Achievement Quote by Iris Origo
“I write because, exacting as it may be to do so, it is still more difficult to refrain, and because - however conscious of one's limitations one may be - there is always at the back of one's mind an irrational hope that this next book will be different: it will be the rounded achievement, the complete fulfilment. It never has been: yet I am still writing.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Art of Writing, 1975
Describes the writer’s struggle between perfectionism and the need to keep creating, driven by an irrational hope for a breakthrough.
In simple terms: Writers keep writing despite doubts.
Key Takeaway
Persist despite fear of imperfection.
Themes
creativity
perseverance
hope
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
creative
motivational
When to use this quote
- novel drafting
- daily writing practice
- overcoming writer’s block
Key Concepts
artisticism
self‑doubt
creative process
Questions to Reflect On
- What holds you back from finishing a work?
- How can you channel hope into action?
A Different Perspective
Ideal perfection can stall progress.
![“[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so profound, that any attempt to present it as a unified, consistent whole, to enclose it within a rigid frame, inevitably tempts one to cheat or to falsify.” quote by Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg)
![“[On writing biography:] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him.” quote by Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8a6/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see_3015501.jpg)
