--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For years I was doing the excruciating…" description: "\"For years I was doing the excruciating weightlifting of writing scripts - but then I stayed thin and someone else got all the muscles.\" — Shane Black" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/shane-black-7829_doing_for-years-i-was-doing-the-excruciating-w_88962.png" --- # For years I was doing the excruciating weightlifting of… ![“For years I was doing the excruciating weightlifting of writing scripts - but then I stayed thin and someone else got all the muscles.” quote by Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/shane-black-7829_doing_for-years-i-was-doing-the-excruciating-w_88962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/shane-black-7829_doing_for-years-i-was-doing-the-excruciating-w_88962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/shane-black-7829_doing_for-years-i-was-doing-the-excruciating-w_88962.png) > “For years I was doing the excruciating weightlifting of writing scripts - but then I stayed thin and someone else got all the muscles.” [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author contrasts the laborious process of scriptwriting with the ease of physical fitness, implying that creative work can feel burdensome compared to more straightforward pursuits. **In simple terms:** Creative work can feel like heavy lifting. Key Takeaway Writing can feel exhausting. Themes creativity work ethic effort comparison self‑perception Mood frustrated reflective determined Type personal anecdote metaphor When to use this quote - screenwriting sessions - writing deadlines - personal fitness goals - career transitions Key Concepts scriptwriting physical fitness productivity Practical Applications - motivation for writers - balancing creative and physical health Questions to Reflect On - What makes writing feel like a weight? - How can one make creative work feel lighter? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Weightlifting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weightlifting/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing scripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-scripts/) ## Related quotes > [You've got muscles and you use them everywhere else in your body when you want it. Why not your face?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-o-hara/you-ve-got-muscles-and-you-use-them-everywhere-else-in-your-body-when/) [Catherine O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-o-hara/) > [I think I've got my muscles back. I've been working out every other day with my wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/i-think-i-ve-got-my-muscles-back-i-ve-been-working-out-every-other/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [I haven't got muscles, and I don't live in West Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-haigh/i-haven-t-got-muscles-and-i-don-t-live-in-west-hollywood/) [Andrew Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-haigh/) > [Writing scripts is a laborious job that can be a real pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/writing-scripts-is-a-laborious-job-that-can-be-a-real-pain/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/everybody-walks-past-a-thousand-story-ideas-every-day-the-good/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If you put someone in a room with no script to direct, they're just going to sit there. Writing scripts is the execution for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/if-you-put-someone-in-a-room-with-no-script-to-direct-they-re-just/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [When I was in school, I was always writing scripts and dressing up as characters. I'd constantly be that guy who'd get up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/when-i-was-in-school-i-was-always-writing-scripts-and-dressing-up-as/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [I've been working with a lot of people out in Hollywood on writing scripts, screenplays, directing, producing, and making music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enzo-amore/i-ve-been-working-with-a-lot-of-people-out-in-hollywood-on-writing/) [Enzo Amore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enzo-amore/) > [Back in the 1990s, I had an opportunity to make a film. 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I like to allow a story to arise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-explained-to-amazon-that-i-don-t-like-outlining-or-projecting-what/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I used to do so much writing and fill my scripts with thoughts and monologues and ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-barrera/i-used-to-do-so-much-writing-and-fill-my-scripts-with-thoughts-and/) [Melissa Barrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-barrera/) > [I spent as much time writing proposals in '98 and '99 as I did writing scripts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/i-spent-as-much-time-writing-proposals-in-98-and-99-as-i-did-writing/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [In writing scripts now, having made a film, I'm much more conscious of what it means to shoot and edit a movie, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-radnor/in-writing-scripts-now-having-made-a-film-i-m-much-more-conscious-of/) [Josh Radnor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-radnor/) > [I remember that when I got to NYU, everyone was writing scripts. But I was 18 at the time, and when you write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-phillips/i-remember-that-when-i-got-to-nyu-everyone-was-writing-scripts-but-i/) [Todd Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-phillips/) ## More by Shane Black > [Going to UCLA, as far as I'm concerned, afforded me two things. One was the advantage of meeting friends and getting to know a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/going-to-ucla-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-afforded-me-two-things-one-was/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [The only way you can stay on top is to remember to touch bottom and get back to basics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/the-only-way-you-can-stay-on-top-is-to-remember-to-touch-bottom-and/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [Here's what I didn't know when I was starting out that I now know…I thought when you were starting out it was really hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/here-s-what-i-didn-t-know-when-i-was-starting-out-that-i-now-know-i/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [I always have humour in my action movies. I think characters that make jokes under fire are more real. 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And there's no differentiation between beats,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/the-worst-of-the-action-films-are-the-ones-where-everything-is-one/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [I'm the kid in school who always, you know, got the straight A's. I got to be that, you know, alpha aggressive work-ethic guy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/i-m-the-kid-in-school-who-always-you-know-got-the-straight-a-s-i-got/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [I felt that in a way, I hated the writing process so much. It's excruciating, as I'm sure you know, and so lonely being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/i-felt-that-in-a-way-i-hated-the-writing-process-so-much-it-s/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [An action movie should, like any other, follow the narrative traditions of literature. That means there should be subtlety, a slow build and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/an-action-movie-should-like-any-other-follow-the-narrative-traditions/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [Once I started selling scripts for a great deal of money - action scripts, no less, which people tend to pooh-pooh anyway - then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/once-i-started-selling-scripts-for-a-great-deal-of-money-action/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [When you are making a lot of money people forget you are trying to be creative and they picture you laughing all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/when-you-are-making-a-lot-of-money-people-forget-you-are-trying-to-be/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [I've read a thousand private-eye novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/i-ve-read-a-thousand-private-eye-novels/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [An action film can have too much action; picture an equaliser on a stereo, with all the knobs pegged at 10. 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If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. 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