--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the…" description: "\"Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well on paper but don't know how to deal with th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png" --- # Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really… ![“Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well on paper but don't know how to deal with them in real life.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png) > “Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well on paper but don't know how to deal with them in real life.” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great writers understand human nature on paper but often lack real‑life interpersonal skills. **In simple terms:** Writers know people in stories but not always in life. Key Takeaway Develop empathy both in writing and real interactions. Themes empathy communication self‑awareness Mood thoughtful empathetic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - therapy - team leadership Key Concepts literary analysis social intelligence emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How does your writing reflect your real‑world empathy? - What steps can you take to improve personal interactions? A Different Perspective Skill gaps can affect credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Writers understand the world better, but they lack the strength to change it. 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Barry Eisler”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/smart-writers-understand-that-writing-is-also-a-business-really-smart/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [“Characters, as most writers understand, are truly developed through their relationships with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/characters-as-most-writers-understand-are-truly-developed-through/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think maybe writers come from different planets. I mean, not in any sense as extravagant as Baryshnikov. But there are some writers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/i-think-maybe-writers-come-from-different-planets-i-mean-not-in-any/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [And this shows that people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the truth. And it shows that something called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-this-shows-that-people-want-to-be-stupid-and-they-do-not-want-to/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I was so astonished that another had penetrated so deeply into the secrets of my soul, and that he knew what I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/i-was-so-astonished-that-another-had-penetrated-so-deeply-into-the/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [“Her thoughts rambled, but she wasn’t daydreaming. Her senses were sharp. She caught the fall of every leaf in the garden, the rustle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/her-thoughts-rambled-but-she-wasn-t-daydreaming-her-senses-were-sharp/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Only a fool is astonished by the foolishness of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/only-a-fool-is-astonished-by-the-foolishness-of-mankind/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Her professors were astonished by her leaps of thought, by the finesse and elegance of her insights. She arrived at hypotheses by sheer intuition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-eisenberg/her-professors-were-astonished-by-her-leaps-of-thought-by-the-finesse/) [Deborah Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-eisenberg/) > [“The orb sat, exhausted and astonished.  In a thousand years and more—it had never been thanked for failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-geary/the-orb-sat-exhausted-and-astonished-in-a-thousand-years-and-more-it/) [Debora Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-geary/) > [Young people have the advantage because they have their whole lives open to be astonished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/young-people-have-the-advantage-because-they-have-their-whole-lives/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-am-astonished-disappointed-pleased-with-myself-i-am-distressed/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-are-times-when-phrases-such-as-totally-astonished-just-don-t-do/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Astonished quotes > [There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-are-times-when-phrases-such-as-totally-astonished-just-don-t-do/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-am-astonished-disappointed-pleased-with-myself-i-am-distressed/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Young people have the advantage because they have their whole lives open to be astonished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/young-people-have-the-advantage-because-they-have-their-whole-lives/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [“The orb sat, exhausted and astonished.  In a thousand years and more—it had never been thanked for failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-geary/the-orb-sat-exhausted-and-astonished-in-a-thousand-years-and-more-it/) [Debora Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-geary/) > [Her professors were astonished by her leaps of thought, by the finesse and elegance of her insights. She arrived at hypotheses by sheer intuition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-eisenberg/her-professors-were-astonished-by-her-leaps-of-thought-by-the-finesse/) [Deborah Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-eisenberg/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Only a fool is astonished by the foolishness of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/only-a-fool-is-astonished-by-the-foolishness-of-mankind/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Her thoughts rambled, but she wasn’t daydreaming. Her senses were sharp. She caught the fall of every leaf in the garden, the rustle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/her-thoughts-rambled-but-she-wasn-t-daydreaming-her-senses-were-sharp/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [I was so astonished that another had penetrated so deeply into the secrets of my soul, and that he knew what I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/i-was-so-astonished-that-another-had-penetrated-so-deeply-into-the/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [When I saw the plane, I was absolutely astonished! Two emotions crashed over me: surging joy and crazy fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-sunderland/when-i-saw-the-plane-i-was-absolutely-astonished-two-emotions-crashed/) [Abby Sunderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-sunderland/) > [“To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette-2/to-be-astonished-is-one-of-the-surest-ways-of-not-growing-old-too/) Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette > [I'm astonished at how readily a great many people I know, young people, have accepted a reduced economic prospect and limited freedoms in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/i-m-astonished-at-how-readily-a-great-many-people-i-know-young-people/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/in-literature-as-in-love-we-are-astonished-at-what-is-chosen-by-others/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Do you know what astonished me the most in this world? The inability of force to create anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/do-you-know-what-astonished-me-the-most-in-this-world-the-inability/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The amazing heroic women in labor, they are the truest inspiration, and when they push their babies into the light... I am astonished every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lim/the-amazing-heroic-women-in-labor-they-are-the-truest-inspiration-and/) [Robin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lim/) Browse all 104 Astonished quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well on paper but don't know how to deal with them in real life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Haddon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the-number-of-really-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astonished" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the-number-of-really-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mark-haddon-1056_astonished_indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the_2987651.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well…” — Mark Haddon", "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": "Mark Haddon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the-number-of-really-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/indeed-i-am-repeatedly-astonished-by-the-number-of-really-good/#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 } } ] } ```