--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are so many different kinds of…" description: "\"There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/sophy-burnham-23134_common_there-are-so-many-different-kinds-of-wri_38598.jpg" --- # There are so many different kinds of writing and so many… ![“There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and found to succeed for somebody. The methods, even the ideas of successful writers contradict each other in a most heartening way, and the only…” quote by Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/sophy-burnham-23134_common_there-are-so-many-different-kinds-of-wri_38598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/sophy-burnham-23134_common_there-are-so-many-different-kinds-of-wri_38598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/sophy-burnham-23134_common_there-are-so-many-different-kinds-of-wri_38598.jpg) > “There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and found to succeed for somebody. The methods, even the ideas of successful writers contradict each other in a most heartening way, and the only element I find common to all successful writers is persistence-an overwhelming determination to succeed.” [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success in writing stems from personal experimentation and relentless perseverance, not a single formula. **In simple terms:** Practice and persistence matter. Key Takeaway Persist and adapt your process. Themes creativity discipline experimentation resilience individualism Mood determined encouraged optimistic Type advice reflection motivational When to use this quote - starting a novel - overcoming writer's block - learning new techniques - meeting a deadline Key Concepts writing process methodology determination Practical Applications - creative writing workshops - self‑directed skill development Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits sustain your writing momentum? - How can you test new methods without fear of failure? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Determination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determination/) [Determination to succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determination-to-succeed/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-kinds/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-writing-448927/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming/) [Persistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persistence/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-writers-448924/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers Persistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-persistence-448925/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-ways-448926/) ## Related quotes > [“The greatest writers have persistence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-nahai/the-greatest-writers-have-persistence/) [Gina Nahai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-nahai/) > [When you're actually inside the experience of writing something, in some ways, you're just writing. Ultimately, you fall in love with the characters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-kinberg/when-you-re-actually-inside-the-experience-of-writing-something-in/) [Simon Kinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-kinberg/) > [Writing is one of the ways I participate in transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/writing-is-one-of-the-ways-i-participate-in-transformation/) [Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/) > [Writing must be a machine for breaking down, that is, allowing the now uncontrolled and uncontrollable reconstitutions of thoughts and expressions. All other kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/writing-must-be-a-machine-for-breaking-down-that-is-allowing-the-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [there are - as every one knows - two kinds of writing: one coming out of your vitals and the other from the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-buckrose/there-are-as-every-one-knows-two-kinds-of-writing-one-coming-out-of/) [J. E. Buckrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-buckrose/) > [In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-certain-kinds-of-writing-particularly-in-art-criticism-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I think a blog is a catalyst for a number of possible kinds of writing besides being its own medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-think-a-blog-is-a-catalyst-for-a-number-of-possible-kinds-of/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [...there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-are-two-kinds-of-writing-the-one-you-write-and-the-one-that/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I don’t think ‘science fiction’ is a very good name for it, but it’s the name that we’ve got. It is different from other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-don-t-think-science-fiction-is-a-very-good-name-for-it-but-it-s-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I suppose in the long run, it's the good work that outlasts the shoddy work, but there's enough room for all kinds of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-suppose-in-the-long-run-it-s-the-good-work-that-outlasts-the-shoddy/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [Literature is one of the few kinds of writing in the world that does not tell you what to buy, want, see, be, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/literature-is-one-of-the-few-kinds-of-writing-in-the-world-that-does/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“There are two kinds of writing; the one you write and the one that writes you. The one that writes you is dangerous. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-are-two-kinds-of-writing-the-one-you-write-and-the-one-that-2/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Above all things-read. Read the great stylists who cannot be copied rather than the successful writers who must not be copied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngaio-marsh/above-all-things-read-read-the-great-stylists-who-cannot-be-copied/) [Ngaio Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngaio-marsh/) > [It's fascinating to imagine two successful writers in one house. But when you think about it, it isn't very unusual. In fact, so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/it-s-fascinating-to-imagine-two-successful-writers-in-one-house-but/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) ## More by Sophy Burnham > [Angels come in all sizes and shapes and colors, visible and invisible to the physical eye. But always you are changed from having seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/angels-come-in-all-sizes-and-shapes-and-colors-visible-and-invisible/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [A guest at a dinner party observed the strange expression on James Thurber's face. 'Don't be concerned,' said Thurber's wife. 'He's writing.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/a-guest-at-a-dinner-party-observed-the-strange-expression-on-james/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [Harriet Beecher Stowe thought Uncle Tom's Cabin was written through her by Another Hand, so little did she know what was going to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/harriet-beecher-stowe-thought-uncle-tom-s-cabin-was-written-through/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [We all have angels guiding us...They look after us. They heal us, touch us, comfort us with invisible warm hands...What will bring their help?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/we-all-have-angels-guiding-us-they-look-after-us-they-heal-us-touch/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [We write to understand our deepest secrets to ourselves, to understand. We write in an outpouring of love. We write in secret, either for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/we-write-to-understand-our-deepest-secrets-to-ourselves-to-understand/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [It is said that angels come as thoughts, as visions, as dreams, as animals, as the light on the water or in clouds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/it-is-said-that-angels-come-as-thoughts-as-visions-as-dreams-as/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [To believe in God or in a guiding force because someone tells you to is the height of stupidity. We are given senses to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/to-believe-in-god-or-in-a-guiding-force-because-someone-tells-you-to/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [I think our animals are angels, earth-angels, pointing out for us the steadfast path of love, loyalty, optimism, faith, joy, hope. They teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/i-think-our-animals-are-angels-earth-angels-pointing-out-for-us-the/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [So loving is the universe, so joyful, so determined to give us everything we need and to love us and show us the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/so-loving-is-the-universe-so-joyful-so-determined-to-give-us/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [... where do they go when they die? We hear of the elephant graveyards, where the elephants go to die, but how much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/where-do-they-go-when-they-die-we-hear-of-the-elephant-graveyards/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [Prayer is a law of the universe, like gravity. You don't even have to believe in God to ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/prayer-is-a-law-of-the-universe-like-gravity-you-don-t-even-have-to/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [When I'm having trouble I write by hand. There is some connection between the mind and the fingers that draws out words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/when-i-m-having-trouble-i-write-by-hand-there-is-some-connection/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [Harriet Beecher Stowe was thirty-nine when she began Uncle Tom's Cabin. She had given birth to seven children and seen one die. She wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/harriet-beecher-stowe-was-thirty-nine-when-she-began-uncle-tom-s/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [Sometimes writer's block is no more than a signal that you have not done enough research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/sometimes-writer-s-block-is-no-more-than-a-signal-that-you-have-not/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [Where do you put your attention? On fear or love? I wish the choice were made just once and not repeated every moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/where-do-you-put-your-attention-on-fear-or-love-i-wish-the-choice/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) [Explore all 25 Sophy Burnham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. 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