--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is like the relationship with…" description: "\"Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. First you can, then you can't. Finally, you must. Only then should you reach for the paper.\" — Howar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/howard-nemerov-12728_bowels_writing-is-like-the-relationship-with-yo_2929625.jpg" --- # Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. First… ![“Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. First you can, then you can't. Finally, you must. Only then should you reach for the paper.” quote by Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/howard-nemerov-12728_bowels_writing-is-like-the-relationship-with-yo_2929625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/howard-nemerov-12728_bowels_writing-is-like-the-relationship-with-yo_2929625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/howard-nemerov-12728_bowels_writing-is-like-the-relationship-with-yo_2929625.jpg) > “Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. First you can, then you can't. Finally, you must. Only then should you reach for the paper.” [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing mirrors bodily urges: initial ease, blockage, then necessity to complete **In simple terms:** Writing involves struggle, blockage, and eventual release Key Takeaway Persist through creative blocks to finish work Themes creativity process discipline Mood frustrated determined Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - authoring a novel - academic writing - journaling Key Concepts psychology of writing artistic flow Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your writing block? - How to overcome creative stagnation? A Different Perspective Creative blocks can be demotivating ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bowels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bowels/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Reach Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach-paper-4311150/) [Relationship Bowels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship-bowels-4311151/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-like/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Let us not seek our disease out of ourselves; 'tis in us, and planted in our bowels; and the mere fact that we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-us-not-seek-our-disease-out-of-ourselves-tis-in-us-and-planted-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I love him who is of a free spirit and a free heart: thus is his head only the bowels of his heart; his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-of-a-free-spirit-and-a-free-heart-thus-is-his-head/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves. There is none such. It is the bog in our brains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-in-vain-to-dream-of-a-wildness-distant-from-ourselves-there-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [All wars are civil ones; for it is still man spilling his own blood, tearing out his own bowels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/all-wars-are-civil-ones-for-it-is-still-man-spilling-his-own-blood/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o'erflow? 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Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling/) > [We leave Pippa behind, standing in the dark, teeming bowels of the camp, while the sun begins to stain the sky electric, and from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-leave-pippa-behind-standing-in-the-dark-teeming-bowels-of-the-camp/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There is no place like it, no place with an atom of its glory, pride, and exultancy. It lays its hand upon a man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/there-is-no-place-like-it-no-place-with-an-atom-of-its-glory-pride/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Do people always act this way around you? (Kiara) You should have seen the reactions when I wore a League uniform. Those were actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/do-people-always-act-this-way-around-you-kiara-you-should-have-seen/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Ninety percent of what's wrong with you could be cured with a hot bath, says God from the bowels of the subway. but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/ninety-percent-of-what-s-wrong-with-you-could-be-cured-with-a-hot/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Miserable men commiserate not themselves; bowelless unto others, and merciless unto their own bowels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/miserable-men-commiserate-not-themselves-bowelless-unto-others-and/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) ## More by Howard Nemerov > [A chronicle is very different from history proper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/a-chronicle-is-very-different-from-history-proper/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When Robert Frost was alive, I was known as the other new England poet, which is to be barely known at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-robert-frost-was-alive-i-was-known-as-the-other-new-england-poet/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I've never read a political poem that's accomplished anything. Poetry makes things happen, but rarely what the poet wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-ve-never-read-a-political-poem-that-s-accomplished-anything-poetry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When you write it doesn't occur to you that somebody could think different from what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-you-write-it-doesn-t-occur-to-you-that-somebody-could-think/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Both poet and painter want to reach the silence behind the language, the silence within the language. Both painter and poet want their work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/both-poet-and-painter-want-to-reach-the-silence-behind-the-language/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Occasionally a student writer comes up with something really beautiful and moving, and you won't know for years if it was an accident or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/occasionally-a-student-writer-comes-up-with-something-really/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I