--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anyone who undertakes the literary grind…" description: "\"Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.\" — Roy Blount, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png" --- # Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like… ![“Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.” quote by Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png) > “Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.” [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers who love the craft enjoy wordplay, treating language as a playground rather than a chore. **In simple terms:** Lovers of writing play with words. Key Takeaway Play with language to keep writing enjoyable. Themes playfulness literature craft Mood witty thoughtful Type literary creative When to use this quote - author workshops - creative writing classes - personal journaling - editing sessions Key Concepts wordplay literary creativity writing process Questions to Reflect On - How does wordplay enhance or hinder meaning? - When is serious prose more effective? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on play may neglect clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [I like playing around with the words; I love it when I feel like I've picked the exact right word to describe whatever it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-haddix/i-like-playing-around-with-the-words-i-love-it-when-i-feel-like-i-ve/) [Margaret Haddix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-haddix/) > [To me, playing with words is like playing with your food. You shouldn't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-penn/to-me-playing-with-words-is-like-playing-with-your-food-you-shouldn-t/) [Michael Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-penn/) > [I am still playing 'Words With Friends,' but on Virgin Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/i-am-still-playing-words-with-friends-but-on-virgin-atlantic/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I talk by playing, not by words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-worrell/i-talk-by-playing-not-by-words/) [Bernie Worrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-worrell/) > [“Poetry, playing with your words until you breathe life into them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-dragonwillow/poetry-playing-with-your-words-until-you-breathe-life-into-them/) Morgan Dragonwillow > [I made a lot of money and had a great time playing with the words that make up the news. I exploited the laziness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/i-made-a-lot-of-money-and-had-a-great-time-playing-with-the-words/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“we that were wood when that wide wood was in a physical Universe playing with words bark be my limbs my hair be leaf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howe/we-that-were-wood-when-that-wide-wood-was-in-a-physical-universe/) [Susan Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howe/) > [I think the thing I really got from Ginsberg was that you can tell a story through kind of painting pictures with words. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-think-the-thing-i-really-got-from-ginsberg-was-that-you-can-tell-a/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [I love playing with words and texture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binyavanga-wainaina/i-love-playing-with-words-and-texture/) [Binyavanga Wainaina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/binyavanga-wainaina/) > [A fraud is playing on his own words and aware of his own kind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-pulumbarit/a-fraud-is-playing-on-his-own-words-and-aware-of-his-own-kind/) Amy Pulumbarit > [“I love the English language, playing with words, watching sentences fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/i-love-the-english-language-playing-with-words-watching-sentences-fit/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [And what is wrong with playing with words? Words love to be played with, just like children or kittens do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/and-what-is-wrong-with-playing-with-words-words-love-to-be-played/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Very early in life I became fascinated with the wonders language can achieve. And I began playing with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/very-early-in-life-i-became-fascinated-with-the-wonders-language-can/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Playing with words is like combining different notes in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-mahadevan/playing-with-words-is-like-combining-different-notes-in-music/) [Shankar Mahadevan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankar-mahadevan/) > [Being a kid myself, I loved playing and I loved playing with words, and making up things and riddles and songs and not afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/being-a-kid-myself-i-loved-playing-and-i-loved-playing-with-words-and/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) ## More by Roy Blount, Jr > [I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-think-writer-s-block-is-simply-the-dread-that-you-are-going-to/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Doctors and lawyers must go to school for years and years, often with little sleep and with great sacrifice to their first wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/doctors-and-lawyers-must-go-to-school-for-years-and-years-often-with/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Lots of people have expressed consternation that I haven't gotten rid of Southern accent, but I just never saw any reason to lose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/lots-of-people-have-expressed-consternation-that-i-haven-t-gotten-rid/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [New York walking isn't exercise: it's a continually showing make-your-own movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/new-york-walking-isn-t-exercise-it-s-a-continually-showing-make-your/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Going to Vanderbilt did a lot of things for me, and one of the things it cured me of was the need to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/going-to-vanderbilt-did-a-lot-of-things-for-me-and-one-of-the-things/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I've