--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a…" description: "\"I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a novelist or something.\" — Roger Taylor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png" --- # I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a… ![“I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a novelist or something.” quote by Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png) > “I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a novelist or something.” [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Songwriting requires a different mindset than novel writing; treat it like crafting music, not prose. **In simple terms:** Songwriting differs from novel writing. Key Takeaway Adapt your creative process. Themes creativity discipline genre differences Mood reflective inquisitive Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - music composition - literary projects - cross‑genre work Key Concepts artistic mindset process adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How can you blend narrative and musical thinking? - What habits help shift creative gears? A Different Perspective Switching styles may cause creative block. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-novelist-3451587/) [Sit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Song Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song-like/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-writing-898895/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-song/) ## Related quotes > [ \['Fire and Rain'\] is sort of almost uncomfortably close. Almost confessional. The reason I could write a song like that at that point, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/fire-and-rain-is-sort-of-almost-uncomfortably-close-almost/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [Writing a song is like playing a series of downs in football: Lots of rules, timing is crucial, lots of boundaries, lots of protective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lavin/writing-a-song-is-like-playing-a-series-of-downs-in-football-lots-of/) [Christine Lavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lavin/) > [I see myself more like a novelist or a polygamist than a musician in terms of my output.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kozelek/i-see-myself-more-like-a-novelist-or-a-polygamist-than-a-musician-in/) [Mark Kozelek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kozelek/) > [I had, like any other young novelist, started out by believing the difficult thing was to get published and that, once you managed that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/i-had-like-any-other-young-novelist-started-out-by-believing-the/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [Like every novelist, I fantasise about film. Novelists are not equipped to make a movie, in my opinion. They make their own movie when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/like-every-novelist-i-fantasise-about-film-novelists-are-not-equipped/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [As a teacher at Princeton, I'm surrounded by people who work hard so I just make good use of my time. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/as-a-teacher-at-princeton-i-m-surrounded-by-people-who-work-hard-so-i/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I usually don't have to do a lot of research in my work, as I'm writing about something I'm already familiar with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-usually-don-t-have-to-do-a-lot-of-research-in-my-work-as-i-m/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“However, just like any line of work, writing is a negotiation, and creative control is as elusive as financial stability. I discovered that writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-driver/however-just-like-any-line-of-work-writing-is-a-negotiation-and/) [Alice Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-driver/) > [That's the hard work of writing. The imagining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jincy-willett/that-s-the-hard-work-of-writing-the-imagining/) [Jincy Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jincy-willett/) > [Like everyone else, there are days when I don't want to go to work. However, writing is a job like anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/like-everyone-else-there-are-days-when-i-don-t-want-to-go-to-work/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [It's hard for me to show work while I'm writing, because other people's comments will influence what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-hard-for-me-to-show-work-while-i-m-writing-because-other-people/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [The more interesting the 9-to-5 work is, the more it takes away from my real work, which is writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-rossner/the-more-interesting-the-9-to-5-work-is-the-more-it-takes-away-from/) [Judith Rossner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-rossner/) > [It is so much hard work writing your first novel. You're not even sure that it is possible to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-larsson/it-is-so-much-hard-work-writing-your-first-novel-you-re-not-even-sure/) [Asa Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-larsson/) > [We have to diversify, we have to find work we can do that helps other people while helping ourselves, work that has to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/we-have-to-diversify-we-have-to-find-work-we-can-do-that-helps-other/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [Co-creation is much more work than writing somewhere in a hidden corner and then publishing your content. However, the benefits outweigh the costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-osterwalder/co-creation-is-much-more-work-than-writing-somewhere-in-a-hidden/) [Alexander Osterwalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-osterwalder/) ## More by Roger Taylor > [We became closer and closer at the end of Freddie's life, and I think we were co-dependent in many ways. We stuck together for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/we-became-closer-and-closer-at-the-end-of-freddie-s-life-and-i-think/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [Obviously, I like the drums to be heard. I think they're important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/obviously-i-like-the-drums-to-be-heard-i-think-they-re-important/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [If somebody's going to represent our music live, I'd like to see it represented with excellence and spectacularly and with really great musicianship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/if-somebody-s-going-to-represent-our-music-live-i-d-like-to-see-it/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I prefer to stay out of politics, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-prefer-to-stay-out-of-politics-really/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I know how hard it is to make it in the music business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-make-it-in-the-music-business/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I didn't take a lot of the videos seriously; making videos was one of the most tedious things that you can imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-didn-t-take-a-lot-of-the-videos-seriously-making-videos-was-one-of/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I understand people who say, 'There is no Queen without Freddie. Just leave it be.' Because that's what we felt, following his death. