--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the…" description: "\"“Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. Do your job.”\" — Nora Roberts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/nora-roberts-128_time_every-time-i-hear-writers-talk-about-the_1328551.jpg" --- # Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just… ![“Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. Do your job.” quote by Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/nora-roberts-128_time_every-time-i-hear-writers-talk-about-the_1328551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/nora-roberts-128_time_every-time-i-hear-writers-talk-about-the_1328551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bff/nora-roberts-128_time_every-time-i-hear-writers-talk-about-the_1328551.jpg) > ““Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. Do your job.”” [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers must treat creativity as a job, delivering work consistently rather than waiting for inspiration. **In simple terms:** Writing is a job, not just inspiration. Key Takeaway Do the work regardless. Themes discipline craft professionalism Mood motivational realistic Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - daily writing - deadline pressure - publishing contracts Key Concepts creative process work ethic Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain creativity under pressure? - What routines help you stay productive? A Different Perspective Creative burnout can result from forced output. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muse/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“That’s what writers and artists and creators do, boy. Listen to the Void and try to hear dead folks’ thoughts. Feel their pain. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-what-writers-and-artists-and-creators-do-boy-listen-to-the/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“Every so often I'll hear writers say that there are other writers they would read if for no other reason than to marvel at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/every-so-often-i-ll-hear-writers-say-that-there-are-other-writers/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [The only real inspiration or muse that I have is just the life that I live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/the-only-real-inspiration-or-muse-that-i-have-is-just-the-life-that-i/) [Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/) > [I'm one of those writers who can't talk about what they're working on. The entire four years I was writing 'House of Sand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-one-of-those-writers-who-can-t-talk-about-what-they-re-working-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I rail against writers who talk about the loneliness of it all — what do they want, a crowd looking over their typewriters? Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-rail-against-writers-who-talk-about-the-loneliness-of-it-all-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In general, writers who talk to their colleagues and neighbors constantly about their own writing seem to me pretty insufferable. I try not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/in-general-writers-who-talk-to-their-colleagues-and-neighbors/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Normally writers do not talk much,because they are saving their conversations for the readers of their book- those invisible listeners with whom we wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/normally-writers-do-not-talk-much-because-they-are-saving-their/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [You're all alone when you're a writer. Sometimes you just feel you need a humanity bath. Even a ride on the subway will do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/you-re-all-alone-when-you-re-a-writer-sometimes-you-just-feel-you/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [You hear a lot of writers talk like writing is therapy or some kind of magic art, but it's a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ben-garant/you-hear-a-lot-of-writers-talk-like-writing-is-therapy-or-some-kind/) [Robert Ben Garant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ben-garant/) > [“Talent is extremely common. What is rare is the willingness to endure the life of the writer. Writers have no one to talk shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/talent-is-extremely-common-what-is-rare-is-the-willingness-to-endure-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I never really like it when other writers talk about coming in behind people and rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gilroy/i-never-really-like-it-when-other-writers-talk-about-coming-in-behind/) [Tony Gilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gilroy/) > [Writers talk about the agony of writing; I talk about the agony of not writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-z-hobson/writers-talk-about-the-agony-of-writing-i-talk-about-the-agony-of-not/) [Laura Z. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-z-hobson/) > [Usually I work out the plot before I start. This time I thought: Writers always talk about not knowing where a book is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kehlmann/usually-i-work-out-the-plot-before-i-start-this-time-i-thought/) [Daniel Kehlmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kehlmann/) > [I try to pay attention to language. I think that as a general rule, we as writers talk too much and we should listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/i-try-to-pay-attention-to-language-i-think-that-as-a-general-rule-we/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [The basic thing is to be humble, and pretend you're a bartender in the tavern of life. Don't get too comfortable and don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-basic-thing-is-to-be-humble-and-pretend-you-re-a-bartender-in-the/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) ## More by Nora Roberts > [“Why stop now? Seduce me, Brian.I dare you." "I've always found it hard to turn aside a dare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/why-stop-now-seduce-me-brian-i-dare-you-i-ve-always-found-it-hard-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“He's back in Maine now.She did say he badgered her with questions. Of course, she didn't have the answer until she spoke to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/he-s-back-in-maine-now-she-did-say-he-badgered-her-with-questions-of/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Every professor worth his PhD should have a fireplace in his study.