--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can…" description: "\"I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.\" — Octavia Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg" --- # I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a… ![“I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.” quote by Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg) > “I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.” [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer reflects on a lifelong identity as a writer, spanning decades and anticipating a long future of creation. **In simple terms:** Writer sees lifelong career from youth to old age. Key Takeaway Embrace a lifelong creative journey. Themes creativity longevity identity Mood inspirational reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing workshops - career planning - ageing artists Key Concepts career development age legacy Questions to Reflect On - How will you adapt your voice over time? - What legacy do you want to leave? A Different Perspective Sustaining creativity over decades is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a 48-year-old writer who can remember being a 10-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year-old writer. I'm also comfortably asocial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-48-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-10-year-old-writer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Young or old, a writer sends a book into the world, not himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/young-or-old-a-writer-sends-a-book-into-the-world-not-himself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Two years ago, I was a twenty-nine year old secretary. Now I am a thirty-one year old writer. I get paid very well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/two-years-ago-i-was-a-twenty-nine-year-old-secretary-now-i-am-a/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [I feel a passion for what we're trying to do.I mean, why does somebody who's old who's a writer keep writing? Because that's who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/i-feel-a-passion-for-what-we-re-trying-to-do-i-mean-why-does-somebody/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [ “\[A\]n old writer’s memory is the whore of his imagination. We all reinvent our pasts, I said, but writers are in a class of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/a-n-old-writer-s-memory-is-the-whore-of-his-imagination-we-all/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. 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Lucas > [“‎Never say you can't be a writer or a script writer, remember how well, characters in your dreams said their dialogues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dipesh-nepal/never-say-you-can-t-be-a-writer-or-a-script-writer-remember-how-well/) Dipesh Nepal > [I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-all-i-could-remember-was-that/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [When you're the director and the writer, you never have to remember your lines, and there's no one to call you on it. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/when-you-re-the-director-and-the-writer-you-never-have-to-remember/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) ## More by Octavia Butler > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Life is getting better, but that won't stop a war if politicians and business people decide it's to their advantage to have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/life-is-getting-better-but-that-won-t-stop-a-war-if-politicians-and/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I talked to members of my family, and did some personal research that didn't really have anything to do with the time and place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-talked-to-members-of-my-family-and-did-some-personal-research-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/first-forget-inspiration-habit-is-more-dependable-habit-will-sustain/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Belief initiates and guides action - or it does nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/belief-initiates-and-guides-action-or-it-does-nothing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Ignorance Protects itself, And protected, Ignorance grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/ignorance-protects-itself-and-protected-ignorance-grows/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [But my problem with fantasy, and horror, and related genres, is that sometimes the problems are illogical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/but-my-problem-with-fantasy-and-horror-and-related-genres-is-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [“In order to rise From its own ashes A phoenix First Must Burn. Earthseed: The Books of the Living Lauren Oya Olamina”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/in-order-to-rise-from-its-own-ashes-a-phoenix-first-must-burn/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm me, and I'm here, and I'm writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-me-and-i-m-here-and-i-m-writing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Most of what I do is science fiction. Some of the things I do are fantasy. I don't like the labels, they're marketing tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/most-of-what-i-do-is-science-fiction-some-of-the-things-i-do-are/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [The only black people you found were occasional characters or characters who were so feeble-witted that they couldn't manage anything, anyway. I wrote myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-only-black-people-you-found-were-occasional-characters-or/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [He was like me - a kindred spirit crazy enough to keep on trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/he-was-like-me-a-kindred-spirit-crazy-enough-to-keep-on-trying/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/to-be-led-by-a-fool-is-to-be-led-by-the-opportunists-who-control-the/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Helpless lust and unreasoning anxiety were just part of growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/helpless-lust-and-unreasoning-anxiety-were-just-part-of-growing-up/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Change is the one unavoidable, irresistible, ongoing reality of the universe. To us, that makes it the most powerful reality, and just another word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/change-is-the-one-unavoidable-irresistible-ongoing-reality-of-the/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) [Explore all 79 Octavia Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More Eighty quotes > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [Eighty percent of language lies to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deena-metzger/eighty-percent-of-language-lies-to-us/) [Deena Metzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deena-metzger/) > [“True, science has conquered many diseases, broken the genetic code, and even placed human beings on the moon, and yet when a man of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/true-science-has-conquered-many-diseases-broken-the-genetic-code-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [One-tenth of the folks run the world. One-tenth watch them run it, and the other eighty percent don't know what the hell's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-simmons-jr/one-tenth-of-the-folks-run-the-world-one-tenth-watch-them-run-it-and/) Jake Simmons, Jr > [At seventy-three I learned a little about the real structure of animals, plants, birds, fishes and insects. Consequently when I am eighty I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hokusai/at-seventy-three-i-learned-a-little-about-the-real-structure-of/) [Hokusai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hokusai/) > [“You're missing a whole demographic of Katherines by not chasing the over-eighty market.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-re-missing-a-whole-demographic-of-katherines-by-not-chasing-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Sex can be fun after eighty, after ninety, and after lunch!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/sex-can-be-fun-after-eighty-after-ninety-and-after-lunch/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [We're told cars cause pollution. A hundred years ago city streets were ankle deep in horse excrement. What kind of pollution do you want?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/we-re-told-cars-cause-pollution-a-hundred-years-ago-city-streets-were/) [P. J. 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Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scott/if-an-eighty-year-old-wants-to-skydive-then-so-be-it-if-i-want-to/) [Angela Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scott/) > [“Everyone should realize that today the average person lives to be about eighty years of age, the first twenty to twenty-five of which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/everyone-should-realize-that-today-the-average-person-lives-to-be/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [One hundred and eighty, divided by three, is one dart at a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-waddell/one-hundred-and-eighty-divided-by-three-is-one-dart-at-a-time/) [Sid Waddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-waddell/) > [“I believe it's never too late to change. I'm eighty-one years old, but I still think I can be a better person tomorrow than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/i-believe-it-s-never-too-late-to-change-i-m-eighty-one-years-old-but/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) Browse all 414 Eighty quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavia Butler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eighty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/octavia-butler-8606_eighty_i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-ca_253593.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be…” — Octavia Butler", "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": "Octavia Butler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/#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 } } ] } ```