--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is a secret to writing, I…" description: "\"If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your mind, and hang in there.\" — Mary McGrory" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg" --- # If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet… ![“If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your mind, and hang in there.” quote by Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg) > “If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your mind, and hang in there.” [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires patience, focus, and perseverance rather than a hidden formula. **In simple terms:** Writing needs patience and focus. Key Takeaway Sit down, clear mind, keep writing. Themes writing patience perseverance Mood determined reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - daily journaling - academic paper drafting Key Concepts creative process mental discipline Questions to Reflect On - How do you clear mental clutter before writing? - What routine helps you persist? A Different Perspective No shortcut guarantees success; discipline matters more. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clear your mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear-your-mind/) [Hang in there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hang-in-there/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm still writing about you and you haven't read a word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-grant/i-m-still-writing-about-you-and-you-haven-t-read-a-word/) Travis Grant > [Have I been on your mind? Do you hang on every word I say? Lose yourself in time, at the mention of my name?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/have-i-been-on-your-mind-do-you-hang-on-every-word-i-say-lose/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [“Just like so many things in life, the secret to writing a book is just sticking with it. Put in the time and eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-littorno/just-like-so-many-things-in-life-the-secret-to-writing-a-book-is-just/) Jeffrey Littorno > [“Secret to writing a bestseller: You write. You stop dreaming of writing. You stop talking about writing. Stop wishing you were writing. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gunson/secret-to-writing-a-bestseller-you-write-you-stop-dreaming-of-writing/) Jonathan Gunson > [Well, the secret to writing is writing. It's only a secret to people who don't want to hear it. Writing is how you be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it-s-only-a-secret-to-people/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The secret is writing down one simple line after another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-secret-is-writing-down-one-simple-line-after-another/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“From the early days of its existence, cryptology had served to obscure critical portions of writings dealing with the potent subject of magic—divinations, spells,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/from-the-early-days-of-its-existence-cryptology-had-served-to-obscure/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [Few persons can be made to believe that it is not quite an easy thing to invent a method of secret writing that shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/few-persons-can-be-made-to-believe-that-it-is-not-quite-an-easy-thing/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this: It's not the writing part that's hard. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-s-a-secret-that-real-writers-know-that-wannabe-writers-don-t/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [I don't know what the secret is when I am writing it - it really is a surprise to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/i-don-t-know-what-the-secret-is-when-i-am-writing-it-it-really-is-a/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [Is there a secret? Yes. Anaïs Nin and Pauline Réage and Anne Rampling and Erica Jong all knew it. E. L. James knows it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-rose/is-there-a-secret-yes-ana-s-nin-and-pauline-r-age-and-anne-rampling/) [M.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-rose/) > [“Vātsyāyana’s famous textbook of erotics, the Kāma-sūtra, lists secret writing as one of the 64 arts, or yogas, that women should know and practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/v-tsy-yana-s-famous-textbook-of-erotics-the-k-ma-s-tra-lists-secret/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [“...the secret to writing is to get your own pain - shout it out till it hurts your throat - weep it into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-secret-to-writing-is-to-get-your-own-pain-shout-it-out-till-it/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women and kept a secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was-a-secret-writing-system-that/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [There's no "magic secret"; writing is like everything else; ten percent inspiration or talent, and ninety percent hard work. Persistence; keeping at it till…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/there-s-no-magic-secret-writing-is-like-everything-else-ten-percent/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) ## More by Mary McGrory > [Baseball is what we were, and football is what we have become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/baseball-is-what-we-were-and-football-is-what-we-have-become/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Baseball has a special place in our hearts. It is the game that shows us as we would like to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/baseball-has-a-special-place-in-our-hearts-it-is-the-game-that-shows/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [ \[On Italy:\] ... the country where kindness to strangers is a religion, you can't turn your head without seeing something beautiful, and you can't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-italy-the-country-where-kindness-to-strangers-is-a-religion-you/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [ \[On George H.W. Bush:\] A man who wishes to lead the Western world should be able to find the right words, string them together… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-george-h-w-bush-a-man-who-wishes-to-lead-the-western-world-should/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Dogs, bless them, operate on the premise that human beings are fragile and require incessant applications of affection and reassurance. The random lick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/dogs-bless-them-operate-on-the-premise-that-human-beings-are-fragile/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Haldeman is the only man in America in this generation who let his hair grow for a courtroom appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/haldeman-is-the-only-man-in-america-in-this-generation-who-let-his/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [You need the will to disarm the civilian population. If we can do it in Somalia, we can do it here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/you-need-the-will-to-disarm-the-civilian-population-if-we-can-do-it/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Anyone who has undergone home repair lately knows that your everyday artisan uses language so loosely and makes false promises so glibly as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/anyone-who-has-undergone-home-repair-lately-knows-that-your-everyday/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [And the propensity of weak and empty people to follow a leader into the darkness from which there is no return is still flourishing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/and-the-propensity-of-weak-and-empty-people-to-follow-a-leader-into/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Human sacrifice is much in vogue right now. The Republican right thinks that people who get on its nerves, especially women, should be sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/human-sacrifice-is-much-in-vogue-right-now-the-republican-right/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [Appliances have idiosyncracies, just like us. Unfortunately they have picked up our less attractive traits - they are proud, spiteful, and unforgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/appliances-have-idiosyncracies-just-like-us-unfortunately-they-have/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [ \[On men:\] On their best days, the best of them are eight years old. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-men-on-their-best-days-the-best-of-them-are-eight-years-old/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [ \[On Senator Everett Dirksen:\] His great enemy was boredom and he won every engagement. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-senator-everett-dirksen-his-great-enemy-was-boredom-and-he-won/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [ \[On George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis:\] Americans now know they can vote for a man who can't express his thoughts or a man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-george-h-w-bush-vs-michael-dukakis-americans-now-know-they-can/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [I am hoping for better times. That's how you know us hapless gardeners - by our dirty fingernails and our absurd, unquenchable optimism about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/i-am-hoping-for-better-times-that-s-how-you-know-us-hapless-gardeners/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) [Explore all 19 Mary McGrory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) ## More Clear quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [When I came to Chelsea, it was clear that, like many other players, I would first be loaned out. So I went to Belgium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorgan-hazard/when-i-came-to-chelsea-it-was-clear-that-like-many-other-players-i/) [Thorgan Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorgan-hazard/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [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/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I try to listen to all music with an open head, a clear head, try not to say just because I don't know it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ghostface-killah/i-try-to-listen-to-all-music-with-an-open-head-a-clear-head-try-not/) [Ghostface Killah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ghostface-killah/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [I've always made it clear that I do not believe that global government is either necessary or feasible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/i-ve-always-made-it-clear-that-i-do-not-believe-that-global/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) > [The moment it begins to question itself, the mind becomes so clear that it starts working with itself rather than with the body's identification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/the-moment-it-begins-to-question-itself-the-mind-becomes-so-clear/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) Browse all 7,410 Clear quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your mind, and hang in there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary McGrory" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven-t-found-it-yet-all-i-know-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven-t-found-it-yet-all-i-know-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/mary-mcgrory-28645_clear_if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven_2139834.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is a secret to writing, I haven’t found it yet. All I know is you need to sit down, clear your…” — Mary McGrory", "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": "Mary McGrory", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there is a secret to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven-t-found-it-yet-all-i-know-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/if-there-is-a-secret-to-writing-i-haven-t-found-it-yet-all-i-know-is/#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 } } ] } ```