--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I prefer writing books because…" description: "\"I think I prefer writing books because the work of art begins and ends with you - it's easier to know if you're doing it right, as opposed to writing a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg" --- # I think I prefer writing books because the work of art… ![“I think I prefer writing books because the work of art begins and ends with you - it's easier to know if you're doing it right, as opposed to writing a play and then waiting around for somebody else to complete it.” quote by Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg) > “I think I prefer writing books because the work of art begins and ends with you - it's easier to know if you're doing it right, as opposed to writing a play and then waiting around for somebody else to complete it.” [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 books offers direct, personal control over the creative process, unlike collaborative forms that depend on others. **In simple terms:** Books give solo creative control. Key Takeaway Choose solitary creation for immediate artistic feedback. Themes creativity autonomy artistic integrity solitude process Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - personal memoir - self‑published essays - creative workshops Key Concepts authorial voice creative ownership artistic satisfaction Questions to Reflect On - Do you value control over collaboration? - How does feedback shape your writing? A Different Perspective Collaboration can also enrich work; isolation may limit perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Doing It Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-it-right/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In books, or work, or healthful play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/in-books-or-work-or-healthful-play/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [You can sell a lot more books if you work with other authors than if you try to do everything all by yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kremer/you-can-sell-a-lot-more-books-if-you-work-with-other-authors-than-if/) [John Kremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kremer/) > [I myself don't know what makes my books work. I enter a bookstore and I'm frankly overwhelmed by the number of books in most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/i-myself-don-t-know-what-makes-my-books-work-i-enter-a-bookstore-and/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [I like all of the books I work on to be ones you can pick up without knowing the entire history of the character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-leth/i-like-all-of-the-books-i-work-on-to-be-ones-you-can-pick-up-without/) [Kate Leth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-leth/) > [I'm excited about how books work in a digital age. When you read a book, unlike a film, you are decoding symbols in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hall/i-m-excited-about-how-books-work-in-a-digital-age-when-you-read-a/) [Steven Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hall/) > [“A good book is never exhausted. It goes on whispering to you from the wall. Books perfume and give weight to a room. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/a-good-book-is-never-exhausted-it-goes-on-whispering-to-you-from-the/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [At books, or work, or healthy play, Let all my years be passed; That I may give for every day A good account at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/at-books-or-work-or-healthy-play-let-all-my-years-be-passed-that-i/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [The only books that work are those which fly through the air - the ones you let happen, not make happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-wells/the-only-books-that-work-are-those-which-fly-through-the-air-the-ones/) [Rosemary Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-wells/) > [I read a lot when I was at college, but really, only a few of Dickens's books work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-read-a-lot-when-i-was-at-college-but-really-only-a-few-of-dickens-s/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [“I read a lot...I love books. I work with books. Books are my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-distant-hours-kate-morton/i-read-a-lot-i-love-books-i-work-with-books-books-are-my-life/) The Distant Hours Kate Morton > [Books work as an art form (and an economic one) because they are primarily the work of an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/books-work-as-an-art-form-and-an-economic-one-because-they-are/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I write books back to back, and I work very hard on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-write-books-back-to-back-and-i-work-very-hard-on-them/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [That is one more reason why I write in English only right now. I prefer writing in the language I hear around me for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuriy-tarnawsky/that-is-one-more-reason-why-i-write-in-english-only-right-now-i/) [Yuriy Tarnawsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuriy-tarnawsky/) > [I prefer writing originals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gilroy/i-prefer-writing-originals/) [Tony Gilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gilroy/) > [I obviously prefer writing novels but I take my journalism very seriously, and I enjoy doing it between novels. It gives me an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/i-obviously-prefer-writing-novels-but-i-take-my-journalism-very/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) ## 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 Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I prefer writing books because the work of art begins and ends with you - it's easier to know if you're doing it right, as opposed to writing a play and then waiting around for somebody else to complete it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheila Heti" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-the-work-of-art-begins-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-the-work-of-art-begins-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/sheila-heti-2776_actor_i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-t_826007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think I prefer writing books because the work of art begins and ends with you - it's easier to know if…” — 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 think I prefer writing books...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-the-work-of-art-begins-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-think-i-prefer-writing-books-because-the-work-of-art-begins-and/#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 } } ] } ```