--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Over the years, I've found one rule. It…" description: "\"Over the years, I've found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/norman-mailer-839_asking_over-the-years-i-ve-found-one-rule-it-is_418416.jpg" --- # Over the years, I've found one rule. It is the only one I… ![“Over the years, I've found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting…” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/norman-mailer-839_asking_over-the-years-i-ve-found-one-rule-it-is_418416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/norman-mailer-839_asking_over-the-years-i-ve-found-one-rule-it-is_418416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/norman-mailer-839_asking_over-the-years-i-ve-found-one-rule-it-is_418416.jpg) > “Over the years, I've found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting to pick up such valuables at a given time. Count on me, you are saying to a few forces below: I will be there to write.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires a mental contract; declaring intent primes the unconscious to produce material. **In simple terms:** Declare intent to trigger subconscious help. Key Takeaway State your writing goal clearly. Themes discipline intent creativity Mood determined focused Type advice motivational When to use this quote - planning a novel - daily journaling - meeting deadlines - creative brainstorming Key Concepts self‑efficacy psychology habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How does intention affect your focus? - What rituals support your writing contract? A Different Perspective May not guarantee output if distractions dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Count on me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/count-on-me/) [Declaration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/declaration/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is simple. First you have to make sure you have plenty of paper... sharp pencils... typewriter ribbon. Then put your belly up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-macnelly/writing-is-simple-first-you-have-to-make-sure-you-have-plenty-of/) Jeff MacNelly > [“If we are exhorted to play simple melodies with beauty rather than difficult ones with error, the same should be applied to writing; simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rumzi/if-we-are-exhorted-to-play-simple-melodies-with-beauty-rather-than/) [Sonia Rumzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rumzi/) > [I have no interest in problematizing things. So what I am writing to is that simple sense of being human in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayad-akhtar/i-have-no-interest-in-problematizing-things-so-what-i-am-writing-to/) [Ayad Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayad-akhtar/) > [“Writing is a simple but elusive art,” he said. “To write is to describe. Describe accurately and respectfully. And perhaps passionately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-farrar/writing-is-a-simple-but-elusive-art-he-said-to-write-is-to-describe/) Josh Farrar > [The secret is writing down one simple line after another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-secret-is-writing-down-one-simple-line-after-another/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Writing a simple melody can take weeks to get it right where I want it, but I do quite enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-rabin/writing-a-simple-melody-can-take-weeks-to-get-it-right-where-i-want/) [Trevor Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-rabin/) > [“There's an old saying that great writing is simple but not easy, and so it is. The search for that one plain but inobvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-souder/there-s-an-old-saying-that-great-writing-is-simple-but-not-easy-and/) William Souder > [Writing has never been that simple for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/writing-has-never-been-that-simple-for-me/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Great writing is great writing. It's as simple as all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mulgrew/great-writing-is-great-writing-it-s-as-simple-as-all-that/) [Kate Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mulgrew/) > [As my friend you may fall, you may hurt, you may cry. I will cry with you, I will hurt with you, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okera-corner/as-my-friend-you-may-fall-you-may-hurt-you-may-cry-i-will-cry-with/) [Okera Corner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okera-corner/) > [“You might look like a princess, Isabelle Reagan, but if I had my way tonight, you’d also be a queen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melyssa-winchester/you-might-look-like-a-princess-isabelle-reagan-but-if-i-had-my-way/) [Melyssa Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melyssa-winchester/) > [It's just that, I know how you're unhappy a lot. And, maybe it doesn't help anything, but I wanted you to know that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/it-s-just-that-i-know-how-you-re-unhappy-a-lot-and-maybe-it-doesn-t/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [I remember one time I'm batting against the Dodgers in Milwaukee. They lead, 2 - 1, it's the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-uecker/i-remember-one-time-i-m-batting-against-the-dodgers-in-milwaukee-they/) [Bob Uecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-uecker/) > [I'll be home for Christmas. You can count on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-crosby/i-ll-be-home-for-christmas-you-can-count-on-me/) [Bing Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-crosby/) > [“Stupid people. Their faces are gonna get stuck that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melyssa-winchester/stupid-people-their-faces-are-gonna-get-stuck-that-way/) [Melyssa Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melyssa-winchester/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Over the years, I've found one rule. 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