--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is like getting married. One…" description: "\"Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png" --- # Writing is like getting married. One should never commit… ![“Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png) > “Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires commitment only after feeling fortunate and inspired. **In simple terms:** Commit after feeling lucky. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration before starting a project. Themes creativity commitment luck Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - novel writing - academic publishing - personal journaling - collaborative projects Key Concepts artistic process motivation Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate you’re ready to write? - How can you create your own luck? A Different Perspective Waiting for luck may delay progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazed Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazed-luck-728501/) [Commit Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit-oneself-728500/) [Getting married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-married/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Married Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-commit-728502/) [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 > [“You truly loved her but neither you are married to her nor you are dead. Aah liar, you did not love her enough. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupam-s-shlok/you-truly-loved-her-but-neither-you-are-married-to-her-nor-you-are/) [Anupam S Shlok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupam-s-shlok/) > [One has to believe in what one is doing, one has to commit oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once obsessed, one ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/one-has-to-believe-in-what-one-is-doing-one-has-to-commit-oneself/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [To be willing to live within the imagination is to commit oneself to the gathering together of the pieces that might begin to form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/to-be-willing-to-live-within-the-imagination-is-to-commit-oneself-to/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [“To allow oneself to be carried away By a multitude of conflicting concerns, To surrender to too many demands, ...To commit oneself to too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-allow-oneself-to-be-carried-away-by-a-multitude-of-conflicting-2/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/to-love-means-to-commit-oneself-without-guarantee-to-give-oneself/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Getting married quotes > [“He’d parted reluctantly from Amily, thinking again with envy of Lena and Bear. One thing that they hadn’t been forced to deal with during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/he-d-parted-reluctantly-from-amily-thinking-again-with-envy-of-lena/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [Phil is of a generation that probably would have been happier never getting married. He just doesn't want to get married again; it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanie-buss/phil-is-of-a-generation-that-probably-would-have-been-happier-never/) [Jeanie Buss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanie-buss/) > [Getting married is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It's fantastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/getting-married-is-one-of-the-best-things-that-has-ever-happened-to/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [For many, many people, getting married is one of the most important things they will ever do in the pursuit of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/for-many-many-people-getting-married-is-one-of-the-most-important/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“You just asked me to marry you," he said, still waiting for me to admit some kind of trickery. "I know." "That was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/you-just-asked-me-to-marry-you-he-said-still-waiting-for-me-to-admit/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“The girl, indeed, is rare who does not, on getting married, attempt to remodel her husband according to her own ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/the-girl-indeed-is-rare-who-does-not-on-getting-married-attempt-to/) [Lyubov Dostoyevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/) > [We loved getting married on the east coast of Mexico.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cooper/we-loved-getting-married-on-the-east-coast-of-mexico/) [Alex Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cooper/) > [You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/you-know-what-getting-married-is-it-s-agreeing-to-taking-this-person/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“What is it?” I asked, pasting a magazine photo of a football--found in an old Seventeen magazine spread--on my beloved’s collage. “Well, a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/what-is-it-i-asked-pasting-a-magazine-photo-of-a-football-found-in-an/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [I feel like I'm the kind of guy that would have kids before getting married. The first thing would be kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-feel-like-i-m-the-kind-of-guy-that-would-have-kids-before-getting/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [If you ever fall in love with a girl and her name is Summer, you will love her forever and end up getting married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ever-fall-in-love-with-a-girl-and-her-name-is-summer-you-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even harder was describing his sense that Shroom’s death might have ruined him for anything else, because when he died? when I felt his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/even-harder-was-describing-his-sense-that-shroom-s-death-might-have/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“You need to be intellectually attractive, financially independent and emotionally available before getting married.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/you-need-to-be-intellectually-attractive-financially-independent-and/) [Anyaele Sam Chiyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anyaele-sam-chiyson/) > [Let me marry in a normal way. I know I'm a public figure, but the person I'm getting married to might need privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navya-nair/let-me-marry-in-a-normal-way-i-know-i-m-a-public-figure-but-the/) [Navya Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navya-nair/) [Browse all 595 Getting married quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-married/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/writing-is-like-getting-married-one-should-never-commit-oneself-until/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Getting married" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/writing-is-like-getting-married-one-should-never-commit-oneself-until/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/iris-murdoch-993_getting-married_writing-is-like-getting-married-one-shou_2467991.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing is like getting married. One...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/writing-is-like-getting-married-one-should-never-commit-oneself-until/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/writing-is-like-getting-married-one-should-never-commit-oneself-until/#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 } } ] } ```