--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I loved to write when I was a child. I…" description: "\"I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child, then you put away childish things.\" — Rita..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/rita-dove-4855_childish-things_i-loved-to-write-when-i-was-a-child-i-wr_2498034.jpg" --- # I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always… ![“I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child, then you put away childish things.” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/rita-dove-4855_childish-things_i-loved-to-write-when-i-was-a-child-i-wr_2498034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/rita-dove-4855_childish-things_i-loved-to-write-when-i-was-a-child-i-wr_2498034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/rita-dove-4855_childish-things_i-loved-to-write-when-i-was-a-child-i-wr_2498034.jpg) > “I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child, then you put away childish things.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early creative expression shapes identity, but adult life often suppresses it. **In simple terms:** Childhood writing felt like play, later set aside. Key Takeaway Reclaim creative habits. Themes creativity growth memory Mood reflective inspirational Type personal creative When to use this quote - career - personal journaling - writing workshops - mindfulness Key Concepts nostalgia self-discovery artistic development Questions to Reflect On - What creative activity did you abandon? - How can you integrate play into adult life? A Different Perspective Neglecting early passions can limit personal fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childish things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childish-things/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In an xam,children were given to write an easy on mother.. A cute child wrote: combination of million words from 26 alphabets..,, cn nevr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/in-an-xam-children-were-given-to-write-an-easy-on-mother-a-cute-child/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I remember, when I was a child and wrote poems in little clasped books, I used to kiss the books and put them away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-remember-when-i-was-a-child-and-wrote-poems-in-little-clasped-books/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-larkin/from-the-beginning-i-was-a-poem-writing-child-i-wrote-little-novels/) [Joan Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-larkin/) > [Well, I think I was a very strange child who wrote loads of plays and made my sister perform them. But I was quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/well-i-think-i-was-a-very-strange-child-who-wrote-loads-of-plays-and/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [“I write for the child in everybody,that part of us that is aware and open and courageous. It's also that part of us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle-2/i-write-for-the-child-in-everybody-that-part-of-us-that-is-aware-and/) Madeleine L’Engle > [When you write for children, don't write for children. Write from the child in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/when-you-write-for-children-don-t-write-for-children-write-from-the/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [“The child I was is the only child I really know.' That's it. I can still feel what it was like to be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/the-child-i-was-is-the-only-child-i-really-know-that-s-it-i-can-still/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [I started to write as a child as soon as I could read, or even before, when my mother read me Beatrix Potter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-started-to-write-as-a-child-as-soon-as-i-could-read-or-even-before/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [The one concession I've made as I've gotten older is that my children are now adults and they're in their twenties and thirties and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-salter/the-one-concession-i-ve-made-as-i-ve-gotten-older-is-that-my-children/) [Mary Jo Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-salter/) > [I wanted to write something from a child's viewpoint... Five of the characters I have played in movies have either been abused or became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-tilly/i-wanted-to-write-something-from-a-child-s-viewpoint-five-of-the/) [Meg Tilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-tilly/) > [The best children's book writers are not people who have kids, but people who write from the child within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-brown/the-best-children-s-book-writers-are-not-people-who-have-kids-but/) Andrea Brown > [And so I write the way I myself would like the book to be – if I were a child. I write for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astrid-lindgren/and-so-i-write-the-way-i-myself-would-like-the-book-to-be-if-i-were-a/) [Astrid Lindgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astrid-lindgren/) > [“Style is not how you write. It is how you do not write like anyone else. \* \* \* How do you know if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/style-is-not-how-you-write-it-is-how-you-do-not-write-like-anyone/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## More Childish things quotes > [“The sword wears out its sheath, as it is sometimes said. That is my story. My passions have made me live, and my passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-sword-wears-out-its-sheath-as-it-is-sometimes-said-that-is-my/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“On Three Ways of Writing for Children”: When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/on-three-ways-of-writing-for-children-when-i-was-ten-i-read-fairy/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [“People who are detained (held in prison) are locked up by their past, and because you are locked up by your past you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-earl-smith/people-who-are-detained-held-in-prison-are-locked-up-by-their-past/) Rev. Earl Smith > [Sometimes I wish Marta were more loyal to me. Like the other day. The car parked next to ours had a real dirty windshield;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-i-wish-marta-were-more-loyal-to-me-like-the-other-day-the/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child but when I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karleen-koen/when-i-was-a-child-i-thought-as-a-child-i-spake-as-a-child-i/) [Karleen Koen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karleen-koen/) > [“I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Because I was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-am-still-every-age-that-i-have-been-because-i-was-once-a-child-i-am/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [When I became a man, I put away childish things and got more elaborate and expensive childish things from France and Japan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/when-i-became-a-man-i-put-away-childish-things-and-got-more-elaborate/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/critics-who-treat-adult-as-a-term-of-approval-instead-of-as-a-merely/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If it seems a childish thing to do, do it in remembrance that you are a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/if-it-seems-a-childish-thing-to-do-do-it-in-remembrance-that-you-are/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“A memory rose, unbidden, unwanted. Trite in its way, yet the truth of the statement hit her to the core. “When I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/a-memory-rose-unbidden-unwanted-trite-in-its-way-yet-the-truth-of-the/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [“All that helter-skelter about strings and memories was only relevant in the dark. It was light out now and time to put away childish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-brindise/all-that-helter-skelter-about-strings-and-memories-was-only-relevant/) [Benjamin Brindise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-brindise/) > [“Jane wondered...When the girl was not cleaning her suite, which wouldn't take much time, and when she was not making her meals, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/jane-wondered-when-the-girl-was-not-cleaning-her-suite-which-wouldn-t/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“The ancient wisdoms are modern nonsenses. Live in your own time, use what we know, and as you grow up, perhaps the human race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-ancient-wisdoms-are-modern-nonsenses-live-in-your-own-time-use/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Its a time when you gotta push the childish things aside & realize it happened but its over now & keep right on living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-time-when-you-gotta-push-the-childish-things-aside-realize-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pepper-sinkler/the-reluctance-to-put-away-childish-things-may-be-a-requirement-of/) Rebecca Pepper Sinkler [Browse all 48 Childish things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childish-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I loved to write when I was a child. 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