--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a…" description: "\"“And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows that even to have written t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jo-baker-22747_writers_and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a_993108.jpg" --- # And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the… ![“And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows that even to have written this little is an excess, it is an overflowing, an excretion. Too many words. There are just too many words. Nobody wants them; nobody needs them…” quote by Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jo-baker-22747_writers_and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a_993108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jo-baker-22747_writers_and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a_993108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/jo-baker-22747_writers_and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a_993108.jpg) > ““And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows that even to have written this little is an excess, it is an overflowing, an excretion. Too many words. There are just too many words. Nobody wants them; nobody needs them. And still they keep on, keep on, keep on coming..”” [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on the excess of language, feeling compelled to write despite its futility. **In simple terms:** Too many words, yet they keep coming. Key Takeaway Accept the tension between expression and restraint. Themes writing existentialism over‑communication Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel excerpt Key Concepts creative process mental health artistic pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to speak or stay silent? - What value does excess language hold? A Different Perspective The urge to write may become burdensome and alienating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Tattoos are a permanent commitment of passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawny-lara/tattoos-are-a-permanent-commitment-of-passion/) Tawny Lara > [“Occupation: Writer Occupational Hazard: Carpel tunnel Solution: Wrist guards to bed or my hands do all the sleeping Perspective: I've decided my wrist guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/occupation-writer-occupational-hazard-carpel-tunnel-solution-wrist/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [“All forms of writing are an act of conception; writing must lead to creation. Each time that we write, we begin again. Writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/all-forms-of-writing-are-an-act-of-conception-writing-must-lead-to/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“What doesn't kill us gives us something new to write about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-wright/what-doesn-t-kill-us-gives-us-something-new-to-write-about/) [Julie Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-wright/) > [“I prefer to be on the side of losers, the misunderstood or lonely people rather than writing about the strong and powerful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-ria-a/i-prefer-to-be-on-the-side-of-losers-the-misunderstood-or-lonely/) Núria Añó > [“I have only dwelt in my thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/i-have-only-dwelt-in-my-thoughts/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. 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Without writers, there are no scripts, no acting work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/writing-is-the-life-blood-of-everything-in-hollywood-without-writers/) [Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/) > [You seek up an emotion and your cup is overflowing, you seek up an emotion sometimes your well is dry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/you-seek-up-an-emotion-and-your-cup-is-overflowing-you-seek-up-an/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) > [There are so many awful things in this world, but I wanted readers to share with me the small, beautiful, enjoyable things. Things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novala-takemoto/there-are-so-many-awful-things-in-this-world-but-i-wanted-readers-to/) [Novala Takemoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novala-takemoto/) > [“There is an overflowing grace, for every great work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-an-overflowing-grace-for-every-great-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Devotion is love overflowing. Even when there is nobody, it is overflowing - to things, to tables, to chairs, to walls. It is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/devotion-is-love-overflowing-even-when-there-is-nobody-it-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## More by Jo Baker > [“Wherever you are in this world, the sky is still above you. Wherever you are, God still watches over you; He sees into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/wherever-you-are-in-this-world-the-sky-is-still-above-you-wherever/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“I would ask if you miss me like I miss you, so that there is not another spot in all the world that seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/i-would-ask-if-you-miss-me-like-i-miss-you-so-that-there-is-not/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“You have no idea at all yet what you can bear!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-have-no-idea-at-all-yet-what-you-can-bear/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“of resentment, as he clambered into the carriage, that it was Liberty Hall for the remaining servantry until then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/of-resentment-as-he-clambered-into-the-carriage-that-it-was-liberty/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“The ladies, who had condoled so thoroughly with her during her time of grief, found it rather more difficult to participate in her happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/the-ladies-who-had-condoled-so-thoroughly-with-her-during-her-time-of/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“...too much time spent with books had not fitted her to be easy with herself, and other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/too-much-time-spent-with-books-had-not-fitted-her-to-be-easy-with/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“She wished the journey was over, but she did not want to arrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/she-wished-the-journey-was-over-but-she-did-not-want-to-arrive/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Mrs. Hill had