--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am compulsive about writing, I need to…" description: "\"I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go without it for a while, but then I need it...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png" --- # I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I… ![“I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go without it for a while, but then I need it.” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png) > “I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go without it for a while, but then I need it.” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer feels a compulsive need to create, similar to basic biological drives, and cannot go long without writing. **In simple terms:** Writing is a vital, compulsive need. Key Takeaway Write regularly. Themes creativity compulsion discipline artistry Mood introspective motivational Type advice personal When to use this quote - daily writing - journaling - creative blocks - workshops - publishing Key Concepts psychology habit formation creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance writing with other needs? - What rituals support your creative flow? A Different Perspective Compulsion can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Writers need their writing; they need their imaginary worlds in order to find piece in, or make sense of, the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/writers-need-their-writing-they-need-their-imaginary-worlds-in-order/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [It used to be with chocolate. I would put chocolate in my studio and say, "You know, Nat, there's this chocolate you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/it-used-to-be-with-chocolate-i-would-put-chocolate-in-my-studio-and/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I do outlines when I'm writing with someone, but they also need to have a certain amount of freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/i-do-outlines-when-i-m-writing-with-someone-but-they-also-need-to/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [With writing, I need a lot of time to sit around and do nothing. But now that I have kids, I just don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-coppola/with-writing-i-need-a-lot-of-time-to-sit-around-and-do-nothing-but/) [Sofia Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-coppola/) > [For me, writing is something that I need to do. If I'm not writing, I'm not happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-hana-kim/for-me-writing-is-something-that-i-need-to-do-if-i-m-not-writing-i-m/) [Crystal Hana Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-hana-kim/) > [I would also argue that there is a good chance that an outline will help you stave off any onslaught of writer's block. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/i-would-also-argue-that-there-is-a-good-chance-that-an-outline-will/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“When you are writing, you do not need to be as good as Poe, Shakespeare or Rowling. You need to be as good as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-bianco/when-you-are-writing-you-do-not-need-to-be-as-good-as-poe-shakespeare/) [Giuseppe Bianco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-bianco/) > [My writing has always been more out of the need to write a movie rather than me being a good writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/my-writing-has-always-been-more-out-of-the-need-to-write-a-movie/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [I feel that when I began writing, I had a need to know more about the play before I got into it. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-feel-that-when-i-began-writing-i-had-a-need-to-know-more-about-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I started writing because I had a need inside of me to create something that was not there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-started-writing-because-i-had-a-need-inside-of-me-to-create/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Screenplay is the toughest form of writing for me, because you need to be in present tense. You need to be describing things as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/screenplay-is-the-toughest-form-of-writing-for-me-because-you-need-to/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I'd go so far as to say I was bullied into writing, but sometimes you need that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-d-go-so-far-as-to-say-i-was-bullied-into-writing-but-sometimes-you/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [When I'm writing, I need to amplify my thoughts and feelings on just a conversation that I might have had with somebody - somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/when-i-m-writing-i-need-to-amplify-my-thoughts-and-feelings-on-just-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) > [I need all of my songs while I'm writing them, because I need to get the stuff out of my body and out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-anderson/i-need-all-of-my-songs-while-i-m-writing-them-because-i-need-to-get/) [Jacob Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-anderson/) > [I don't have any doubts that I need writing. I need it personally because this is the way I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-zambra/i-don-t-have-any-doubts-that-i-need-writing-i-need-it-personally/) [Alejandro Zambra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-zambra/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/only-the-chicken-lover-will-understand-me-he-will-give-me-a-kindly/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More Compulsive quotes > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The compulsive, obsessive, high-end, achieving people, those are the ones that keep pushing harder. I'll name you the greatest players I ever coached, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/the-compulsive-obsessive-high-end-achieving-people-those-are-the-ones/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [I'm, like, a compulsive eater. I'm going to be so fat when I'm older, it's ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-m-like-a-compulsive-eater-i-m-going-to-be-so-fat-when-i-m-older-it/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“Compulsive behavior occurs when the urge to act out is greater than our will to say no. Recovery then, is the process of reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stark/compulsive-behavior-occurs-when-the-urge-to-act-out-is-greater-than/) Roger Stark > [My roommate and my boyfriend, they both know I am compulsive and controlling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/my-roommate-and-my-boyfriend-they-both-know-i-am-compulsive-and/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [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/) > [I'm quite compulsive about exercise. For two months, I'll exercise every day, then for three months I'll do nothing. I love food, so exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-m-quite-compulsive-about-exercise-for-two-months-i-ll-exercise/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) Browse all 126 Compulsive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go without it for a while, but then I need it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to-do-it-the-way-i-need-sleep/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compulsive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to-do-it-the-way-i-need-sleep/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/john-irving-337_compulsive_i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to_1885555.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go…” — John Irving", "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": "John Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am compulsive about writing, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to-do-it-the-way-i-need-sleep/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-am-compulsive-about-writing-i-need-to-do-it-the-way-i-need-sleep/#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 } } ] } ```