--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just always felt whole when I was…" description: "\"I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way. I feel like there's this great f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg" --- # I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this… ![“I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way. I feel like there's this great fullness to being alone, and writing is a really vivid way and a really magical way of being alone.” quote by Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg) > “I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way. I feel like there's this great fullness to being alone, and writing is a really vivid way and a really magical way of being alone.” [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing offers a profound, solitary fulfillment that feels like a private sanctuary, providing a vivid, magical sense of completeness unavailable elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Writing gives a magical, solitary sense of completeness. Key Takeaway Embrace solitary creative practice. Themes creativity solitude fulfillment magic Mood introspective inspired Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing retreats - solo travel - meditation - artistic projects - personal journaling Key Concepts psychology of art flow state self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - What does solitude mean to you? - How can you balance solitude with connection? A Different Perspective It may romanticize isolation, ignoring social needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Privacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privacy/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I always felt through writing that I wanted to rotate the world slightly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-honor/i-always-felt-through-writing-that-i-wanted-to-rotate-the-world/) [Carl Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-honor/) > [...she felt about reading what some writers felt about writing: that it was impossible not to do it and that at this late stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-felt-about-reading-what-some-writers-felt-about-writing-that-it/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I felt that writing about peoples' lives was a heck of a responsibility, and I wanted to know them in a deep way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-felt-that-writing-about-peoples-lives-was-a-heck-of-a/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Whereas to write, all you need is paper and an idea, so I felt that writing might be my stepping stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/whereas-to-write-all-you-need-is-paper-and-an-idea-so-i-felt-that/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [Writing has always felt like a compulsion. Even at high school there'd be times when people would ask me if I wanted to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/writing-has-always-felt-like-a-compulsion-even-at-high-school-there-d/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Then the writing became so fluid that I sometimes felt as if I were writing for the sheer pleasure of telling a story, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/then-the-writing-became-so-fluid-that-i-sometimes-felt-as-if-i-were/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Lisette felt like screaming. She put on her clothes and went back to her office and pulled up a blank Word document. Then she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chessela-helm/lisette-felt-like-screaming-she-put-on-her-clothes-and-went-back-to/) [Chessela Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chessela-helm/) > [“Interviewer: The other day, when we first talked, you said that you felt that, when you were writing, you were often following invisible patterns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stone/interviewer-the-other-day-when-we-first-talked-you-said-that-you-felt/) [Ruth Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stone/) > [“I read not for entertainment but to feel what the writer has felt while writing even though if it was fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpa-rana/i-read-not-for-entertainment-but-to-feel-what-the-writer-has-felt/) [Pushpa Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pushpa-rana/) > [A big reason why I started writing is I felt that fiction had stopped evolving. All other entertainments were getting better, constantly, as technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/a-big-reason-why-i-started-writing-is-i-felt-that-fiction-had-stopped/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [There are so many ways of posturing that people associate with being a writer. They imagine you wearing a beret and drinking only red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/there-are-so-many-ways-of-posturing-that-people-associate-with-being/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt like they described the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-responded-to-most-the-novels-and/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I've always felt writing a song was a bit like going on location. That's true in an almost literal sense. Where you are seeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/i-ve-always-felt-writing-a-song-was-a-bit-like-going-on-location-that/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [When I first had a child, I really had a hard time trying to figure out how it was all going to fit together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/when-i-first-had-a-child-i-really-had-a-hard-time-trying-to-figure/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I don't really care about how good a song is, I only want them to reflect what I felt when I was writing them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-don-t-really-care-about-how-good-a-song-is-i-only-want-them-to/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) ## More by Sheila Heti > [I believe there's a platonic ideal for every book that is written, like there's the perfect version of the book somewhere in the ether,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-believe-there-s-a-platonic-ideal-for-every-book-that-is-written/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I really enjoyed the process of 'Women in Clothes,' but there's no way I would have done that again. It felt more like being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-really-enjoyed-the-process-of-women-in-clothes-but-there-s-no-way-i/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“style is about knowing what you like and why you like it, more than anything else. GRACE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/style-is-about-knowing-what-you-like-and-why-you-like-it-more-than/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I'd rather that people could be both entertained and given rest while reading my book than for someone to have to put the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-d-rather-that-people-could-be-both-entertained-and-given-rest-while/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“I know that character exists from the outside alone. I know that inside the body there's just temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-know-that-character-exists-from-the-outside-alone-i-know-that/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I don't think about the reader when I'm writing, but I do when I'm editing, of course. For instance, I self-consciously didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-don-t-think-about-the-reader-when-i-m-writing-but-i-do-when-i-m/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [He’s just another man who wants to teach me something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/he-s-just-another-man-who-wants-to-teach-me-something/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“She had thought that when someone died, it would be like they went into a different room. She had not known that life itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/she-had-thought-that-when-someone-died-it-would-be-like-they-went/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [It's so weird how our existence hinges on just absolute crazy chance, but it feels so essential. It's like, 'Nothing would be here if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/it-s-so-weird-how-our-existence-hinges-on-just-absolute-crazy-chance/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [In 'Sweet Days of Discipline,' the narrator, years after graduating, fortuitously encounters her old friend Frederique at a movie theatre. Frederique invites her home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/in-sweet-days-of-discipline-the-narrator-years-after-graduating/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Every choice you make has higher stakes - or that's how it feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/every-choice-you-make-has-higher-stakes-or-that-s-how-it-feels/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Women without children can help mothers, and we can just be all in this together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/women-without-children-can-help-mothers-and-we-can-just-be-all-in/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [The reason I write is because I have questions. What I don't want is for people to forget that I'm a novelist and think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/the-reason-i-write-is-because-i-have-questions-what-i-don-t-want-is/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [“But style, I also learned, is not about strictly copying others, because style is not transferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/but-style-i-also-learned-is-not-about-strictly-copying-others-because/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Renown is something people have always wanted, but maybe what's modern is that it's considered a virtue, this desire, rather than a vice. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/renown-is-something-people-have-always-wanted-but-maybe-what-s-modern/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) [Explore all 150 Sheila Heti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) Luckybannu > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [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/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way. I feel like there's this great fullness to being alone, and writing is a really vivid way and a really magical way of being alone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheila Heti" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writing-i-felt-this-kind-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writing-i-felt-this-kind-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/sheila-heti-2776_alone_i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writ_2183906.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any…” — Sheila Heti", "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": "Sheila Heti", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I just always felt whole when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writing-i-felt-this-kind-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writing-i-felt-this-kind-of/#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 } } ] } ```