--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know that one of the great arts that…" description: "\"I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, 'No. No, I'm finished. Bye.' And leaving it alone. I will not write it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/maya-angelou-104_alone_i-know-that-one-of-the-great-arts-that-t_1361859.png" --- # I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops… ![“I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, 'No. No, I'm finished. Bye.' And leaving it alone. I will not write it into the ground. I will not write the life out of it. I won't do that.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/maya-angelou-104_alone_i-know-that-one-of-the-great-arts-that-t_1361859.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/maya-angelou-104_alone_i-know-that-one-of-the-great-arts-that-t_1361859.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/maya-angelou-104_alone_i-know-that-one-of-the-great-arts-that-t_1361859.png) > “I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, 'No. No, I'm finished. Bye.' And leaving it alone. I will not write it into the ground. I will not write the life out of it. I won't do that.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer must know when to stop, preserving the work’s integrity by not over‑editing or forcing conclusions. **In simple terms:** Writers should end pieces gracefully, not overwork them. Key Takeaway Respect the work’s natural ending. Themes creativity discipline artistic integrity self‑restraint Mood determined reflective inspirational Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - draft revision - editing workshops - creative retreats - personal writing practice Key Concepts writing process minimalism creative boundaries Questions to Reflect On - When have you resisted the urge to add more? - How does restraint improve your art? A Different Perspective Stopping may leave ideas unfinished. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When asked how she knows when her writing is where she wants it to be: "I know when it's the best I can do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/when-asked-how-she-knows-when-her-writing-is-where-she-wants-it-to-be/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sanders/good-bye-i-am-leaving-because-i-am-bored/) [George Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sanders/) > [The writer who develops a beautiful style, but has nothing to say, represents a kind of arrested esthetic development; he is like a pianist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-writer-who-develops-a-beautiful-style-but-has-nothing-to-say/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Every time you make a tweet, a writer develops writer's block.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-d-votey/every-time-you-make-a-tweet-a-writer-develops-writer-s-block/) [Christopher D. Votey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-d-votey/) > [The repeated action of working and playing acts like a trowel that uncovers a hidden structure under the earth. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. 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A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' 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I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. 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It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, 'No. No, I'm finished. Bye.' And leaving it alone. I will not write it into the ground. I will not write the life out of it. 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