--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I need to write is a complicated…" description: "\"What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones. I rest upon my assertion that ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/kevin-keck-25114_assertion_what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-eq_103142.jpg" --- # What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I… ![“What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones. I rest upon my assertion that there has to be some balance of energy, or, failing a balance, a focused intensity of ALL energy. I've experienced both, I suppose.” quote by Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/kevin-keck-25114_assertion_what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-eq_103142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/kevin-keck-25114_assertion_what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-eq_103142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be8/kevin-keck-25114_assertion_what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-eq_103142.jpg) > “What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones. I rest upon my assertion that there has to be some balance of energy, or, failing a balance, a focused intensity of ALL energy. I've experienced both, I suppose.” [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work requires both disciplined effort and bursts of focused energy; balance or intensity can drive productivity. **In simple terms:** Writing needs steady work and intense focus. Key Takeaway Blend routine with passionate bursts. Themes creativity discipline energy balance Mood motivated thoughtful Type personal reflection advice When to use this quote - author drafting a novel - artist planning a series - researcher writing a grant Key Concepts flow state self‑regulation Practical Applications - schedule focused blocks - allow spontaneous deep work Questions to Reflect On - When does intense focus become burnout? - How can routine protect creative momentum? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Focused intensity is required to win. 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But, if I was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-mendes/i-wish-writing-was-a-talent-that-i-had-i-ve-tried-unfortunately-i-m/) [Eva Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-mendes/) > [During one's 20s, one has the perfect balance of the energy and imagination of a kid and the wisdom of an adult. Your 20's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsepiso-makhubedu/during-one-s-20s-one-has-the-perfect-balance-of-the-energy-and/) [Tsepiso Makhubedu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsepiso-makhubedu/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More by Kevin Keck > [Energy seems to be the more critical of those two variables, because if I'm really feeling the push/pull to write, then I'll make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/energy-seems-to-be-the-more-critical-of-those-two-variables-because/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [Of course, I don't mean to imply that all writers are working in the deep waters that border on the divine. Most writers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/of-course-i-don-t-mean-to-imply-that-all-writers-are-working-in-the/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [If you're trying to convey a crucial emotional truth, you have to be in total control of the emotional pacing of the story, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/if-you-re-trying-to-convey-a-crucial-emotional-truth-you-have-to-be/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [In some sense that was a blessing, because it forced me to focus on prose. I feel my narrative voice in prose is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/in-some-sense-that-was-a-blessing-because-it-forced-me-to-focus-on/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [As I've picked up more responsibilities in life, I've found nearly every one of those extra burdens drains me in a way that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/as-i-ve-picked-up-more-responsibilities-in-life-i-ve-found-nearly/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [That being said, if you slept with me and are filled with shame at the possibility of the world knowing, then you should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/that-being-said-if-you-slept-with-me-and-are-filled-with-shame-at-the/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [As a writer, I was deliberately creating an alternate world, and then populating it with experiences and people that I knew in this world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/as-a-writer-i-was-deliberately-creating-an-alternate-world-and-then/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [I've always been a fan of comedy, and I understood from a young age that what makes most comedy work is the immediacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-comedy-and-i-understood-from-a-young-age/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [I didn't write poems for a number of years after graduate school because the criticisms of other students in the workshops wouldn't quiet down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/i-didn-t-write-poems-for-a-number-of-years-after-graduate-school/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [It all depends on what I'm working on and if there is a deadline involved. Anything that's headed toward a magazine or newspaper is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/it-all-depends-on-what-i-m-working-on-and-if-there-is-a-deadline/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [In fact, I always assumed that most everything I read was true, to one degree or another. I couldn't articulate this fact until after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/in-fact-i-always-assumed-that-most-everything-i-read-was-true-to-one/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [Engaging with creativity in a serious way is a shamanistic activity, and by extension when you choose to follow a mystical path you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/engaging-with-creativity-in-a-serious-way-is-a-shamanistic-activity/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [At the time I was first writing the stories/essays that appear in Oedipus Wrecked, I was still under the impression that people would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/at-the-time-i-was-first-writing-the-stories-essays-that-appear-in/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [Curiously, the balance seems to come when writing is woven into every aspect of my life, like eating or exercising - one flows constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/curiously-the-balance-seems-to-come-when-writing-is-woven-into-every/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [Most writers are lazy intellectuals, and it's a goddamn shame because a writer with an audience has a moral responsibility to make readers think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/most-writers-are-lazy-intellectuals-and-it-s-a-goddamn-shame-because/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) [Explore all 23 Kevin Keck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) ## More Assertion quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) > [But innovation is more than a new method. 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Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/) > [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) > [The partisan when he is engaged in a dispute, cares nothing about the rights of the question, but is anxious only to convince his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-partisan-when-he-is-engaged-in-a-dispute-cares-nothing-about-the/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) Browse all 279 Assertion quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones. 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