--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing in a journal is just a stall, a…" description: "\"Writing in a journal is just a stall, a waiting game, a way to tell yourself that you're working when you're not, that you're doing something of value ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/robert-masello-28593_blank_writing-in-a-journal-is-just-a-stall-a-w_2944382.jpg" --- # Writing in a journal is just a stall, a waiting game, a… ![“Writing in a journal is just a stall, a waiting game, a way to tell yourself that you're working when you're not, that you're doing something of value when you're just using up paper, that you're a writer when in fact you're just going through the motions of one. Look at me! I have blank paper in…” quote by Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/robert-masello-28593_blank_writing-in-a-journal-is-just-a-stall-a-w_2944382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/robert-masello-28593_blank_writing-in-a-journal-is-just-a-stall-a-w_2944382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15e/robert-masello-28593_blank_writing-in-a-journal-is-just-a-stall-a-w_2944382.jpg) > “Writing in a journal is just a stall, a waiting game, a way to tell yourself that you're working when you're not, that you're doing something of value when you're just using up paper, that you're a writer when in fact you're just going through the motions of one. Look at me! I have blank paper in front of me-and now I'm filling it, with words!” [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Journaling can become a performative act, creating the illusion of productivity without genuine creative progress. **In simple terms:** Journaling may be a façade of work. Key Takeaway Focus on authentic writing rather than empty pages. Themes creativity productivity self-deception writing process Mood reflective introspective motivational Type literary psychological When to use this quote - daily writing - creative blocks - self‑reflection - writing workshops Key Concepts psychology habit formation literary practice Questions to Reflect On - Are you writing to create or to appear productive? - How can you measure genuine creative output? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on habit can stall real progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-paper/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Filling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filling/) [Fronts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fronts/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal/) [Journal Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal-just-1148939/) [Look at me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-at-me/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Paper Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper-writer-3817056/) [Using Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-paper-4405498/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-journal-428338/) ## Related quotes > [I have a huge respect for writers and realise that this is not an area that I find easy. I doubt that I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-agutter/i-have-a-huge-respect-for-writers-and-realise-that-this-is-not-an/) [Jenny Agutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-agutter/) > [In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could to any person; I create myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/in-the-journal-i-do-not-just-express-myself-more-openly-than-i-could/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I fall back on this journal just as some other poor devil takes to drink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/i-fall-back-on-this-journal-just-as-some-other-poor-devil-takes-to/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [“It seems as if I can only thing if I write my journal, it just connects the part of my head that is busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-e-turner/it-seems-as-if-i-can-only-thing-if-i-write-my-journal-it-just/) [Nancy E. 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Later on, I decide whether to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/when-i-write-notes-in-my-journal-i-m-just-trying-to-scribble-down-as/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [ “Writing \[my journal\] was the only way I could keep track of the last experience before a new one came along and erased the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristine-k-stevens/writing-my-journal-was-the-only-way-i-could-keep-track-of-the-last/) [Kristine K. Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristine-k-stevens/) > [“ Possible Problems with Journal Writing Be careful not to get too involved with your journal. In many published journals, writers such as Anais…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-moehn/possible-problems-with-journal-writing-be-careful-not-to-get-too/) [Heather Moehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-moehn/) > [I throw ideas out into the open when I really should just be writing them down in a journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-deacon/i-throw-ideas-out-into-the-open-when-i-really-should-just-be-writing/) [Dan Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-deacon/) ## More by Robert Masello > [“Though they have not the capacity to reply, I refuse to believe that our pets have no comprehension”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/though-they-have-not-the-capacity-to-reply-i-refuse-to-believe-that/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“Fear is the strong passion; it is with fear that you must trifle, if you wish to taste the intensest joys of living. 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Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/the-shimmering-green-water-and-then-in-an-instant-it-was-gone/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“ROBERT MASELLO is the author of many previous works of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the novels Blood and Ice and The Medusa Amulet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/robert-masello-is-the-author-of-many-previous-works-of-fiction-and/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/i-do-not-know-how-the-third-world-war-will-be-fought-but-i-can-tell/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [If you feel like keeping a journal-that neither you nor anyone else on earth will ever want to read-be my guest. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-you-feel-like-keeping-a-journal-that-neither-you-nor-anyone-else/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“the odds are good, but the goods are odd”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/the-odds-are-good-but-the-goods-are-odd/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“Regardless of how black the page, he had always managed to turn it and move on to a new chapter in his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/regardless-of-how-black-the-page-he-had-always-managed-to-turn-it-and/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“But how could she have forgotten who he was—a man who could lose himself in a single book, not to mention a world-class, open-stack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/but-how-could-she-have-forgotten-who-he-was-a-man-who-could-lose/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“when they're bathed in blood everyday you can't expect them to rise from it stainless the next morning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/when-they-re-bathed-in-blood-everyday-you-can-t-expect-them-to-rise/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“People are always doing things for my sake and strangely enough, I'm the one who suffers for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/people-are-always-doing-things-for-my-sake-and-strangely-enough-i-m/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“If these self-anointed leaders did not keep the people aroused with calls to preserve the Revolution, or to defend it from one imaginary foe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-these-self-anointed-leaders-did-not-keep-the-people-aroused-with/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise,” he predicted. “If you cannot, there lies before you the risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-you-can-do-so-the-way-lies-open-to-a-new-paradise-he-predicted-if/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) [Explore all 18 Robert Masello quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) ## More Blank quotes > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But that quickly faded, and he frowned. "You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?" Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/but-that-quickly-faded-and-he-frowned-you-re-bleeding-he-said-what/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When I came back, they gave me blank looks. Some said, 'I don't think I've seen you for days.' Some not even that. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-a-selimovi/when-i-came-back-they-gave-me-blank-looks-some-said-i-don-t-think-i/) [Meša Selimović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-a-selimovi/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/) [Emily Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-shanks/) > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [“There isn’t any way to be. I will meet you where you’ve gone. The cards are blank; the cards are empty there. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-notley/there-isn-t-any-way-to-be-i-will-meet-you-where-you-ve-gone-the-cards/) [Alice Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-notley/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. 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