--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing, to me, is simply thinking…" description: "\"Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.\" — Isaac Asimov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/isaac-asimov-309_fingers_writing-to-me-is-simply-thinking-through_1969048.jpg" --- # Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. ![“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/isaac-asimov-309_fingers_writing-to-me-is-simply-thinking-through_1969048.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/isaac-asimov-309_fingers_writing-to-me-is-simply-thinking-through_1969048.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/isaac-asimov-309_fingers_writing-to-me-is-simply-thinking-through_1969048.jpg) > “Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing external externalizing thoughts through the act of typing, turning ideas into tangible form. **In simple terms:** Writing is thinking with your hands. Key Takeaway Use writing to clarify ideas. Themes creativity reflection communication Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - drafting essays - journaling - authoring books Key Concepts cognitive process expression Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your thinking? - When does writing hinder spontaneity? A Different Perspective May conflate thinking with writing, missing non‑verbal thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Simply Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simply-thinking-1163148/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-fingers-3295706/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-simply-1689774/) ## Related quotes > [Thinking is the activity I love best, and writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers. I can write up to 18 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/thinking-is-the-activity-i-love-best-and-writing-to-me-is-simply/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Live simply and without thinking too much, like a child with his father. Faith without too much thinking works wonders. The logical mind hinders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elder-paisios-of-mount-athos/live-simply-and-without-thinking-too-much-like-a-child-with-his/) [Elder Paisios of Mount Athos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elder-paisios-of-mount-athos/) > [Worry is simply thinking the same thing over and over again and not doing anything about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-rickey/worry-is-simply-thinking-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-and-not/) [Branch Rickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-rickey/) > [“Humility is simply not thinking of ourselves at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-wiersbe/humility-is-simply-not-thinking-of-ourselves-at-all/) [W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-wiersbe/) > [Once the grammar has been learned, writing is simply talking on paper and in time learning what not to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-bainbridge/once-the-grammar-has-been-learned-writing-is-simply-talking-on-paper/) [Beryl Bainbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-bainbridge/) > [Writing must be a machine for breaking down, that is, allowing the now uncontrolled and uncontrollable reconstitutions of thoughts and expressions. All other kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/writing-must-be-a-machine-for-breaking-down-that-is-allowing-the-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Maybe the hardest thing in writing is simply to tell the truth about things as we see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/maybe-the-hardest-thing-in-writing-is-simply-to-tell-the-truth-about/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Writing is simply one thought after another dying upon the one before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/writing-is-simply-one-thought-after-another-dying-upon-the-one-before/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“Most days, writing simply requires work-ethic, discipline, clarity, focus, time. Other days...it will demand absolutely everything of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/most-days-writing-simply-requires-work-ethic-discipline-clarity-focus/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [Writing is simply something you must do. It's rather like virtue in that it is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-simply-something-you-must-do-it-s-rather-like-virtue-in/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I am basically analytical, not creative; my writing is simply a creative way of handling analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-am-basically-analytical-not-creative-my-writing-is-simply-a/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Writing simply means no dependent clauses, no dangling things, no flashbacks, and keeping the subject near the predicate. We throw in as many fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/writing-simply-means-no-dependent-clauses-no-dangling-things-no/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Fingers quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [Yes yes you can count on me - Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/yes-yes-you-can-count-on-me-fingers/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [The world belongs to those who think and act with it, who keep a finger on its pulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-think-and-act-with-it-who-keep-a/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-guderian/you-hit-somebody-with-your-fist-and-not-with-your-fingers-spread/) [Heinz Guderian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-guderian/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. 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