--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Write or draw or build or sing or live as…" description: "\"Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/neil-gaiman-29_draw_write-or-draw-or-build-or-sing-or-live-a_377312.jpg" --- # Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can… ![“Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/neil-gaiman-29_draw_write-or-draw-or-build-or-sing-or-live-a_377312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/neil-gaiman-29_draw_write-or-draw-or-build-or-sing-or-live-a_377312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/neil-gaiman-29_draw_write-or-draw-or-build-or-sing-or-live-a_377312.jpg) > “Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” [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. Encourage authentic self‑expression and surprise yourself with growth within a year. **In simple terms:** Be true to yourself and aim for unexpected personal breakthroughs. Key Takeaway Embrace your unique path and seek surprise. Themes self‑expression creativity personal growth Mood inspired hopeful Type motivational creative When to use this quote - art projects - career pivots - new hobbies - public performances Key Concepts authenticity risk‑taking self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What unique talent will you nurture? - How can you measure surprise in yourself? A Different Perspective May feel impractical without clear goals or support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Happy new year inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-new-year-inspirational/) [Hope Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-year-2910089/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-year/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Year Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-surprise-3429786/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/may-your-coming-year-be-filled-with-magic-and-dreams-and-good-madness-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Make your mistakes, next year and forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/make-your-mistakes-next-year-and-forever/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I hope that this year, you make mistakes. If you do, then it means you have tried, learned, lived, pushed yourself, changed you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-hope-that-this-year-you-make-mistakes-if-you-do-then-it-means-you/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/may-your-coming-year-be-filled-with-magic-and-dreams-and-good-madness/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Whatever you're scared of doing, Do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/make-glorious-amazing-mistakes-make-mistakes-nobody-s-ever-made/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-hope-you-read-some-fine-books-and-kiss-someone-who-thinks-you-re/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You never know who will win and I think that is the great thing about this league (as a player) because it gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-strahan/you-never-know-who-will-win-and-i-think-that-is-the-great-thing-about/) [Michael Strahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-strahan/) > [“I hope this year that I don't make the same mistake as I did last year while on Life Guard duty at the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-whitehead/i-hope-this-year-that-i-don-t-make-the-same-mistake-as-i-did-last/) [Duncan Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-whitehead/) > [I would say happy new year, but it's not happy; it's exactly the same as last year except colder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-clark/i-would-say-happy-new-year-but-it-s-not-happy-it-s-exactly-the-same/) [Robert Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-clark/) > [But can one still make resolutions when one is over forty? I live according to twenty-year-old habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/but-can-one-still-make-resolutions-when-one-is-over-forty-i-live/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Let each new year find you a better person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/let-each-new-year-find-you-a-better-person/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farquhar-mcgillivray-knowles/he-who-breaks-a-resolution-is-a-weakling-he-who-makes-one-is-a-fool/) [Farquhar McGillivray Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farquhar-mcgillivray-knowles/) > [Another fresh new year is here. Another year to live! To Banish worry, doubt and fear, to love and give](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/another-fresh-new-year-is-here-another-year-to-live-to-banish-worry-2/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but looking for potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/maybe-this-year-we-ought-to-walk-through-the-rooms-of-our-lives-not/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [The great miraculous bell of translucent ice is suspended in mid-air. It rings to announce endings and beginnings. And it rings because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-great-miraculous-bell-of-translucent-ice-is-suspended-in-mid-air/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) ## 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 Draw quotes > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-is-the-common-defect-of-modern-art-study-too-many-students-do-not/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [I've just always loved really good projects. The things that draw me into a new project have very little to do with genre and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-staite/i-ve-just-always-loved-really-good-projects-the-things-that-draw-me/) [Jewel Staite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-staite/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [Except for me, no one in my family could draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barbera/except-for-me-no-one-in-my-family-could-draw/) [Joseph Barbera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barbera/) > [It is truly vital for the United States to assure that it is not attacked with weapons of mass destruction; to prevent wars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/it-is-truly-vital-for-the-united-states-to-assure-that-it-is-not/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [“It is not until you draw something, whether it is an object, a building or an activity, that you really begin to understand it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-salisbury/it-is-not-until-you-draw-something-whether-it-is-an-object-a-building/) [Martin Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-salisbury/) > [I came out of the womb drawing on everything; I used to draw on my mother's white furniture and her white walls with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/i-came-out-of-the-womb-drawing-on-everything-i-used-to-draw-on-my/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [I love spilling my creativity on paper. I just draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-parker/i-love-spilling-my-creativity-on-paper-i-just-draw/) [Jabari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-parker/) > [I learned how to draw from being bored in school. I would doodle on the margins of my paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-nealon/i-learned-how-to-draw-from-being-bored-in-school-i-would-doodle-on/) [Kevin Nealon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-nealon/) > [I've always been a draw-er, all throughout elementary school I was the "kid who draws".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-prince/i-ve-always-been-a-draw-er-all-throughout-elementary-school-i-was-the/) [Liz Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-prince/) > [I dish the dirt out, and I can take it. But why should my mother and children have to take it? In 20 years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/i-dish-the-dirt-out-and-i-can-take-it-but-why-should-my-mother-and/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [Some actors can draw from their own darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/some-actors-can-draw-from-their-own-darkness/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) > [In acting, you are fulfilled if you give justice to your role... if you are able to do a credible performance and touch the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hutton/in-acting-you-are-fulfilled-if-you-give-justice-to-your-role-if-you/) [Timothy Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hutton/) > [“Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that Thou hast done to me. Therefore turn and draw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/boy-this-shall-not-excuse-the-injuries-that-thou-hast-done-to-me/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 992 Draw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. 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