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/every-professor-worth-his-phd-should-have-a-fireplace-in-his-study/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Sorry, bad wing." When Theo kissed him, surprise and pleasure flustered him. He couldn't remember the last time this boy, this young man, had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/sorry-bad-wing-when-theo-kissed-him-surprise-and-pleasure-flustered/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Because it's hard not to matter, even to someone you dislike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/because-it-s-hard-not-to-matter-even-to-someone-you-dislike/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“No point in wishing for what you can't have. - Blair What's the point in wishing for what you can and do? - Larken”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/no-point-in-wishing-for-what-you-can-t-have-blair-what-s-the-point-in/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“I was going to make a confession. Then I remembered I don't make them very well. We still need to see the monkeys." "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-was-going-to-make-a-confession-then-i-remembered-i-don-t-make-them/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I've wanted to be with you when I didn't have the right to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-ve-wanted-to-be-with-you-when-i-didn-t-have-the-right-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [You can't write well what you don't read for pleasure. If it doesn't entertain you, it's not going to entertain anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-write-well-what-you-don-t-read-for-pleasure-if-it-doesn-t/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“There was a boy down at the stables." She laughed suddenly with her back comfortably nestled against Grant's chest. "Oh,Lord,he was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/there-was-a-boy-down-at-the-stables-she-laughed-suddenly-with-her/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Some people refuse to take the next step. You could refuse to take what you wanted most, because you're afraid someday you might lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/some-people-refuse-to-take-the-next-step-you-could-refuse-to-take/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Oh, i'm going to kick his ass, and when i'm done, i'm going to squeeze his balls blue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/oh-i-m-going-to-kick-his-ass-and-when-i-m-done-i-m-going-to-squeeze/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) [Explore all 1,138 Nora Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) ## More Muse quotes > [I'm truly, 100% guided by the characters and my Muse. If one of the characters suddenly decided to do something very different, I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/i-m-truly-100-guided-by-the-characters-and-my-muse-if-one-of-the/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Muses had a way of killing those whom they inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/muses-had-a-way-of-killing-those-whom-they-inspired/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Wrestling gave me something outside science, which was my muse before this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/velveteen-dream/wrestling-gave-me-something-outside-science-which-was-my-muse-before/) [Velveteen Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/velveteen-dream/) > [“A Letter from a Muse to Her Poet: Dear sir, I was called away and couldn’t bring you, but now I feel haunted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/a-letter-from-a-muse-to-her-poet-dear-sir-i-was-called-away-and/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-for-a-muse-of-fire-that-would-ascend-the-brightest-heaven-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“I get the niggling feeling in my belly that says it's time for a new song. It hits at the most random, inopportune times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-get-the-niggling-feeling-in-my-belly-that-says-it-s-time-for-a-new/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Improvisation is intuition in action, a way to discover the muse and learn to respond to her call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/improvisation-is-intuition-in-action-a-way-to-discover-the-muse-and/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Art is the extended arm of your imagination, The feast of inspiration for your muse. Art isn't just creativity, its a way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-curran/art-is-the-extended-arm-of-your-imagination-the-feast-of-inspiration/) Sarah Curran > [Each of the Arts whose office is to refine, purify, adorn, embellish and grace life is under the patronage of a Muse, no god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-farnham/each-of-the-arts-whose-office-is-to-refine-purify-adorn-embellish-and/) Eliza Farnham [Browse all 749 Muse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Every time I hear writers talk about ‘the muse,’ I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. 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