--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to think of writing, of what one…" description: "\"Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an activity, rather than an identity to keep the calling a verb rather than a noun.\" — Lorrie Moore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png" --- # Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an… ![“Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an activity, rather than an identity to keep the calling a verb rather than a noun.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png) > “Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an activity, rather than an identity to keep the calling a verb rather than a noun.” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treat writing as a continual activity rather than a fixed identity, keeping the focus on the verb of doing. **In simple terms:** Write as an activity, not a label. Key Takeaway Focus on the act of writing. Themes creativity identity process Mood reflective encouraging Type creative motivational When to use this quote - daily writing - workshop participation - career development Key Concepts self‑definition artistic practice Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing writing as a verb affect your motivation? - What benefits arise from separating self from work? A Different Perspective Identity can limit growth if over‑emphasized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling/) [Calling Verb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling-verb-5718268/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Nouns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nouns/) [Think Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-writing-244738/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Verb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verb/) [Verb Noun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verb-noun-579595/) [Verbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbs/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-does-699335/) ## Related quotes > [Mother is a verb, not a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/mother-is-a-verb-not-a-noun/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [Here is God's purpose - For God, to me, it seems, is a verb not a noun, proper or improper; is the articulation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/here-is-god-s-purpose-for-god-to-me-it-seems-is-a-verb-not-a-noun-2/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Mind is a verb not a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/mind-is-a-verb-not-a-noun/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I believe in love the verb, not the noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/i-believe-in-love-the-verb-not-the-noun/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) > [Life is a verb, not a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/life-is-a-verb-not-a-noun/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Is there a God? No. God is a verb, not a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micky-dolenz/is-there-a-god-no-god-is-a-verb-not-a-noun/) [Micky Dolenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micky-dolenz/) > [In a language as idiomatically stressed as English, opportunities for misreadings are bound to arise. 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Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Theater is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/theater-is-a-verb-before-it-is-a-noun-an-act-before-it-is-a-place/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [God, to me, it seems, is a verb not a noun, proper or improper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/god-to-me-it-seems-is-a-verb-not-a-noun-proper-or-improper/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I thought art was a verb, rather than a noun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-thought-art-was-a-verb-rather-than-a-noun/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. 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Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an activity, rather than an identity to keep the calling a verb rather than a noun.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-does-as-an-activity-rather/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-does-as-an-activity-rather/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/lorrie-moore-870_activity_better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-d_1537427.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better to think of writing, of what one does, as an activity, rather than an identity to keep the calling a…” — Lorrie Moore", "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": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better to think of writing, of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-does-as-an-activity-rather/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/better-to-think-of-writing-of-what-one-does-as-an-activity-rather/#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 } } ] } ```