--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My attitude to writing is like when you…" description: "\"My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's te..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/harrison-birtwistle-21154_attitude_my-attitude-to-writing-is-like-when-you_2441932.png" --- # My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering… ![“My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's terrific!” quote by Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/harrison-birtwistle-21154_attitude_my-attitude-to-writing-is-like-when-you_2441932.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/harrison-birtwistle-21154_attitude_my-attitude-to-writing-is-like-when-you_2441932.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/harrison-birtwistle-21154_attitude_my-attitude-to-writing-is-like-when-you_2441932.png) > “My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's terrific!” [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is likened to wallpapering: aligning small pieces that seem mismatched, yet the final result is praised despite imperfections. **In simple terms:** Writing involves fitting imperfect parts together, often praised despite flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfections and trust collaborative feedback. Themes creativity process imperfection collaboration Mood reflective analytical encouraging Type process creative inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - film script development - design projects Key Concepts artistic process editing peer review Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve coherence in fragmented work? - What role does critique play in creative processes? A Different Perspective The analogy may undervalue the need for coherence and quality control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If I had been asked to write 1,200 words for a newspaper tomorrow, on any subject, I would just do it rather than leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-had-been-asked-to-write-1-200-words-for-a-newspaper-tomorrow-on/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Writing is like a contact sport, like football. Why do kids play football? They can get hurt on any play, can't they? Yet they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writing-is-like-a-contact-sport-like-football-why-do-kids-play/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [“Writing. It is like no other light. A very clear and hollow light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/writing-it-is-like-no-other-light-a-very-clear-and-hollow-light/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I don't understand the feeling of, the way people speak of writing as though it were, like, some kind of djinn to be summoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-fraction/i-don-t-understand-the-feeling-of-the-way-people-speak-of-writing-as/) [Matt Fraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-fraction/) > [Writing is like the life of a glacier; one eternal grind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/writing-is-like-the-life-of-a-glacier-one-eternal-grind/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The only certainty about writing and trying to be a writer is that it has to be done, not dreamed of or planned and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/the-only-certainty-about-writing-and-trying-to-be-a-writer-is-that-it/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“Writing is like pulling teeth out of your penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/writing-is-like-pulling-teeth-out-of-your-penis/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Writing is like a charcoal painting, a black and white story”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-mcdonald/writing-is-like-a-charcoal-painting-a-black-and-white-story/) Dave McDonald > [Writing is like a sport. If you don't practice, you don't get any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/writing-is-like-a-sport-if-you-don-t-practice-you-don-t-get-any-better/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Writing lyrics is part spontaneous, intuitive and part really thought through and carefully analyzed as you write it. It's a mixture of two approaches,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anderson/writing-lyrics-is-part-spontaneous-intuitive-and-part-really-thought/) [Ian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anderson/) > [Writing is like bricklaying; you put down one word after another. Sometimes the wall goes up straight and true and sometimes it doesn't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/writing-is-like-bricklaying-you-put-down-one-word-after-another/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Writing is like a mental masturbation to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-is-like-a-mental-masturbation-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writing is like a relationship. When it is good, it is damn good; when it is bad, you contemplate murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevea-lane/writing-is-like-a-relationship-when-it-is-good-it-is-damn-good-when/) Nevea Lane > [writing, like living, is lonely work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-willis-howard/writing-like-living-is-lonely-work/) [Blanche Willis Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-willis-howard/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) ## More by Harrison Birtwistle > [I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-have-ideas-so-much-as-there-are-things-which-constantly/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I didn't have a record player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-didn-t-have-a-record-player/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-thing-about-influence-is-that-any-composer-worth-anything-will/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I always write the pieces I want to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-always-write-the-pieces-i-want-to-write/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [Minimalism now is a reaction to what came before. It's absolutely of its time. Music moved into the set theory thing, and moved out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/minimalism-now-is-a-reaction-to-what-came-before-it-s-absolutely-of/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I think there are influences that you open the door to, and influences that come under the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-think-there-are-influences-that-you-open-the-door-to-and-influences/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-wrote-music-as-soon-as-i-knew-notation/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-opera-tells-the-story-with-all-the-built-in-contradictions-and/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I'm not a music lover in the sense that I look for something to have on. I've never had that attitude to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-m-not-a-music-lover-in-the-sense-that-i-look-for-something-to-have/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I think music has gone through a period of something very severe, rather radical, rather the way painting did with cubism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-think-music-has-gone-through-a-period-of-something-very-severe/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-piece-that-had-a-large-influence-on-me-was-turangalila/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/there-are-rhythmic-ideas-which-sometimes-only-work-up-to-a-point-in/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The theatre only knows what it's doing next week, not like the opera, where they say: What are we going to do in five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-theatre-only-knows-what-it-s-doing-next-week-not-like-the-opera/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/this-sounds-horribly-pretentious-but-i-like-to-think-that-if-music/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I'd been writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/when-i-was-confronted-with-official-tuition-the-academic-thing-i/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) [Explore all 29 Harrison Birtwistle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“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/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) Sheye Hassan > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. 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