like all my children, even the squat and ugly ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-like-all-my-children-even-the-squat-and-ugly-ones/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [It may be said that poems are in one way like icebergs: only about a third of their bulk appears above the surface of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/it-may-be-said-that-poems-are-in-one-way-like-icebergs-only-about-a/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Obvious enough that generalities work to protect the mind from the great outdoors; is it possible that this was in fact their first purpose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/obvious-enough-that-generalities-work-to-protect-the-mind-from-the/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I sometimes talk about the making of a poem within the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-sometimes-talk-about-the-making-of-a-poem-within-the-poem/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [When in still air and still in summertime A leaf has had enough of this, it seems To make up its mind to go;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/when-in-still-air-and-still-in-summertime-a-leaf-has-had-enough-of/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [A lot happens by accident in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/a-lot-happens-by-accident-in-poetry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I have a plot, but not much happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/i-have-a-plot-but-not-much-happens/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Robert Frost had always said you mustn't think of the last line first, or it's only a fake poem, not a real one. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/robert-frost-had-always-said-you-mustn-t-think-of-the-last-line-first/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [Till I, high in the tower of my time Among familiar ruins, began to cry For accident, sickness, justice, war and crime, Because all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/till-i-high-in-the-tower-of-my-time-among-familiar-ruins-began-to-cry/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) [Explore all 52 Howard Nemerov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) ## More Bowels quotes > [Let us not seek our disease out of ourselves; 'tis in us, and planted in our bowels; and the mere fact that we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-us-not-seek-our-disease-out-of-ourselves-tis-in-us-and-planted-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Ninety percent of what's wrong with you could be cured with a hot bath, says God from the bowels of the subway. but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/ninety-percent-of-what-s-wrong-with-you-could-be-cured-with-a-hot/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Do people always act this way around you? (Kiara) You should have seen the reactions when I wore a League uniform. Those were actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/do-people-always-act-this-way-around-you-kiara-you-should-have-seen/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There is no place like it, no place with an atom of its glory, pride, and exultancy. It lays its hand upon a man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/there-is-no-place-like-it-no-place-with-an-atom-of-its-glory-pride/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [We leave Pippa behind, standing in the dark, teeming bowels of the camp, while the sun begins to stain the sky electric, and from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-leave-pippa-behind-standing-in-the-dark-teeming-bowels-of-the-camp/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [The Mackenzie had never met folk so poor in story and song and legends, and it moved him to a pity that pricked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-m-stirling/the-mackenzie-had-never-met-folk-so-poor-in-story-and-song-and/) [S.M. Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-stirling/) > [Satan sent her from the bowels of hell, I should have recognized old Jezebel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/satan-sent-her-from-the-bowels-of-hell-i-should-have-recognized-old/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [I would like to be a figment of my own imagination, but belly and bowels will not permit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-would-like-to-be-a-figment-of-my-own-imagination-but-belly-and/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o'erflow? If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad, Threatening the welkin with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-heaven-doth-weep-doth-not-the-earth-o-erflow-if-the-winds-rage/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [All wars are civil ones; for it is still man spilling his own blood, tearing out his own bowels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/all-wars-are-civil-ones-for-it-is-still-man-spilling-his-own-blood/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves. There is none such. It is the bog in our brains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-in-vain-to-dream-of-a-wildness-distant-from-ourselves-there-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I love him who is of a free spirit and a free heart: thus is his head only the bowels of his heart; his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-of-a-free-spirit-and-a-free-heart-thus-is-his-head/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Miserable men commiserate not themselves; bowelless unto others, and merciless unto their own bowels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/miserable-men-commiserate-not-themselves-bowelless-unto-others-and/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [I believe that much of the secret of soul-winning lies in having bowels of compassion, in having spirits that can be touched with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-believe-that-much-of-the-secret-of-soul-winning-lies-in-having/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Browse all 82 Bowels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bowels/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is like the relationship with your bowels. 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