--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the only real rule I know in writing is…" description: "\"the only real rule I know in writing is, Don't be boring. Sleeping people don't read a word you write or hear a thing you say. How can they? They are a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/max-d-adams-65249_boring_the-only-real-rule-i-know-in-writing-is_1926964.jpg" --- # the only real rule I know in writing is, Don't be boring… ![“the only real rule I know in writing is, Don't be boring. Sleeping people don't read a word you write or hear a thing you say. How can they? They are asleep. So don't put anyone to sleep, and you will probably do okay.” quote by Max D. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/max-d-adams-65249_boring_the-only-real-rule-i-know-in-writing-is_1926964.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/max-d-adams-65249_boring_the-only-real-rule-i-know-in-writing-is_1926964.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dde/max-d-adams-65249_boring_the-only-real-rule-i-know-in-writing-is_1926964.jpg) > “the only real rule I know in writing is, Don't be boring. Sleeping people don't read a word you write or hear a thing you say. How can they? They are asleep. So don't put anyone to sleep, and you will probably do okay.” [Max D. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-d-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must keep audiences awake; dullness kills engagement and message reception. **In simple terms:** Avoid boring readers. Key Takeaway Engage, surprise, and energize your audience. Themes writing engagement audience communication Mood energetic urgent Type advice motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - blog posts - novel chapters - marketing copy Key Concepts attention storytelling clarity Questions to Reflect On - How do you test if your writing is boring? - What techniques keep readers alert? A Different Perspective Even lively prose can become tedious without clear purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Boring Sleeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring-sleeping-2993155/) [Know Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-writing/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Say Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-asleep-2993154/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleeping People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-people-2946992/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest mistake of the movement has been trying to organize a sleeping people around specific goals. You have to wake the people up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-greatest-mistake-of-the-movement-has-been-trying-to-organize-a/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [We want our sound to go into the soul of the audience, and see if it can awaken some little thing in their minds...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/we-want-our-sound-to-go-into-the-soul-of-the-audience-and-see-if-it/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [We're not co-sleeping. I'm all for what people want to do in their home, but I need my bed. I'm a terrible sleeper... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/busy-philipps/we-re-not-co-sleeping-i-m-all-for-what-people-want-to-do-in-their/) [Busy Philipps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/busy-philipps/) > [“I lie here sleeping, and these people are the fragments of my bloodless dreaming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-lie-here-sleeping-and-these-people-are-the-fragments-of-my/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“I would know that in any city, at an hour like this, there are people sleeping. That most people are sleeping. But that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-would-know-that-in-any-city-at-an-hour-like-this-there-are-people/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Sleeping people are so remote… Right here, but out of communication. That's what strikes humans as uncanny about sleep. Its utter privacy. The sleeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/sleeping-people-are-so-remote-right-here-but-out-of-communication/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Once you've caught a glimpse of the cosmos through the back doors of your church, it doesn't seem like such a big deal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lischer/once-you-ve-caught-a-glimpse-of-the-cosmos-through-the-back-doors-of/) [Richard Lischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lischer/) > [I have been accused of sleeping with people, I hadn't met yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/i-have-been-accused-of-sleeping-with-people-i-hadn-t-met-yet/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [My first interest in graffitti came when I was in grammar school, around '87 or '88 I was about twelve years old. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/my-first-interest-in-graffitti-came-when-i-was-in-grammar-school/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [You already know when I'm writing, so don't be surprised if it's short and dry, because I'm too hungry to write anything fat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/you-already-know-when-i-m-writing-so-don-t-be-surprised-if-it-s-short/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [I think it's dangerous to think you know what you're writing. I usually don't know, and usually I just discover it in the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-think-it-s-dangerous-to-think-you-know-what-you-re-writing-i/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [What keeps me writing is that I can only know through writing. My major sense organ is apparently a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/what-keeps-me-writing-is-that-i-can-only-know-through-writing-my/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/one-of-the-few-things-i-know-about-writing-is-this-spend-it-all-shoot/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I don't know about writing. It's quite lonely. You have to have a lot of patience with yourself. I don't know if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wilson/i-don-t-know-about-writing-it-s-quite-lonely-you-have-to-have-a-lot/) [Ruth Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wilson/) > [If I don't know who I'm writing for, I make it up and pick somebody I'm writing for. That's really the only way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/if-i-don-t-know-who-i-m-writing-for-i-make-it-up-and-pick-somebody-i/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) ## More by Max D. Adams > [in Hollywood, everyone wants what someone else wants. It's like a law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-d-adams/in-hollywood-everyone-wants-what-someone-else-wants-it-s-like-a-law/) [Max D. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-d-adams/) > [taste is like a sense of humor. I never met a person who didn't think they had one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-d-adams/taste-is-like-a-sense-of-humor-i-never-met-a-person-who-didn-t-think/) [Max D. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-d-adams/) > [We are 'writers,' we are not supposed to be interested in filthy lucre, we are supposed to be starry eyed artistes. ... In Reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-d-adams/we-are-writers-we-are-not-supposed-to-be-interested-in-filthy-lucre/) [Max D. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-d-adams/) [Explore all 4 Max D. Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-d-adams/) ## More Boring quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience's misconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/the-films-i-find-boring-are-the-ones-that-have-no-space-for-the/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-always-felt-that-dark-lyrics-with-dark-music-is-pretty-useless/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [Plumbing is usually boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/plumbing-is-usually-boring/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) [Browse all 3,123 Boring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "the only real rule I know in writing is, Don't be boring. Sleeping people don't read a word you write or hear a thing you say. How can they? They are asleep. So don't put anyone to sleep, and you will probably do okay.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max D. 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