--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because you can't write habitually and…" description: "\"Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. That's how you get the regularity that enables you to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/jennifer-egan-825_regularity_because-you-can-t-write-habitually-and-w_2625738.jpg" --- # Because you can't write habitually and well all the time… ![“Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. That's how you get the regularity that enables you to be present for the good stuff.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/jennifer-egan-825_regularity_because-you-can-t-write-habitually-and-w_2625738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/jennifer-egan-825_regularity_because-you-can-t-write-habitually-and-w_2625738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/994/jennifer-egan-825_regularity_because-you-can-t-write-habitually-and-w_2625738.jpg) > “Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. That's how you get the regularity that enables you to be present for the good stuff.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing well requires embracing bad writing to develop regular practice and be ready for moments of excellence. **In simple terms:** Bad writing leads to good writing through practice. Key Takeaway Write regularly, accept imperfections. Themes creativity discipline growth process Mood encouraging practical Type creative motivational When to use this quote - journaling - drafting novels - daily writing challenges - creative workshops Key Concepts habit formation skill development Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle bad drafts? - What routines help you stay consistent? A Different Perspective May cause frustration or burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Badly Regularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/badly-regularity-2147985/) [Habitually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitually-304026/) [Regularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regularity/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-write-955008/) [Write Badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-badly-1167385/) [Write Habitually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-habitually-2147984/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“You can only write regularly if you're willing to write badly. You can't write regularly and well. One should accept bad writing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/you-can-only-write-regularly-if-you-re-willing-to-write-badly-you-can/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [We all have time to write. We have time to write the minute we are willing to write badly, to chase a dead end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/we-all-have-time-to-write-we-have-time-to-write-the-minute-we-are/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Be willing and unafraid to write badly, because often the bad stuff...forms a base on which to build something better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/be-willing-and-unafraid-to-write-badly-because-often-the-bad-stuff/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [ We're \[writers\] all afraid of writing badly, and there are psychological reasons, like the bad interior of ourselves is somehow being revealed, but we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/we-re-writers-all-afraid-of-writing-badly-and-there-are-psychological/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [The best work that I am able to do is when I am willing to write about questions I haven't quite figured out, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-karam/the-best-work-that-i-am-able-to-do-is-when-i-am-willing-to-write/) [Stephen Karam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-karam/) > [I don't really have any "must work withs," but I would never refuse if a celebrity or fellow musician came along who is willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lita-ford/i-don-t-really-have-any-must-work-withs-but-i-would-never-refuse-if-a/) [Lita Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lita-ford/) > [Good actors can do anything, and there'll be amazing writers who are willing to write for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-bailey/good-actors-can-do-anything-and-there-ll-be-amazing-writers-who-are/) [Jonathan Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-bailey/) > [I didn't want to be apologetic about my love story, and I think to be willing to write about love you have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-didn-t-want-to-be-apologetic-about-my-love-story-and-i-think-to-be/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [There were a lot of people who were willing to write a letter for me. Not because I was academically inclined, but because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-smith/there-were-a-lot-of-people-who-were-willing-to-write-a-letter-for-me/) [Sam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-smith/) > [I am even ready to dance if someone is willing to write those parts for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaideep-ahlawat/i-am-even-ready-to-dance-if-someone-is-willing-to-write-those-parts/) [Jaideep Ahlawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaideep-ahlawat/) > [It is the most annoyingly painful feeling in the world when there is someone willing to write until their fingers have ached as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/needa-muy/it-is-the-most-annoyingly-painful-feeling-in-the-world-when-there-is/) [Needa Muy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/needa-muy/) > [Thank God for novelists. Thank God there are people willing to write everything down. Otherwise, so much would be forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thank-god-for-novelists-thank-god-there-are-people-willing-to-write/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“It's good to write badly. Things can only get better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dapre/it-s-good-to-write-badly-things-can-only-get-better/) [Alan Dapre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dapre/) > [There never was such an age in which so many people were able to write badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-zangwill/there-never-was-such-an-age-in-which-so-many-people-were-able-to/) [Israel Zangwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-zangwill/) > [The only thing that would ever embarrass me would be something I would write that would be badly written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/the-only-thing-that-would-ever-embarrass-me-would-be-something-i/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Regularity quotes > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... 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It has adopted so many of the world's ideals and standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/to-a-large-extent-the-american-church-has-become-merged-with-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Generality is, indeed, an indispensable ingredient of reality; for mere individual existence or actuality without any regularity whatever is a nullity. Chaos is pure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/generality-is-indeed-an-indispensable-ingredient-of-reality-for-mere/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I'm a moderate. I hang out in the middle. I vote against my party with some regularity and try to compromise. It doesn't appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-m-a-moderate-i-hang-out-in-the-middle-i-vote-against-my-party-with/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [Get the weirdnesses into the data where you can manipulate them easily, and the regularity into the code because regular code is a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kernighan/get-the-weirdnesses-into-the-data-where-you-can-manipulate-them/) [Brian Kernighan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kernighan/) > [The methods of the natural sciences cannot be applied to human behavior because this behaviorlacks the peculiarity that characterizes events in the field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-methods-of-the-natural-sciences-cannot-be-applied-to-human/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [And there is a lot of idiosyncrasy. But there are also regularities and phenomena. 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I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/mine-was-not-an-enlightened-mind-i-now-was-aware-it-was-a-gothic-mind/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [What people respond to is intimacy and regularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/what-people-respond-to-is-intimacy-and-regularity/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) [Browse all 146 Regularity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regularity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because you can't write habitually and well all the time, you have to be willing to write badly. 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