--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't…" description: "\"Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing for three months. When one of those spells comes on I quit trying to work and go out and see ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/o-henry-3281_crowds_yes-i-get-dry-spells-sometimes-i-can-t-t_2809680.jpg" --- # Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing… ![“Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing for three months. When one of those spells comes on I quit trying to work and go out and see something of life. You can't write a story that's got any life in it by sitting at a writing table and thinking. You've got to get out into the…” quote by O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/o-henry-3281_crowds_yes-i-get-dry-spells-sometimes-i-can-t-t_2809680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/o-henry-3281_crowds_yes-i-get-dry-spells-sometimes-i-can-t-t_2809680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd8/o-henry-3281_crowds_yes-i-get-dry-spells-sometimes-i-can-t-t_2809680.jpg) > “Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing for three months. When one of those spells comes on I quit trying to work and go out and see something of life. You can't write a story that's got any life in it by sitting at a writing table and thinking. You've got to get out into the streets, into the crowds, talk with people, and feel the rush and throb of real life-that's the stimulant for a story writer.” [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers need real-life experiences to energize their stories. **In simple terms:** Life outside the desk fuels writing. Key Takeaway Go out, observe, and write from lived experience. Themes creativity observation authenticity Mood inspirational reflective Type advice creative When to use this quote - travel - street observation - interviews - creative retreats Key Concepts storytelling experiential learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you gather inspiration from daily life? - What balance of observation and imagination works for you? A Different Perspective Not all writers thrive on external stimuli; some need solitude. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writers/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Even the greatest actors have had dry spells where they've wondered if they were going to work again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-walker/even-the-greatest-actors-have-had-dry-spells-where-they-ve-wondered/) [Benjamin Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-walker/) > [“You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideals come along, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/you-do-things-when-the-opportunities-come-along-i-ve-had-periods-in-2/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [We are often like rivers: careless and forceful, timid and dangerous, lucid and muddied, eddying, gleaming, still. Lovers, farmers, and artists have one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/we-are-often-like-rivers-careless-and-forceful-timid-and-dangerous/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Before 'Mad Men,' I definitely had very dry spells and I know what those feel like, and I don't think that ever leaves you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-sommer/before-mad-men-i-definitely-had-very-dry-spells-and-i-know-what-those/) [Rich Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-sommer/) > [Normally I can balance two or three things. The problem is when you're out of work and don't have anything to balance. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hamlisch/normally-i-can-balance-two-or-three-things-the-problem-is-when-you-re/) [Marvin Hamlisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hamlisch/) > [And sometimes you just have to trust that there will be more, sometimes you go through dry spells and you have to assure yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/and-sometimes-you-just-have-to-trust-that-there-will-be-more/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [Celibacy & dry spells are definitely not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/celibacy-dry-spells-are-definitely-not-the-same-thing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In any relationship, there will be frightening spells in which your feelings of love dry up. And when that happens you must remember that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/in-any-relationship-there-will-be-frightening-spells-in-which-your/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“After my first few tastes I was pretty much hooked. I'd have dry spells, months without any or only piddling amounts of grace, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vonnegut/after-my-first-few-tastes-i-was-pretty-much-hooked-i-d-have-dry/) [Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vonnegut/) > [The moment you know, life just sucks; sitting alone, writing the Eulogies for your Soul Mate and your daughters. In many ways, I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/the-moment-you-know-life-just-sucks-sitting-alone-writing-the/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [You write by sitting down and writing. There's no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he's disciplined, doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/you-write-by-sitting-down-and-writing-there-s-no-particular-time-or/) [Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/) > [“Sitting and writing and talking to no one is how I wish I could spend the better part of every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/sitting-and-writing-and-talking-to-no-one-is-how-i-wish-i-could-spend/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [I feel confident writing on my feet with improv, but it's different when you're sitting down and writing it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/i-feel-confident-writing-on-my-feet-with-improv-but-it-s-different/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [When I wrote 'Dear Fatty,' I realised that sitting and writing alone is an absolute joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/when-i-wrote-dear-fatty-i-realised-that-sitting-and-writing-alone-is/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## More by O. Henry > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/it-did-not-exactly-beggar-description-but-it-certainly-had-that-word/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Fortune is a prize to be won. Adventure is the road to it. Chance is what may lurk in the shadows at the roadside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/fortune-is-a-prize-to-be-won-adventure-is-the-road-to-it-chance-is/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/she-plucked-from-my-lapel-the-invisible-strand-of-lint-the-universal/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There is no well defined boundary line between honesty and dishonesty. The frontiers of one blend with the outside limits of the other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-is-no-well-defined-boundary-line-between-honesty-and-dishonesty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [All great men have declared that they owe their sucess to the aid and encouragement of some brilliant woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/all-great-men-have-declared-that-they-owe-their-sucess-to-the-aid-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Those whom we first love we seldom marry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/those-whom-we-first-love-we-seldom-marry/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/young-artists-must-pave-their-way-to-art-by-drawing-pictures-for/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/a-good-story-is-like-a-bitter-pill-with-the-sugar-coating-inside-of-it/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lamp posts and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from-park-benches-lamp-posts-and/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-stories-in-everything-i-ve-got-some-of-my-best-yarns-from/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/i-never-have-time-to-read-now-i-did-all-my-reading-before-i-was-twenty/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [Bride knoweth bride at the glance of an eye. And between them swiftly passes comfort and meaning in a language that man and widows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/bride-knoweth-bride-at-the-glance-of-an-eye-and-between-them-swiftly/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [No friendship is an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/no-friendship-is-an-accident/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) [Explore all 135 O. Henry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## More Crowds quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/it-s-been-really-fun-to-see-with-each-album-when-i-change-to-see-the/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [I want people to just be paying attention even if they're not necessarily laughing at something, or if it takes them a while to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-want-people-to-just-be-paying-attention-even-if-they-re-not/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [I am rarely bored alone; I am often bored in groups and crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/i-am-rarely-bored-alone-i-am-often-bored-in-groups-and-crowds/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I've always said about 50% of what happens at a concert has to do with the audience. If you play for a dead audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/i-ve-always-said-about-50-of-what-happens-at-a-concert-has-to-do-with/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) Browse all 2,078 Crowds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yes, I get dry spells. Sometimes I can't turn out a thing for three months. When one of those spells comes on I quit trying to work and go out and see something of life. You can't write a story that's got any life in it by sitting at a writing table and thinking. 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