--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a…" description: "\"Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg" --- # Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day… ![“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg) > “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” [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. Good writing days create a sanctuary where other concerns fade, highlighting the power of focus. **In simple terms:** When writing well, nothing else matters. Key Takeaway Prioritize and protect your creative flow. Themes focus creativity productivity Mood determined hopeful Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - daily writing rituals - time blocking - creative retreats Key Concepts writing process psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect your writing time? - What rituals help you enter a flow state? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress on good days. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writing/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-good/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Tomorrow Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow-hell-4505361/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-day/) [Writing Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-days-390454/) ## Related quotes > [To hell with tomorrow. To hell with all problems and barriers. Nothing matters but the Spectacular Now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tharp/to-hell-with-tomorrow-to-hell-with-all-problems-and-barriers-nothing/) [Tim Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tharp/) > [I think that's one of the maybe under-discussed aspects of process - the difference between a good writing day and a bad one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-that-s-one-of-the-maybe-under-discussed-aspects-of-process/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Left to it's own devices, writing is like weather. It has a drama, a form, a force to it that shapes the day. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/left-to-it-s-own-devices-writing-is-like-weather-it-has-a-drama-a/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/just-as-a-good-rain-clears-the-air-a-good-writing-day-clears-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I never feel more myself than when I’m writing; I never enjoy any day more than a good writing day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-never-feel-more-myself-than-when-i-m-writing-i-never-enjoy-any-day/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I would rise, monk-like, at 6 A.M., speak to no one, make tea, and go immediately to my desk from which I didn't move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-would-rise-monk-like-at-6-a-m-speak-to-no-one-make-tea-and-go/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/be-ruthless-about-protecting-writing-days-i-e-do-not-cave-in-to-2/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Be ruthless about protecting writing days…althoug h writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/be-ruthless-about-protecting-writing-days-althoug-h-writing-has-been/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I've tried writing. Two days later I'd go visit it and say, Jesus Christ, who wrote this crap?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-farina/i-ve-tried-writing-two-days-later-i-d-go-visit-it-and-say-jesus/) [Dennis Farina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-farina/) > [There are days when I should be writing, and I am so tired that I can't. And the fatigue also affects my emotions, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-griffith/there-are-days-when-i-should-be-writing-and-i-am-so-tired-that-i-can/) [Nicola Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-griffith/) > [The hardest bits of my book to read were the easiest bits to write because they were the most immediate. Probably because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-barr/the-hardest-bits-of-my-book-to-read-were-the-easiest-bits-to-write/) [Damian Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-barr/) > [Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-ruthless-about-protecting-writing-days-i-e-do-not-cave-in-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-tell-me-they-plan-everything-at-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Be ruthless about protecting writing days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/be-ruthless-about-protecting-writing-days/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“We need to live in the now of life, it can't be about how much we suffered yesterday or what we might face tomorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-leon/we-need-to-live-in-the-now-of-life-it-can-t-be-about-how-much-we/) [Bonnie Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-leon/) ## 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 Good writing quotes > [My only close-to-game-plan is to follow good writing. If the writing is in TV or if it's in theater or in film, that's it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/my-only-close-to-game-plan-is-to-follow-good-writing-if-the-writing/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I don't think that writing, real writing, has much to do with affirming belief--if anything it causes rifts and gaps in belief which make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-think-that-writing-real-writing-has-much-to-do-with-affirming/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [There is sometimes a feeling in crime fiction that good writing gets in the way of story. I have never felt that way. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/there-is-sometimes-a-feeling-in-crime-fiction-that-good-writing-gets/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [There is no royal path to good writing; and such paths as exist do not lead through neat critical gardens, various as they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/there-is-no-royal-path-to-good-writing-and-such-paths-as-exist-do-not/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [ David Mamet, Tim Kazurinsky, and Denise DeClue, who adapted \[ About Last Night\]. Between the three of them... I mean, it's always down to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/david-mamet-tim-kazurinsky-and-denise-declue-who-adapted-about-last/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [Agents and publishers only want one thing - good writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/agents-and-publishers-only-want-one-thing-good-writing/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [ Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. \[...\] The advent of hypertext is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/hypertext-makes-a-virtue-out-of-lack-of-organization-allowing-ideas/) [Donald A. 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You need to start somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/almost-all-good-writing-begins-with-terrible-first-efforts-you-need/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 348 Good writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-good-writing-day-and-on-the-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-good-writing-day-and-on-the-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/neil-gaiman-29_good-writing_tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-goo_1586885.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” — Neil Gaiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tomorrow may be hell, but today...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-good-writing-day-and-on-the-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/tomorrow-may-be-hell-but-today-was-a-good-writing-day-and-on-the-good/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```