--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who could write so easily, who could…" description: "\"“He who could write so easily, who could spend a thousand words down along his plunging fingers on the green-rubber keyboard of his machine, had stumbl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/laura-z-hobson-36106_computers_he-who-could-write-so-easily-who-could-s_438885.jpg" --- # He who could write so easily, who could spend a thousand… ![“He who could write so easily, who could spend a thousand words down along his plunging fingers on the green-rubber keyboard of his machine, had stumbled like a first-grader over this single paragraph. A dozen times he had begun it and written into it a naked desperation; a dozen times he had begun…” quote by Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/laura-z-hobson-36106_computers_he-who-could-write-so-easily-who-could-s_438885.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/laura-z-hobson-36106_computers_he-who-could-write-so-easily-who-could-s_438885.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9e/laura-z-hobson-36106_computers_he-who-could-write-so-easily-who-could-s_438885.jpg) > ““He who could write so easily, who could spend a thousand words down along his plunging fingers on the green-rubber keyboard of his machine, had stumbled like a first-grader over this single paragraph. A dozen times he had begun it and written into it a naked desperation; a dozen times he had begun it and written into it the frosted mathematics of logic. Finally he'd written out quickly the sentences that kept cropping up in all the versions. Those must be, to whatever censor there was in him, the most acceptable ones. He sealed it without rereading it and went out to mail it. An hour later he despised himself for having sent it.”” [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) ## 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 struggles with self‑censorship, repeatedly revising a paragraph until it feels acceptable, then sends it despite lingering doubt. **In simple terms:** Self‑doubt leads to endless revisions before submission. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and trust your work. Themes self‑doubt creative process perfectionism Mood anxious determined reflective Type advice literary When to use this quote - academic writing - email drafts - creative projects - first‑draft submissions Key Concepts censorship writer’s block confidence Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you sent work without over‑editing? - How does fear of judgment shape your writing? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress and erode confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [“For many writers the goal is a thousand words a day. For me, just give me one thought, and the words will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-fitchett/for-many-writers-the-goal-is-a-thousand-words-a-day-for-me-just-give/) [Garry Fitchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-fitchett/) > [“The majority of the people in the United States have had only an elementary education and have a speaking vocabulary of about two thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-c-waller/the-majority-of-the-people-in-the-united-states-have-had-only-an/) [Judith C. 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Film is a visual medium, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/what-s-great-is-that-each-medium-has-a-unique-set-of-things-that-it/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [“I drifted on life’s waves — from love to hate, from hate to a love learned the hard way.” — Angelika Regossi, My Thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelika-regossi/i-drifted-on-life-s-waves-from-love-to-hate-from-hate-to-a-love/) [Angelika Regossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelika-regossi/) > [A picture can tell a thousand words, Pbut a few words can change its story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-picture-can-tell-a-thousand-words-pbut-a-few-words-can-change-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don’t know who said a picture is worth a thousand words, but whoever said it is wrong. 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Well I say my eyes will tell you everything you need to know. Can you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/they-say-a-picture-paints-a-thousand-words-well-i-say-my-eyes-will/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [As soon as I began, it seemed impossible to write fast enough - I wrote faster than I would write a letter - two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/as-soon-as-i-began-it-seemed-impossible-to-write-fast-enough-i-wrote/) [Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/) ## More by Laura Z. Hobson > [I grew up in an agnostic broad-minded family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/i-grew-up-in-an-agnostic-broad-minded-family/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [“They had known it, the patient, stubborn men who for years had argued and written and rephrased and fought over the Constitution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/they-had-known-it-the-patient-stubborn-men-who-for-years-had-argued/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [We are born in innocence. ... Corruption comes later. The first fear is a corruption, the first reaching for something that defies us. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/we-are-born-in-innocence-corruption-comes-later-the-first-fear-is-a/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [Why didn't children ever see that they could damage and harm their parents as much as parents could damage and harm children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/why-didn-t-children-ever-see-that-they-could-damage-and-harm-their/) [Laura Z. 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Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [“When he’d wanted to find out about a scared guy in a jalopy with his whole family behind him hoping for a living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/when-he-d-wanted-to-find-out-about-a-scared-guy-in-a-jalopy-with-his/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [I've told youngsters not to write their autobiographical novel at the age of twenty-one; to save it for the time when they're fifty-one or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/i-ve-told-youngsters-not-to-write-their-autobiographical-novel-at-the/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [“THE CITY WAS ASLEEP. New York, the nervous, keyed-up city, was almost at rest two hours past midnight. Watching the sleeping stone under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/the-city-was-asleep-new-york-the-nervous-keyed-up-city-was-almost-at/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [I think of myself as a plain human being who happens to be an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/i-think-of-myself-as-a-plain-human-being-who-happens-to-be-an-american/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [“Slow and unarguable, the old desire for love, for a close-shared life, struck at him, not with Kathy, not with Anne, not with any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/slow-and-unarguable-the-old-desire-for-love-for-a-close-shared-life/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) [Explore all 13 Laura Z. Hobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. 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No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? 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In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He who could write so easily, who could spend a thousand words down along his plunging fingers on the green-rubber keyboard of his machine, had stumbled like a first-grader over this single paragraph. A dozen times he had begun it and written into it a naked desperation; a dozen times he had begun it and written into it the frosted mathematics of logic. Finally he'd written out quickly the sentences that kept cropping up in all the versions. Those must be, to whatever censor there was in him, the most acceptable ones. He sealed it without rereading it and went out to mail it. 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