changed Lyddie’s nappies, wiped her snotty nose, had nursed her through colic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/mrs-hill-had-changed-lyddie-s-nappies-wiped-her-snotty-nose-had/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Other, dryer customers came and went, having just stepped out of their conveyances or popped down the street from their houses in the town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/other-dryer-customers-came-and-went-having-just-stepped-out-of-their/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Sarah was soon lugging pasteboard boxes, paper packages and rolled samples of wallpaper. She had seen all of this before: she had daydreamed it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/sarah-was-soon-lugging-pasteboard-boxes-paper-packages-and-rolled/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [Threads that drift alone will sometimes simply twine themselves together, without need for spindle or distaff: brought into each other’s ambit, they bind themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/threads-that-drift-alone-will-sometimes-simply-twine-themselves/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [It was a thought, that. Not to attach yourself to a man, but to confront instead the open world, the wide fields of France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/it-was-a-thought-that-not-to-attach-yourself-to-a-man-but-to-confront/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [Words had become overnight just little coins, insignificant and unfreighted, to be exchanged for ribbons, buttons, for an apple or an egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/words-had-become-overnight-just-little-coins-insignificant-and/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Because he wanted nothing from her; this was a generous, expansive feeling, unattached to the possibility of gratification; it was the simple happiness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/because-he-wanted-nothing-from-her-this-was-a-generous-expansive/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-you-might-as-well-not-bother/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) [Explore all 27 Jo Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) ## More Overflowing quotes > [“There is an overflowing grace, for every great work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-an-overflowing-grace-for-every-great-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [There are so many awful things in this world, but I wanted readers to share with me the small, beautiful, enjoyable things. Things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novala-takemoto/there-are-so-many-awful-things-in-this-world-but-i-wanted-readers-to/) [Novala Takemoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novala-takemoto/) > [Devotion is love overflowing. Even when there is nobody, it is overflowing - to things, to tables, to chairs, to walls. It is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/devotion-is-love-overflowing-even-when-there-is-nobody-it-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [You seek up an emotion and your cup is overflowing, you seek up an emotion sometimes your well is dry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/you-seek-up-an-emotion-and-your-cup-is-overflowing-you-seek-up-an/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) > [“The sweetness of this content overflowing runs down the walls of my mind, and liberates understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-sweetness-of-this-content-overflowing-runs-down-the-walls-of-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Tonight the city is full of morgues, and all the toilets are overflowing. There's shopping malls coming out of the walls, as we walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/tonight-the-city-is-full-of-morgues-and-all-the-toilets-are/) [Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/) > [You have to fill your cup. You then give away the overflowing, but you keep a cupful for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynonna-judd/you-have-to-fill-your-cup-you-then-give-away-the-overflowing-but-you/) [Wynonna Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynonna-judd/) > [Life is full and overflowing with the new. But it is necessary to empty out the old to make room for the new to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-caddy/life-is-full-and-overflowing-with-the-new-but-it-is-necessary-to/) [Eileen Caddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-caddy/) > [Maturing just changed everything, Im overflowing so dont fill the cup cause everydays full of stresses that are building up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-pryde/maturing-just-changed-everything-im-overflowing-so-dont-fill-the-cup/) [D Pryde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-pryde/) > [In those times we yearn to have more in our lives, we should dwell on the things we already have. In doing so, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/in-those-times-we-yearn-to-have-more-in-our-lives-we-should-dwell-on/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) > [Then soon with the emblem of truth overflowing, And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-woodworth/then-soon-with-the-emblem-of-truth-overflowing-and-dripping-with/) Samuel Woodworth > [To me, the glass is half-empty some days and half-full on others. Sometimes it's bone-dry. Or overflowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-alice-monroe/to-me-the-glass-is-half-empty-some-days-and-half-full-on-others/) [Mary Alice Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-alice-monroe/) > [When your soul is overflowing, it's a sign God miscalculated your proportions!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/when-your-soul-is-overflowing-it-s-a-sign-god-miscalculated-your/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [When your soul is overflowing, it\\'s a sign God miscalculated your proportions!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/when-your-soul-is-overflowing-it-s-a-sign-god-miscalculated-your-2/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Artists need to fill themselves to overflowing and give it all back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-lewis/artists-need-to-fill-themselves-to-overflowing-and-give-it-all-back/) E. B. Lewis Browse all 52 Overflowing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows that even to have written this little is an excess, it is an overflowing, an excretion. Too many words. There are just too many words. Nobody wants them; nobody needs them. 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