--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing about an idea frees me of it…" description: "\"Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/mason-cooley-92_circles_writing-about-an-idea-frees-me-of-it-thi_56593.png" --- # Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is… ![“Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/mason-cooley-92_circles_writing-about-an-idea-frees-me-of-it-thi_56593.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/mason-cooley-92_circles_writing-about-an-idea-frees-me-of-it-thi_56593.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/mason-cooley-92_circles_writing-about-an-idea-frees-me-of-it-thi_56593.png) > “Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing externalizes thoughts, breaking the endless mental loop of rumination. **In simple terms:** Writing externalizes ideas. Key Takeaway Writing stops mental repetition. Themes self-awareness creativity mental clarity productivity Mood reflective introspective Type aphor observation When to use this quote - journaling - brainstorming - problem solving - creative writing Key Concepts externalization reflection Practical Applications - clarify thoughts - break rumination cycles Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your perception of a problem? - What mental patterns emerge when you stop writing? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Frees Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frees-thinking-784732/) [Idea Frees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-frees-784733/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Repetition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repetition/) [Repetitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repetitions-310690/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-idea-784734/) ## Related quotes > [In a way, putting actors deep into this sort of complicated universe frees them from thinking about who they should be. They just are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-gondry/in-a-way-putting-actors-deep-into-this-sort-of-complicated-universe/) [Michel Gondry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-gondry/) > [We can never know God as it is our privilege to know Him by brief repetitions that are requests for personal favors, and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/we-can-never-know-god-as-it-is-our-privilege-to-know-him-by-brief/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [But better die than live mechanically a life that is a repetition of repetitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-better-die-than-live-mechanically-a-life-that-is-a-repetition-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the things I try to do is try to make repetitions, rhymes, and mirrorings across the subject matter of my own books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/one-of-the-things-i-try-to-do-is-try-to-make-repetitions-rhymes-and/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Nowhere does history indulge in repetitions so often or so uniformly as in Wall Street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-lefevre/nowhere-does-history-indulge-in-repetitions-so-often-or-so-uniformly-2/) [Edwin Lefevre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-lefevre/) > [“Compulsive repetitions are the death of fantasies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/compulsive-repetitions-are-the-death-of-fantasies/) [sir kristian goldmund aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [The relation of repetitions for learning and for repeating English stanzas needs no amplification. These were learned by heart on the first day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-ebbinghaus/the-relation-of-repetitions-for-learning-and-for-repeating-english/) [Hermann Ebbinghaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-ebbinghaus/) > [Partial repetitions is another technique that I used -- sparingly. I was always a fan of doing full repetitions on every set. 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When a lot of writers are writing, they're writing an idea. So they're not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-phillips/when-i-m-writing-i-m-writing-for-a-particular-actor-when-a-lot-of/) [Todd Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-phillips/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Circles quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. 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