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-understand-people-who-say-there-is-no-queen-without-freddie-just/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [Freddie was very much able to ride the neutral wave. We all respected his views because he was such a great songwriter. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/freddie-was-very-much-able-to-ride-the-neutral-wave-we-all-respected/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I think a lot of big musicals close because of the rules they're bound by that make it impossible for them to be efficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-think-a-lot-of-big-musicals-close-because-of-the-rules-they-re/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [To me, diva means an extraordinary, outrageously theatrical, brilliant performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/to-me-diva-means-an-extraordinary-outrageously-theatrical-brilliant/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [The sicker Freddie got, the more he seemed to need to record, to give himself something to do, some sort of reason to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/the-sicker-freddie-got-the-more-he-seemed-to-need-to-record-to-give/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [If people are so obsessed with Freddie that they can't bear to see Queen without him, they should stay home and listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/if-people-are-so-obsessed-with-freddie-that-they-can-t-bear-to-see/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [You can't supervise your own history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/you-can-t-supervise-your-own-history/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [The idea of having proper qualifications had been very much ingrained in me. My father had a steady job for the Potato Marketing Board,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/the-idea-of-having-proper-qualifications-had-been-very-much-ingrained/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) > [I'm not a musical theatre person, and I never will be, especially after seeing the way it operates. It's so incredibly inefficient. It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-m-not-a-musical-theatre-person-and-i-never-will-be-especially-after/) [Roger Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) [Explore all 64 Roger Taylor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/) ## More Sit quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I like to sit down, relax, have a cup of coffee on the terrace and read a book. I like to travel the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-vos/i-like-to-sit-down-relax-have-a-cup-of-coffee-on-the-terrace-and-read/) [Marianne Vos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-vos/) > [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [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/) > [You couldn't get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [As a family, we ensure we sit together and listen to scripts. But the choice of doing a film is entirely mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghana-raj/as-a-family-we-ensure-we-sit-together-and-listen-to-scripts-but-the/) [Meghana Raj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghana-raj/) > [There is no other person on the face of this planet that I would rather sit and talk to than my wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-aames/there-is-no-other-person-on-the-face-of-this-planet-that-i-would/) [Willie Aames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-aames/) > [Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/especially-for-those-of-us-who-lived-in-single-cells-you-had-the-time/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [You look at the pioneers that have paved the way for players like myself. Sometimes, you just sit back and scratch your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-miller/you-look-at-the-pioneers-that-have-paved-the-way-for-players-like/) [Reggie Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-miller/) > [I used to sit in front of McDonald's and ask people for dollars to get me a cheeseburger. It was bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-pain/i-used-to-sit-in-front-of-mcdonald-s-and-ask-people-for-dollars-to/) [T-Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-pain/) > [It's kind of hard to spend long hours trying to help people and then find out that the favorite game of the columnist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-scott/it-s-kind-of-hard-to-spend-long-hours-trying-to-help-people-and-then/) [Bill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-scott/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [I haven't talked to any young artists for a long time. But if we did sit down, I'd definitely tell them my viewpoint. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-haven-t-talked-to-any-young-artists-for-a-long-time-but-if-we-did/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) [Browse all 2,169 Sit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a novelist or something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Taylor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing-a-song-like-a-novelist-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing-a-song-like-a-novelist-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/roger-taylor-10588_sit_i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing_2386820.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wouldn't sit down and work at writing a song like a novelist or something.” — Roger Taylor", "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": "Roger Taylor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-taylor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wouldn't sit down and work...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing-a-song-like-a-novelist-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-taylor/i-wouldn-t-sit-down-and-work-at-writing-a-song-like-a-novelist-or/#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 } } ] } ```