a long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/all-writers-are-vain-selfish-and-lazy-and-at-the-very-bottom-of-their/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Writing a book should be the best way to break into someone's house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna/writing-a-book-should-be-the-best-way-to-break-into-someone-s-house/) [Krishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna/) > [“Writing a book is like sliding down a rainbow! Marketing it is like trudging through a field of chewed bubblegum on a hot, sticky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-dravis/writing-a-book-is-like-sliding-down-a-rainbow-marketing-it-is-like/) [Betty Dravis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-dravis/) > [Hands down, the hardest part for me is coming up with an idea. 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We all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/i-believe-that-everybody-needs-to-tell-their-story-to-be-heard-to-be/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [Do you know what writing a book is? It's sitting alone in a room for weeks without making contact with another human. I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/do-you-know-what-writing-a-book-is-it-s-sitting-alone-in-a-room-for/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [When I was in college, I used to write little ditties and short stories and poetry for my friends. Writing a book is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/when-i-was-in-college-i-used-to-write-little-ditties-and-short/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [“Writing a book is a blood sport. If it doesn't hurt when you're done, you're probably doing something wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevis-hendrickson/writing-a-book-is-a-blood-sport-if-it-doesn-t-hurt-when-you-re-done/) [Kevis Hendrickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevis-hendrickson/) > [Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/writing-a-book-is-a-brilliant-thing-because-once-you-ve-finished-it/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/these-are-rules-i-ve-picked-up-along-the-way-to-help-me-remain/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. 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For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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