--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was younger, I dreaded having to…" description: "\"When I was younger, I dreaded having to write. I would find every possible excuse not to sit down at the typewriter (this was a long time ago). As I've..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/gustavo-perez-firmat-32432_believe_when-i-was-younger-i-dreaded-having-to-w_1845420.png" --- # When I was younger, I dreaded having to write. I would… ![“When I was younger, I dreaded having to write. I would find every possible excuse not to sit down at the typewriter (this was a long time ago). As I've gotten older, I've learned to enjoy putting sentences together, though I still believe that writing, unlike sex, is always better after you're…” quote by Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/gustavo-perez-firmat-32432_believe_when-i-was-younger-i-dreaded-having-to-w_1845420.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/gustavo-perez-firmat-32432_believe_when-i-was-younger-i-dreaded-having-to-w_1845420.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69f/gustavo-perez-firmat-32432_believe_when-i-was-younger-i-dreaded-having-to-w_1845420.png) > “When I was younger, I dreaded having to write. I would find every possible excuse not to sit down at the typewriter (this was a long time ago). As I've gotten older, I've learned to enjoy putting sentences together, though I still believe that writing, unlike sex, is always better after you're through.” [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing, once dreaded, becomes enjoyable with age, yet remains more rewarding after completion, unlike fleeting pleasures. **In simple terms:** Writing gets better with practice and is best after finishing. Key Takeaway Write regularly and value completion. Themes growth discipline creativity Mood reflective motivational Type personal creative When to use this quote - academic work - personal journaling - novel writing Key Concepts habit formation creative process Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to write? - How does finishing a piece change its value? A Different Perspective Writing can feel burdensome without clear purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Having Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-write-572519/) [I still believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-still-believe/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Long time ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time-ago/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sit Typewriter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit-typewriter-462667/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Typewriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typewriters/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Unlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-unlike-2383799/) ## Related quotes > [Somebody said writing is easy, you just sit down at your typewriter and open a vein. 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I picture myself on the coast, the wind in my hair, horses galloping around me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-cox/i-like-the-idea-of-being-a-novelist-i-picture-myself-on-the-coast-the/) [Sara Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-cox/) > [Usually, the way I write is to sit down at a typewriter after that year or so of what passes for thinking, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/usually-the-way-i-write-is-to-sit-down-at-a-typewriter-after-that/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I think I sit down to the typewriter when it's time to sit down to the typewriter. That isn't to suggest that when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-think-i-sit-down-to-the-typewriter-when-it-s-time-to-sit-down-to/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When I sit down at the typewriter, I write. 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Just sit in front of a typewriter, open up a vein and bleed it out drop by drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-smith/writing-is-easy-just-sit-in-front-of-a-typewriter-open-up-a-vein-and/) [Red Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-smith/) > [Writing is something that you don't know how to do. You sit down and it's something that happens, or it may not happen. So,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/writing-is-something-that-you-don-t-know-how-to-do-you-sit-down-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm not a writer. I marvel at writing. I am sometimes absolutely astounded when I read something and I think how in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-m-not-a-writer-i-marvel-at-writing-i-am-sometimes-absolutely/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [“The art of writing is not unlike the act of screaming. A constant flow of otherworldly emotions with tempos high and hymns low. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosca-marx/the-art-of-writing-is-not-unlike-the-act-of-screaming-a-constant-flow/) [Rosca Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosca-marx/) ## More by Gustavo Perez Firmat > [My father's death took me to a place I had never been and a place I had never left. In his absence, I've had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/my-father-s-death-took-me-to-a-place-i-had-never-been-and-a-place-i/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [“The fact that I am writing to you in English already falsifies what I wanted to tell you. My subject: how to explain to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/the-fact-that-i-am-writing-to-you-in-english-already-falsifies-what-i/) [Gustavo Pérez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [Teaching is my most reliable form of human contact. I love the opportunity to speak Spanish (which I don't do at home), the give-and-take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/teaching-is-my-most-reliable-form-of-human-contact-i-love-the/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [I read fiction all the time. It's true that I don't like fantasy or science fiction. I like "realistic" novels, particularly those in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/i-read-fiction-all-the-time-it-s-true-that-i-don-t-like-fantasy-or/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [I was born in Cuba but was made in the USA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/i-was-born-in-cuba-but-was-made-in-the-usa/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [My writing, such as it is, grows out of my sense of discolation, I mean, dislocation. Having lost my place, I write to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/my-writing-such-as-it-is-grows-out-of-my-sense-of-discolation-i-mean/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [Literature is breathing. I teach literature the way someone else might teach First Aid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/literature-is-breathing-i-teach-literature-the-way-someone-else-might/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [Every book I think will be my last one because after finishing I have the sense that I've said all I have to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/every-book-i-think-will-be-my-last-one-because-after-finishing-i-have/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [I am a loner by nature, and then I'm a writer, which makes me twice a loner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/i-am-a-loner-by-nature-and-then-i-m-a-writer-which-makes-me-twice-a/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) > [The fact that I am writing to you in English already falsifies what I wanted to tell you. 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For this reason it surprises me that I am a writer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-perez-firmat/for-me-the-path-to-the-literary-goes-through-the-non-literary-for/) [Gustavo Perez Firmat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) [Explore all 14 Gustavo Perez Firmat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-perez-firmat/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was younger, I dreaded having to write. I would find every possible excuse not to sit down at the typewriter (this was a long time ago). 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