--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is successful schizophrenia…" description: "\"“Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to hear voices in my head.”\" — Jodi Picoult" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg" --- # Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to… ![“Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to hear voices in my head.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg) > ““Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to hear voices in my head.”” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing feels like a split personality, where the author hears multiple inner voices, reflecting the fragmented nature of creativity. **In simple terms:** Writing is like hearing many inner voices. Key Takeaway Embrace creative multiplicity. Themes creativity schizophrenia metaphor writing process identity voice Mood introspective playful Type literary metaphorical When to use this quote - author workshops - creative writing classes - mental health discussions - personal journaling Key Concepts psychology literature metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does hearing many voices affect your writing? - Can this metaphor help understand creative conflict? A Different Perspective Metaphor may trivialize mental illness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Schizophrenia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schizophrenia/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Voices in my head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voices-in-my-head/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have so many different projects, I hear voices in my head - the characters talking all at once - and I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-have-so-many-different-projects-i-hear-voices-in-my-head-the/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [I dnt know even what I want, I'm hearing so many voices in my head that make me losing my mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inesjat/i-dnt-know-even-what-i-want-i-m-hearing-so-many-voices-in-my-head/) Inesjat > [“The voices in my head wouldn't shut up, so I let them write their story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shandy-l-kurth/the-voices-in-my-head-wouldn-t-shut-up-so-i-let-them-write-their-story/) [Shandy L. Kurth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shandy-l-kurth/) > [I have voices in my head, but they're all speaking Spanish, and I have NO idea what they're saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/i-have-voices-in-my-head-but-they-re-all-speaking-spanish-and-i-have/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [Dear voices in my head, talk separately so we can all understand each other, thank you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/dear-voices-in-my-head-talk-separately-so-we-can-all-understand-each/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Something I wrote quite a few years ago was, "The voices in my head, they don't care what I do, they just want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/something-i-wrote-quite-a-few-years-ago-was-the-voices-in-my-head/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Just me, my music, and the voices in my head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-silvers/just-me-my-music-and-the-voices-in-my-head/) Christie Silvers > [“I'm not crazy, but I suspect the voices in my head are. ~Chrissy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-sullivan/i-m-not-crazy-but-i-suspect-the-voices-in-my-head-are-chrissy/) Kelli Sullivan > [The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/the-voices-in-my-head-may-not-be-real-but-they-have-some-good-ideas/) Azgraybebly Joslan > [Blame the voices in my head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/blame-the-voices-in-my-head/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [“The infinite voices in my head are incessantly determined. They will knock, claw, and annihilate my cranium until they are heard, and to top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-sharma/the-infinite-voices-in-my-head-are-incessantly-determined-they-will/) [M.P. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-sharma/) > [The voices in my head are trying to kill me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suicidal-scars/the-voices-in-my-head-are-trying-to-kill-me/) Suicidal\_scars > [All these screams All these voices in my head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/all-these-screams-all-these-voices-in-my-head/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [I love being by the ocean. It stills the voices in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weitz/i-love-being-by-the-ocean-it-stills-the-voices-in-my-head/) [Chris Weitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weitz/) > [“Edge will contact you mind- to- mind and let you know what’s going on.” “So I should be prepared to hear voices in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lainie-malone/edge-will-contact-you-mind-to-mind-and-let-you-know-what-s-going-on/) Lainie Malone ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Schizophrenia quotes > [“A term came to her that they used on occasion at the shelter: the double bind...They used the expression in much the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/a-term-came-to-her-that-they-used-on-occasion-at-the-shelter-the/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“I'd ask you to think outside the box on this, but it's obvious your box is broken. And has schizophrenia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kosmatka/i-d-ask-you-to-think-outside-the-box-on-this-but-it-s-obvious-your/) [Ted Kosmatka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kosmatka/) > [“P.S. It's not schizophrenia, it's creativity, there is a difference. My voices go away after I let them tell their stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-newell/p-s-it-s-not-schizophrenia-it-s-creativity-there-is-a-difference-my/) [Ashley Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-newell/) > [“I am alone, but never lonely. I am lonely, but never alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-aubrey-myers/i-am-alone-but-never-lonely-i-am-lonely-but-never-alone/) [Benjamin Aubrey Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-aubrey-myers/) > [It seemed to me the basic definition of mental illness, this persistent, painful inability to simply be with someone else. It might be lifelong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-thompson/it-seemed-to-me-the-basic-definition-of-mental-illness-this/) [Tracy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-thompson/) > [Hauntings are memes, especially pernicious thought contagions, social contagions that need no viral or bacterial host and are transmitted in a thousand different ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/hauntings-are-memes-especially-pernicious-thought-contagions-social/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > [“When had I stopped being a person with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and become a Paranoid Schizophrenic; defined by my illness?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-haze/when-had-i-stopped-being-a-person-with-paranoid-schizophrenia-and/) [Michaela Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-haze/) > [Conventional psychiatry has emphasized the genetic roots of psychosis based on the claim that twin and other studies show that schizophrenia is 80% heritable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bentall/conventional-psychiatry-has-emphasized-the-genetic-roots-of-psychosis/) [Richard Bentall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bentall/) > [It's been insane. From Whitey Bulger to the Mad Hatter, you can imagine the schizophrenia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/it-s-been-insane-from-whitey-bulger-to-the-mad-hatter-you-can-imagine/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [Living with bipolar, schizophrenia or any other mental condition takes a recognition that one has a chronic condition that needs managing. The management can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/living-with-bipolar-schizophrenia-or-any-other-mental-condition-takes/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-the-national-mental-illness-of-the-united-states-is-megalomania/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Some call it schizophrenia, I call it a career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-greene/some-call-it-schizophrenia-i-call-it-a-career/) [Ellen Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-greene/) > [ACT psychology is a psychology of the normal. A lot of the psychologies that are out there are built on the psychology of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-c-hayes/act-psychology-is-a-psychology-of-the-normal-a-lot-of-the/) [Steven C. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-c-hayes/) > [Colds, ulcers, flu, and cancer are things we get. Schizophrenia is something we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vonnegut/colds-ulcers-flu-and-cancer-are-things-we-get-schizophrenia-is/) [Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vonnegut/) > [“The World Health Organization has twice found that schizophrenia outcomes are much, much better in poor countries like India, Nigeria, and Colombia than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darby-penney/the-world-health-organization-has-twice-found-that-schizophrenia/) Darby Penney [Browse all 151 Schizophrenia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schizophrenia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to hear voices in my head.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-because-i-m-paid-to-hear-voices/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Schizophrenia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-because-i-m-paid-to-hear-voices/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/jodi-picoult-45_schizophrenia_writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-beca_2870714.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m paid to hear voices in my head.” — Jodi Picoult", "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": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Writing is successful schizophrenia because I’m...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-because-i-m-paid-to-hear-voices/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/writing-is-successful-schizophrenia-because-i-m-paid-to-hear-voices/#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 } } ] } ```