--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing anything is terribly hard but…" description: "\"Writing anything is terribly hard but, alas for me, because I am addicted, a heck of a lot of fun. I often am sorry I ever started writing prose, becau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/judy-collins-12173_alas_writing-anything-is-terribly-hard-but-al_1582688.png" --- # Writing anything is terribly hard but, alas for me… ![“Writing anything is terribly hard but, alas for me, because I am addicted, a heck of a lot of fun. I often am sorry I ever started writing prose, because it is so hard. But I can't stop.” quote by Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/judy-collins-12173_alas_writing-anything-is-terribly-hard-but-al_1582688.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/judy-collins-12173_alas_writing-anything-is-terribly-hard-but-al_1582688.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/judy-collins-12173_alas_writing-anything-is-terribly-hard-but-al_1582688.png) > “Writing anything is terribly hard but, alas for me, because I am addicted, a heck of a lot of fun. I often am sorry I ever started writing prose, because it is so hard. But I can't stop.” [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) ## 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 difficult and addictive; despite the struggle, the joy and compulsion keep the writer going. **In simple terms:** Writing is hard but addictive and rewarding. Key Takeaway Embrace the struggle as part of the creative process. Themes creativity addiction perseverance Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - novel writing - songwriting - daily journaling Key Concepts writing process intrinsic motivation artistic joy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance writing with rest? - What fuels your creative drive despite difficulty? A Different Perspective Addiction may lead to burnout if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alas/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Prose Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-hard-5175192/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Started Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-writing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-prose-400360/) ## Related quotes > [Rich, ornate prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rich-ornate-prose-is-hard-to-digest-generally-unwholesome-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started writing prose before I started writing television. Then 'Breaking Bad' came around, and to me, writing 'Breaking Bad' is like writing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mastras/i-started-writing-prose-before-i-started-writing-television-then/) [George Mastras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mastras/) > [Good authors, too, who once knew better words Now use only four-letter words Writing prose - Anything goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-porter/good-authors-too-who-once-knew-better-words-now-use-only-four-letter/) [Cole Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-porter/) > [I don't do much of anything consciously in writing - in poetry writing, anyway, prose usually being a different matter, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-padgett/i-don-t-do-much-of-anything-consciously-in-writing-in-poetry-writing/) [Ron Padgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-padgett/) > [Prose is like this big block - you write big paragraphs. I feel that when I'm reading and writing, that a prose book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/prose-is-like-this-big-block-you-write-big-paragraphs-i-feel-that/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [Of all the art forms, poetry is the most economical. It is the one which is the most secret, which requires the least physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/of-all-the-art-forms-poetry-is-the-most-economical-it-is-the-one/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [If there's anything I'm keen to get better at in my writing, then it's the writing of prose as opposed to the writing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/if-there-s-anything-i-m-keen-to-get-better-at-in-my-writing-then-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I don't think there's any essential difference, at least for me, between writing poetry and writing prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-essential-difference-at-least-for-me/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I am interested in the confines of the page and busting through/off the page as well. A writer must let go of the line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-duhamel/i-am-interested-in-the-confines-of-the-page-and-busting-through-off/) [Denise Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-duhamel/) > [I love writing prose. I really love writing prose. It's very pleasurable for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-love-writing-prose-i-really-love-writing-prose-it-s-very/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [For me, poetry is an evasion of the real job of writing prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-me-poetry-is-an-evasion-of-the-real-job-of-writing-prose/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If you wrote a crummy line or maybe didn't sing to the best of your ability, there's layers of 10 different instruments all working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-zauner/if-you-wrote-a-crummy-line-or-maybe-didn-t-sing-to-the-best-of-your/) [Michelle Zauner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-zauner/) > [“For me,” she wrote, “poetry is an evasion from the real job of writing prose.” Throughout”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-me-she-wrote-poetry-is-an-evasion-from-the-real-job-of-writing/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [My object when writing prose is to write as clearly as possible. I think I know what I'm saying in prose, and I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/my-object-when-writing-prose-is-to-write-as-clearly-as-possible-i/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [For a long time, I saw writing prose as chewing rocks compared to the velocities of writing poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-biespiel/for-a-long-time-i-saw-writing-prose-as-chewing-rocks-compared-to-the/) [David Biespiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-biespiel/) ## More by Judy Collins > [I have