--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always wanted to write a book, but it…" description: "\"“I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even on the right-hand side of the page?”\" — Mar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg" --- # I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really… ![“I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even on the right-hand side of the page?” quote by Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg) > ““I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even on the right-hand side of the page?”” [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a book feels daunting, especially formatting challenges, but perseverance and tools can help. **In simple terms:** Writing a book seems hard, but you can manage. Key Takeaway Focus on content, learn formatting tools. Themes writing perseverance learning self‑improvement Mood determined practical Type advice motivational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - self‑publishing - academic paper - blog series Key Concepts editing process confidence Questions to Reflect On - What formatting tool could simplify your work? - How can you break the project into manageable steps? A Different Perspective Formatting issues can be technical and time‑consuming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In a family, the same spoken lines come in over and over. Intimacy exhausts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/in-a-family-the-same-spoken-lines-come-in-over-and-over-intimacy/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [You think, you don't just speak. The lines come off the thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/you-think-you-don-t-just-speak-the-lines-come-off-the-thoughts/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) > [I never really wanted to write a book in the first place. Never intended to do such. I feel like I wasted a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarface/i-never-really-wanted-to-write-a-book-in-the-first-place-never/) [Scarface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarface/) > [I never wanted to write a book, and people have asked me for years to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/i-never-wanted-to-write-a-book-and-people-have-asked-me-for-years-to/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [I think, for me, there's The Book I Should Write and The Book I Wanted to Write - and they weren't the same book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-think-for-me-there-s-the-book-i-should-write-and-the-book-i-wanted/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [We wanted to write a book that we would have read as kids, and would love to read to our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fletcher/we-wanted-to-write-a-book-that-we-would-have-read-as-kids-and-would/) [Tom Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fletcher/) > [I've always wanted to write a book. And it turned out that it was more about finding a story that I felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-and-it-turned-out-that-it-was-more/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [I was given the opportunity to write the kind of book that I wanted to write, rather than one that catalogues where I sang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/i-was-given-the-opportunity-to-write-the-kind-of-book-that-i-wanted/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [Even before I competed in the Olympics, I always wanted to write a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-douglas/even-before-i-competed-in-the-olympics-i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book/) [Gabby Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-douglas/) > [“Ever since I could read, I’ve wanted to write a book. I never thought I had anything to write about. Maybe you don’t think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/ever-since-i-could-read-i-ve-wanted-to-write-a-book-i-never-thought-i/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [For me, I wanted to write a book about getting into comedy. That's what I wanted to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/for-me-i-wanted-to-write-a-book-about-getting-into-comedy-that-s-what/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [I always wanted to write a book. Not a romance novel. Maybe a crime thriller. Something with action. Maybe that will happen some day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-sauerbrunn/i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-not-a-romance-novel-maybe-a-crime/) [Becky Sauerbrunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-sauerbrunn/) > [I wanted to write a book about the stories, ones that you sit around and tell your friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-payton/i-wanted-to-write-a-book-about-the-stories-ones-that-you-sit-around/) [Sean Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-payton/) > [I should write a book. I've always wanted to write a book. I should write a book about kids who see dead people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-noory/i-should-write-a-book-i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-i-should/) [George Noory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-noory/) > [I wanted to write a book about two women falling in love that wasn't hinged on tragedy or that involved some horrible identity-based misfortune.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-perri/i-wanted-to-write-a-book-about-two-women-falling-in-love-that-wasn-t/) [Camille Perri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-perri/) ## More by Mary Norris > [One of the things I like about my job is that it draws on the entire person: not just your knowledge of grammar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-my-job-is-that-it-draws-on-the-entire/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Punctuation is a deeply conservative club. It hardly ever admits a new member.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/punctuation-is-a-deeply-conservative-club-it-hardly-ever-admits-a-new/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [There is a phase in the life of every copy editor when she is obsessed with hyphens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/there-is-a-phase-in-the-life-of-every-copy-editor-when-she-is/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Back in the twentieth century, we thought that robots would have taken over by this time, and, in a way, they have. But robots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/back-in-the-twentieth-century-we-thought-that-robots-would-have-taken/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [The English language is full of words that are just waiting to be misspelled, and the world is full of sticklers, ready to pounce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/the-english-language-is-full-of-words-that-are-just-waiting-to-be/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Commas, like nuns, often travel in pairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/commas-like-nuns-often-travel-in-pairs/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Everybody is a writer. Everybody uses e-mail and has Facebook pages and tweets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/everybody-is-a-writer-everybody-uses-e-mail-and-has-facebook-pages/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Something there is in cyberspace that doesn't love an apostrophe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/something-there-is-in-cyberspace-that-doesn-t-love-an-apostrophe/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [“I always forget that, in the popular imagination, the copy editor is a bit of a witch, and it surprises me when someone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-forget-that-in-the-popular-imagination-the-copy-editor-is-a/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Why, if there is alphabet soup, do we not have punctuation cereal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/why-if-there-is-alphabet-soup-do-we-not-have-punctuation-cereal/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/the-dictionary-is-a-wonderful-thing-but-you-can-t-let-it-push-you/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [The comma, if it's left out, sometimes can be a problem. There's a slogan on a T-shirt going around that "Let's Eat, Grandma," and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/the-comma-if-it-s-left-out-sometimes-can-be-a-problem-there-s-a/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Nobody knows everything-one of the pleasures of language is that there is always something new to learn-and everybody makes mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/nobody-knows-everything-one-of-the-pleasures-of-language-is-that/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [Many survivors refuse to talk about what they went through but I've never been ashamed to have been in one of those places. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/many-survivors-refuse-to-talk-about-what-they-went-through-but-i-ve/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [On the printed page, it's best to have everything - you know, to still mind your P's and Q's, dot your I's and cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/on-the-printed-page-it-s-best-to-have-everything-you-know-to-still/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) [Explore all 16 Mary Norris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even on the right-hand side of the page?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Norris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-looked-really-hard-how-did-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-looked-really-hard-how-did-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/mary-norris-31685_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-l_636391.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always wanted to write a book, but it looked really hard: how did you get all the lines to come out even…” — Mary Norris", "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 Norris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I always wanted to write a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-looked-really-hard-how-did-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-wanted-to-write-a-book-but-it-looked-really-hard-how-did-you/#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 } } ] } ```