--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All writing is about the same thing…" description: "\"“All writing is about the same thing - it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration it creates”\" — Mordecai Richler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mordecai-richler-13361_death_all-writing-is-about-the-same-thing-it-s_2597346.jpg" --- # All writing is about the same thing - it's about dying… ![“All writing is about the same thing - it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration it creates” quote by Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mordecai-richler-13361_death_all-writing-is-about-the-same-thing-it-s_2597346.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mordecai-richler-13361_death_all-writing-is-about-the-same-thing-it-s_2597346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/mordecai-richler-13361_death_all-writing-is-about-the-same-thing-it-s_2597346.jpg) > ““All writing is about the same thing - it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration it creates”” [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing confronts mortality, highlighting life's fleeting nature and the frustration it spawns. **In simple terms:** Writing reflects on life's shortness and frustration. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence in creativity. Themes mortality creativity frustration Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - authorial process - personal reflection - artistic blocks Key Concepts existentialism literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of time affect your work? - Can frustration be a creative catalyst? A Different Perspective Focusing on death may hinder joy in writing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dying Brief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-brief-1291363/) [Frustration Creates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustration-creates-1291361/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Frustration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-frustration-1913904/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-thing-257960/) ## Related quotes > [Fundamentally, all writing is about the same thing; it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/fundamentally-all-writing-is-about-the-same-thing-it-s-about-dying/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [When things were not going right for me, writing was the only thing that kept my equilibrium right, it has always been a do-it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditya-dhar/when-things-were-not-going-right-for-me-writing-was-the-only-thing/) [Aditya Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditya-dhar/) > [“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/writing-is-the-only-thing-that-when-i-do-it-i-don-t-feel-i-should-be/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [You know what they're writing about Baby you know what they're writing about It's a thing called love down through the ages Makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/you-know-what-they-re-writing-about-baby-you-know-what-they-re/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I did the co-writing thing all through the '90s and I got one hit out of it - a Keith Urban song called 'But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wiedlin/i-did-the-co-writing-thing-all-through-the-90s-and-i-got-one-hit-out/) [Jane Wiedlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wiedlin/) > [“Writing the thing is the journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigia-stephens/writing-the-thing-is-the-journey/) [Nigia Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigia-stephens/) > [Writing is the only thing I am good for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/writing-is-the-only-thing-i-am-good-for/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [It was relatively easy to write 'The Cave of Lost Souls', though, because it came to me one night in a dream. I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kane/it-was-relatively-easy-to-write-the-cave-of-lost-souls-though-because/) [Paul Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kane/) > [“I wish i could write them down, these little coloured parables or poems that live for a moment in some cell of my brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-wish-i-could-write-them-down-these-little-coloured-parables-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The silver lining of those years when I was trying to get 'Tinkers' published but couldn't were the years when I had to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-silver-lining-of-those-years-when-i-was-trying-to-get-tinkers/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [Reading and writing are the same thing; it's just one's the more active and the other's the more passive. 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It just doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/writing-is-the-only-thing-in-my-life-that-doesn-t-get-easier-it-just/) [Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/) > [I spend so much time on the screen when I am writing, the last thing you want to do is spend more time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-spend-so-much-time-on-the-screen-when-i-am-writing-the-last-thing/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I never question the way I write. Writing is the only thing that's without seams for me. It's an effort to talk because my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-never-question-the-way-i-write-writing-is-the-only-thing-that-s/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## More by Mordecai Richler > [If you're writing a novel, you're in a room for three or four years. There's not much coming in from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/if-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-re-in-a-room-for-three-or-four-years/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [Canada is one of the few places left where the small decencies are observed. If, as a young man, I was scornful of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/canada-is-one-of-the-few-places-left-where-the-small-decencies-are/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [I obviously prefer writing novels but I take my journalism very seriously, and I enjoy doing it between novels. It gives me an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/i-obviously-prefer-writing-novels-but-i-take-my-journalism-very/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [I work every day - or at least I force myself into office or room. 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And to begin with, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/well-when-i-was-a-young-writer-the-people-we-read-were-hemingway/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) [Explore all 45 Mordecai Richler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. 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