--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is how you do it: you sit down at…" description: "\"This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/neil-gaiman-29_creativity_this-is-how-you-do-it-you-sit-down-at-th_630492.jpg" --- # This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and… ![“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/neil-gaiman-29_creativity_this-is-how-you-do-it-you-sit-down-at-th_630492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/neil-gaiman-29_creativity_this-is-how-you-do-it-you-sit-down-at-th_630492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/neil-gaiman-29_creativity_this-is-how-you-do-it-you-sit-down-at-th_630492.jpg) > “This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes writing as a simple act of typing words sequentially, yet the process is both easy and challenging **In simple terms:** Writing is straightforward yet demanding, requiring perseverance Key Takeaway Embrace the simplicity of starting, accept the difficulty of finishing Themes creativity process discipline Mood motivational practical Type creative instructional When to use this quote - authoring a novel - blogging - content creation Key Concepts writing focus productivity Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help maintain momentum in writing? - How does one balance ease of start with difficulty of finish? A Different Perspective May underestimate the complexity of creative work ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I love writing and I just sit at my keyboard and write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-o-sullivan/i-love-writing-and-i-just-sit-at-my-keyboard-and-write/) [Gilbert O'Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-o-sullivan/) > [Love. It's a short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, and impossible to live without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-it-s-a-short-word-easy-to-spell-difficult-to-define-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to do all my programming on a BBC computer. It was limited to 16 tracks, and you used the keyboard, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-clarke/i-used-to-do-all-my-programming-on-a-bbc-computer-it-was-limited-to/) [Vince Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-clarke/) > [As a kid, I was always into art at the same time as computers, and eventually I realised I was making more interesting stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-koblin/as-a-kid-i-was-always-into-art-at-the-same-time-as-computers-and/) [Aaron Koblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-koblin/) > [Windows 2000 already contains features such as the human discipline component, where the PC can send an electric shock through the keyboard if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/windows-2000-already-contains-features-such-as-the-human-discipline/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I'm a bit of a gunner on the QWERTY keyboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-watson/i-m-a-bit-of-a-gunner-on-the-qwerty-keyboard/) [Jay Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-watson/) > [I've always been fascinated with the juxtaposition of technology in music, not only in recording, but in the keyboard. It's amazing the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-downes/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-with-the-juxtaposition-of-technology-in/) [Geoff Downes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-downes/) > [I change my keyboard between every book. I usually shop around. I'm very passionate about the physical feel of pressing the keys. It's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-change-my-keyboard-between-every-book-i-usually-shop-around-i-m/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [IM is interesting because you look at your buddy list and, at a glance, see what your friends are listening to, what they're working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/im-is-interesting-because-you-look-at-your-buddy-list-and-at-a-glance/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/on-the-keyboard-of-life-always-keep-one-finger-on-the-escape-key/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [We don't have a lot of time to practice, but yeah, we need to find a keyboard over there, or else I need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-wayman/we-don-t-have-a-lot-of-time-to-practice-but-yeah-we-need-to-find-a/) [Theresa Wayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-wayman/) > [I can play just about any keyboard but I can't read or write a note.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carpenter/i-can-play-just-about-any-keyboard-but-i-can-t-read-or-write-a-note/) [John Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carpenter/) > [I love playing. The keyboard is my journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/i-love-playing-the-keyboard-is-my-journal/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [I don't like sitting at a keyboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owsley-stanley/i-don-t-like-sitting-at-a-keyboard/) [Owsley Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owsley-stanley/) > [There is nothing like having your hands on a keyboard. Or an acoustic piano. Those are the things you can't really replace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-downes/there-is-nothing-like-having-your-hands-on-a-keyboard-or-an-acoustic/) [Geoff Downes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-downes/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. 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