never thought it was necessary to make fun of people - you can find fun in people without necessarily mocking them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-ve-never-thought-it-was-necessary-to-make-fun-of-people-you-can/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Many a person has been saved from summer alcoholism, not to mention hypertoxicity, by Dostoyevsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/many-a-person-has-been-saved-from-summer-alcoholism-not-to-mention/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Studying literature at Harvard is like learning about women at the Mayo Clinic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/studying-literature-at-harvard-is-like-learning-about-women-at-the/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Being president of too many well-meaning organizations put my father into an early grave. The lesson in this was not lost on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/being-president-of-too-many-well-meaning-organizations-put-my-father/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [Twiddle-twiddle away at my softly clicky keyboard for a while, making twiddly adjustments all along- and then print what I have twiddled. Glare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/twiddle-twiddle-away-at-my-softly-clicky-keyboard-for-a-while-making/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [That's American English for you: more roots than a mangrove swamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/that-s-american-english-for-you-more-roots-than-a-mangrove-swamp/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I do some eccentric dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-do-some-eccentric-dancing/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [“When mannequins have nipples, it's a cold-hearted world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/when-mannequins-have-nipples-it-s-a-cold-hearted-world/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [I just think lots of words have physicality. How about the word 'wobble?' You think that's arbitrary? When you say the word 'wince,' you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/i-just-think-lots-of-words-have-physicality-how-about-the-word-wobble/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [English is an outrageous tangle of those derivations and other multifarious linguistic influences, from Yiddish to Shoshone, which has grown up around a gnarly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/english-is-an-outrageous-tangle-of-those-derivations-and-other/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) [Explore all 67 Roy Blount, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) ## More Grind quotes > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [In relations between the rich and the strong, between the rich and the poor, between the master and the servant, it's liberty that grinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-relations-between-the-rich-and-the-strong-between-the-rich-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My job defines me, amuses me, thrills me and makes me feel like I am making a difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-primm/my-job-defines-me-amuses-me-thrills-me-and-makes-me-feel-like-i-am/) Kathryn Primm > [You have to stay focused and be mentally tough. That's what I've really learned: every day is a grind, and you have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gronkowski/you-have-to-stay-focused-and-be-mentally-tough-that-s-what-i-ve/) [Chris Gronkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gronkowski/) > [What's best for me is just to work when I feel like working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrbeast/what-s-best-for-me-is-just-to-work-when-i-feel-like-working/) MrBeast > [But the grind has begun. The windows don’t open, and even the availability of near-constant jokes about Jews and Mormons fails to stem the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-the-grind-has-begun-the-windows-don-t-open-and-even-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Everybody was in struggle, in the grind trying to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-buck/everybody-was-in-struggle-in-the-grind-trying-to-make-it/) [Young Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-buck/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [If it's one thing I know well is how to get my grind on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/if-it-s-one-thing-i-know-well-is-how-to-get-my-grind-on/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [I love my work and that's the only thing I think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toyah-willcox/i-love-my-work-and-that-s-the-only-thing-i-think-about/) [Toyah Willcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toyah-willcox/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Our society is so obsessed with working out to be skinny, and none of that has a purpose. I love that my daughter sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-price/our-society-is-so-obsessed-with-working-out-to-be-skinny-and-none-of/) [Megyn Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-price/) > [Frankly, I didn't want to do a television series because of the grind mainly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wahl/frankly-i-didn-t-want-to-do-a-television-series-because-of-the-grind/) [Ken Wahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wahl/) Browse all 744 Grind quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roy Blount, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind-had-better-like-playing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind-had-better-like-playing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ed/roy-blount-jr-10266_grind_anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind_1152765.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyone who undertakes the literary grind had better like playing around with words.” — Roy Blount, Jr", "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": "Roy Blount, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anyone who undertakes the literary grind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind-had-better-like-playing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/anyone-who-undertakes-the-literary-grind-had-better-like-playing/#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 } } ] } ```