--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always wanted to be a writer, and I…" description: "\"“I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wrote something – stories, poetry, articles, newsletters, letters. Most writers can't help themselves! It..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/marina-oliver-259968_poetry_i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-alw_906673.jpg" --- # I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wrote… ![“I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wrote something – stories, poetry, articles, newsletters, letters. Most writers can't help themselves! It's a compulsion.” quote by Marina Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/marina-oliver-259968_poetry_i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-alw_906673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/marina-oliver-259968_poetry_i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-alw_906673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/marina-oliver-259968_poetry_i-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-and-i-alw_906673.jpg) > ““I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wrote something – stories, poetry, articles, newsletters, letters. Most writers can't help themselves! It's a compulsion.”” Marina Oliver ## 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 a compulsion for many creators, driving them to constantly produce stories, poems, and articles. **In simple terms:** Writing feels like a compulsion. Key Takeaway Channel creative urges into writing. Themes creativity compulsion writing expression Mood inspired introspective Type Compulsion:1 Poetry:1 Writer:1 Writers:1 Writing:1 Wrote Stories:1 Wanted Writer:0 Writer Wrote:0 When to use this quote - journaling - storytelling - poetry workshops Key Concepts artistic drive literary productivity self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - What compels you to write? - How do you balance compulsion with rest? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I wanted to be a writer, so I became one. How? I wrote things down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-gore/i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-so-i-became-one-how-i-wrote-things-down/) [Ariel Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-gore/) > [I pretty much always knew I wanted to be a writer. I was writing goofy stories when I was 7 or 8. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-potter/i-pretty-much-always-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i-was-writing-goofy/) [Ellen Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-potter/) > [“There is a problem with writers. If what a writer wrote was published and sold many, many copies, the writer thought he was great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-a-problem-with-writers-if-what-a-writer-wrote-was-published/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I really started considering myself a writer when I was about seven or eight years old. I wrote stories from my dreams and kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennine-cap-crucet/i-really-started-considering-myself-a-writer-when-i-was-about-seven/) [Jennine Capó Crucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennine-cap-crucet/) > [“Everything okay?” Hunter called to me. He sounded like a noncommittal friend asking after my health. I looked like a crazy person sitting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/everything-okay-hunter-called-to-me-he-sounded-like-a-noncommittal/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-wrote-stories-from-the-time-i-was-a-little-girl-but-i-didn-t-want/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [All I thought about when I wrote my stories was, "I hope that these comic books would sell so I can keep my job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/all-i-thought-about-when-i-wrote-my-stories-was-i-hope-that-these/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [“Did he really believe God wrote stories that were open to one explanation only? A story that knew but one explanation could hardly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/did-he-really-believe-god-wrote-stories-that-were-open-to-one/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I started off as a journalist when I was young and I did not get paid unless I wrote three stories a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/i-started-off-as-a-journalist-when-i-was-young-and-i-did-not-get-paid/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [I wrote three stories on spec because I didn't have the patience to convince people I could write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanika-dhillon/i-wrote-three-stories-on-spec-because-i-didn-t-have-the-patience-to/) [Kanika Dhillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanika-dhillon/) > [Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/long-before-i-wrote-stories-i-listened-for-stories-listening-for-them-2/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I always wrote stories, but I do remember a particular moment in middle school where I became passionate about essay writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-always-wrote-stories-but-i-do-remember-a-particular-moment-in/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“Critical to my understanding of myself was that my parents may have been storytellers, but I was the writer in my family, the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-wolas/critical-to-my-understanding-of-myself-was-that-my-parents-may-have/) [Cherise Wolas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-wolas/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Of course, I had a paradigm of a certain city in my head when I wrote these stories, a city that inspired my imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/of-course-i-had-a-paradigm-of-a-certain-city-in-my-head-when-i-wrote/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) ## More Compulsion quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I think it's in our nature to try to get beyond that next horizon. I think that when we as a species are scratching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/i-think-it-s-in-our-nature-to-try-to-get-beyond-that-next-horizon-i/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/you-develop-an-instant-global-consciousness-a-people-orientation-an/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Why am I always at war with myself? Why have I told, as if upon compulsion, what I knew all along I ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/why-am-i-always-at-war-with-myself-why-have-i-told-as-if-upon/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I started off like everyone else does, slogging but having a compulsion to put words on paper. I didn't write or read horror or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-started-off-like-everyone-else-does-slogging-but-having-a/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/themistocles/i-have-with-me-two-gods-persuasion-and-compulsion/) [Themistocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/themistocles/) > [When you are dealing with a serious compulsion or addictive pattern, then by definition self-will, self-discipline, and any other machinations of the conscious mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-you-are-dealing-with-a-serious-compulsion-or-addictive-pattern/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 513 Compulsion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wrote something – stories, poetry, articles, newsletters, letters. Most writers can't help themselves! 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