inspiration and feelings of being alive most every day I live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-have-inspiration-and-feelings-of-being-alive-most-every-day-i-live/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I have tried, in all the ways I can, to make timeless music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-have-tried-in-all-the-ways-i-can-to-make-timeless-music/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I think people who are creative are the luckiest people on earth. I know that there are no shortcuts, but you must keep your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-think-people-who-are-creative-are-the-luckiest-people-on-earth-i/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [Do what you love, and you will find the way to get it out to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/do-what-you-love-and-you-will-find-the-way-to-get-it-out-to-the-world/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [Music is always occurring. It is just a matter of marketing, attention, and many other factors, that determines whether people will hear these songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/music-is-always-occurring-it-is-just-a-matter-of-marketing-attention/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I don't know where my songs come from... If I knew, I'd know too much, more than we are allowed on this plane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-don-t-know-where-my-songs-come-from-if-i-knew-i-d-know-too-much/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [The powerful men in my life have always believed in me: my husband, my son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/the-powerful-men-in-my-life-have-always-believed-in-me-my-husband-my/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [It is true that I have had heartache and tragedy in my life. These are things none of us avoids. Suffering is the price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/it-is-true-that-i-have-had-heartache-and-tragedy-in-my-life-these-are/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I think that new communications are wonderful and I am delighted to be a part of the Internet generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-think-that-new-communications-are-wonderful-and-i-am-delighted-to/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I am glad so many women singers are being heard in music today. It is healthy for music . . . healthy because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-am-glad-so-many-women-singers-are-being-heard-in-music-today-it-is/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [If I give myself a chore, for instance, when I was writing the songs for Shameless, I said to myself, Now, every day for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/if-i-give-myself-a-chore-for-instance-when-i-was-writing-the-songs/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [“For songs are the heart of our memory and they let us live the search for meaning in our lives again and again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/for-songs-are-the-heart-of-our-memory-and-they-let-us-live-the-search/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [“friend of mine says that every time I judge myself harshly, I draw a drop of blood from my heart. So easy does it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/friend-of-mine-says-that-every-time-i-judge-myself-harshly-i-draw-a/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I am thrilled to have been able to put together this new album. I listened to everything I had recorded in the 24 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-am-thrilled-to-have-been-able-to-put-together-this-new-album-i/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [I may like the Blizzard best, of all the songs I have written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/i-may-like-the-blizzard-best-of-all-the-songs-i-have-written/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) [Explore all 56 Judy Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) ## More Alas quotes > [“Muchos de los ángeles de Dios no tienen alas...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/muchos-de-los-ngeles-de-dios-no-tienen-alas/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Time, time - that is our greatest master! Alas, like Ugolino, time devours its own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/time-time-that-is-our-greatest-master-alas-like-ugolino-time-devours/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The flesh is sad, alas, and I have read all the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-phane-mallarm/the-flesh-is-sad-alas-and-i-have-read-all-the-books/) [Stephane Mallarme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-phane-mallarm/) > [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ity, or merge it in what the world doubtless considers my better half, I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/in-spite-of-the-honestest-efforts-to-annihilate-my-i-ity-or-merge-it/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [The dumpling is indeed of more ancient institution, and of foreign origin; but alas, what were those dumplings? Nothing but a few lentils sodden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arbuthnot/the-dumpling-is-indeed-of-more-ancient-institution-and-of-foreign/) [John Arbuthnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arbuthnot/) > [“World is so beautiful, but alas! There are so many assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/world-is-so-beautiful-but-alas-there-are-so-many-assholes/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Ideally a painter (and, generally, an artist) should not become conscious of his insights: without taking the detour through his reflective processes, and incomprehensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/ideally-a-painter-and-generally-an-artist-should-not-become-conscious/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Alas! we makeA ladder of our thoughts, where angels step,But sleep ourselves at the foot: our high resolvesLook down upon our slumbering acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/alas-we-makea-ladder-of-our-thoughts-where-angels-step-but-sleep/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) [Browse all 453 Alas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing anything is terribly hard but, alas for me, because I am addicted, a heck of a lot of fun. 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