--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The impulse to write things down is a…" description: "\"The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg" --- # The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly… ![“The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg) > “The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is a compulsive habit that feels irrational to outsiders, yet it serves a hidden, secondary purpose. **In simple terms:** Writing is a strange, useful compulsion. Key Takeaway Accept and channel your writing urge. Themes creativity compulsion self-awareness Mood introspective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journaling - research - creative work - therapy Key Concepts psychology habit formation Questions to Reflect On - Why do you feel compelled to write? - How does it serve you? A Different Perspective Compulsion may hinder productivity if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one-3/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [any compulsion tries to justify itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/any-compulsion-tries-to-justify-itself/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“The thought of her gave me such a continual anguish that I could no more forget her than an aching tooth. It was involuntary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-thought-of-her-gave-me-such-a-continual-anguish-that-i-could-no/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [I wrote my first novel in the same conditions as most first novelists - I had a full-time job, I shared an apartment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/i-wrote-my-first-novel-in-the-same-conditions-as-most-first-novelists/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [There's a lot of landscape I never would have described if I hadn't been homesick. The impulse was nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-s-a-lot-of-landscape-i-never-would-have-described-if-i-hadn-t/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The impulse for much writing is homesickness. You are trying to get back home, and in your writing you are invoking that home, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-for-much-writing-is-homesickness-you-are-trying-to-get/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Manchester United could have any goalkeeper in the world. I was a 23-year-old kid from New Jersey who, from an early age, had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/manchester-united-could-have-any-goalkeeper-in-the-world-i-was-a-23/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [I don't feel I'm a compulsive person. I multitask. I'm really well-organised, and I have lots of people to help me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/i-don-t-feel-i-m-a-compulsive-person-i-multitask-i-m-really-well/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“I lean my head back and stare at the stark white ceiling. “My friend Zoe used to say I had obsessive compulsive disorder when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-davis/i-lean-my-head-back-and-stare-at-the-stark-white-ceiling-my-friend/) [Siobhan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-davis/) > [Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-are-immersed-in-compulsive-thinking-you-are-avoiding/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive, and I'm very fast. I tend to not write for a long period of time until I can't not write, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rapp/i-m-pretty-obsessive-compulsive-and-i-m-very-fast-i-tend-to-not-write/) [Adam Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rapp/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Thinking is compulsive: you can't stop, or so it seems. It is also addictive: you don't even want to stop, at least not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-is-compulsive-you-can-t-stop-or-so-it-seems-it-is-also/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-fact-that-compulsive-drives-for-success-will-arise-only-in-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Compulsion quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/i-think-it-s-in-our-nature-to-try-to-get-beyond-that-next-horizon-i/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/you-develop-an-instant-global-consciousness-a-people-orientation-an/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Why am I always at war with myself? Why have I told, as if upon compulsion, what I knew all along I ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/why-am-i-always-at-war-with-myself-why-have-i-told-as-if-upon/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started off like everyone else does, slogging but having a compulsion to put words on paper. I didn't write or read horror or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-started-off-like-everyone-else-does-slogging-but-having-a/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/themistocles/i-have-with-me-two-gods-persuasion-and-compulsion/) [Themistocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/themistocles/) > [When you are dealing with a serious compulsion or addictive pattern, then by definition self-will, self-discipline, and any other machinations of the conscious mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-you-are-dealing-with-a-serious-compulsion-or-addictive-pattern/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 513 Compulsion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compulsion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/joan-didion-497_impulse_the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-pe_1126431.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it…” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The impulse to write things down...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-impulse-to-write-things-down-is-a-peculiarly-compulsive-one-2/#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 } } ] } ```