--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write for three or four hours and then…" description: "\"I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll have something. Then I draw for the rest of the afternoon... I literally block out Wednesday-Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/stephan-pastis-9455_afternoon_i-write-for-three-or-four-hours-and-then_2188450.png" --- # I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll… ![“I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll have something. Then I draw for the rest of the afternoon... I literally block out Wednesday-Thursday-Friday - I more or less disappear.” quote by Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/stephan-pastis-9455_afternoon_i-write-for-three-or-four-hours-and-then_2188450.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/stephan-pastis-9455_afternoon_i-write-for-three-or-four-hours-and-then_2188450.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/stephan-pastis-9455_afternoon_i-write-for-three-or-four-hours-and-then_2188450.png) > “I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll have something. Then I draw for the rest of the afternoon... I literally block out Wednesday-Thursday-Friday - I more or less disappear.” [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He dedicates long blocks of time to writing, then spends the rest of the day drawing, often isolating himself mid‑week to focus. **In simple terms:** He writes for hours, then draws, taking weekdays off to concentrate. Key Takeaway Allocate focused work periods and protect them. Themes creativity discipline work habits Mood determined reflective Type advice process When to use this quote - writing - drawing - mid‑week isolation Key Concepts time blocking creative flow artist routine Questions to Reflect On - How can you sustain creativity without isolation? - What boundaries help protect your focus? A Different Perspective Long blocks can cause burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block/) [Block Wednesday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block-wednesday-4756753/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Friday Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friday-disappear-4756754/) [Hopefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopefully/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Hours Hopefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours-hopefully-4756755/) [I write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-write/) [Less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/less/) [Literally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literally/) [Ll Draw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ll-draw-873172/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [More or less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-or-less/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-hours/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I just love to draw. It's very intense for me. The day will just go by like the snap of a finger. A lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/i-just-love-to-draw-it-s-very-intense-for-me-the-day-will-just-go-by/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [If you were me, you'd do the same 'Cause I can't take anymore I'll draw the shades and close the door Everything's not alright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-the-veil/if-you-were-me-you-d-do-the-same-cause-i-can-t-take-anymore-i-ll-draw/) [Pierce The Veil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-the-veil/) > [I always go back to theatre. It's probably where I'll draw my last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/i-always-go-back-to-theatre-it-s-probably-where-i-ll-draw-my-last/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [I work a lot in the summers. My family goes to Maine, where we have a little house. My wife's a writer, too, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/i-work-a-lot-in-the-summers-my-family-goes-to-maine-where-we-have-a/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) > [“She discovered what most writers insist is true nowadays, which is that they can only write for three hours a day at the most,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/she-discovered-what-most-writers-insist-is-true-nowadays-which-is/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [I'm almost back to being able to write as much as six hours a day .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-larbalestier/i-m-almost-back-to-being-able-to-write-as-much-as-six-hours-a-day/) [Justine Larbalestier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-larbalestier/) > [Had I mentioned to someone around 1795 that I planned to write, anyone with any sense would have told me to write for two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-vila-matas/had-i-mentioned-to-someone-around-1795-that-i-planned-to-write-anyone/) [Enrique Vila-Matas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-vila-matas/) > [For me, I need to fully immerse myself in a script to the point where I'm literally locking myself away for weeks at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-winter/for-me-i-need-to-fully-immerse-myself-in-a-script-to-the-point-where/) [Terence Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-winter/) > [I like to write in the mornings, so I try to protect 9 A.M. - 12 P.M. for me. I can drop our older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brunt/i-like-to-write-in-the-mornings-so-i-try-to-protect-9-a-m-12-p-m-for/) [Douglas Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brunt/) > [After film school, I would write 8 hours a day on film and 8 hours a night on TV, and then sleep once and a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-lindholm/after-film-school-i-would-write-8-hours-a-day-on-film-and-8-hours-a/) [Tobias Lindholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-lindholm/) > [I'm always amazed by those people who get up at 5 and write till 8 and then eat a peach and walk their canary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-m-always-amazed-by-those-people-who-get-up-at-5-and-write-till-8/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I had a series of terrible jobs, whatever would allow me to write for four hours during the day. During that time I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-had-a-series-of-terrible-jobs-whatever-would-allow-me-to-write-for/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [January 8 has been a lucky day for me. I have started all my books on that day, and all of them have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/january-8-has-been-a-lucky-day-for-me-i-have-started-all-my-books-on/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I jog in the morning and then write for about two hours. There are times when I'm really excited and can't wait to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/i-jog-in-the-morning-and-then-write-for-about-two-hours-there-are/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [So many wonderful books to write, and not enough hours in the day. An embarrassment of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/so-many-wonderful-books-to-write-and-not-enough-hours-in-the-day-an/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) ## More by Stephan Pastis > [For me, going to Minneapolis is like going to Mecca.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/for-me-going-to-minneapolis-is-like-going-to-mecca/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [I have days where the only words I say are to the person making my sandwich at the grocery store.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-have-days-where-the-only-words-i-say-are-to-the-person-making-my/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [“Humility is what you strive for when you've failed at everything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/humility-is-what-you-strive-for-when-you-ve-failed-at-everything-else/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [A comic strip has a rhythm and a pattern, and you got to get in and out quick. So you set up a joke,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/a-comic-strip-has-a-rhythm-and-a-pattern-and-you-got-to-get-in-and/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [I like characters who have blind spots and are full of themselves, but there also needs to be vulnerability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-like-characters-who-have-blind-spots-and-are-full-of-themselves-but/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [If you put me in 'South Park,' that audience is going to fall asleep in five minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/if-you-put-me-in-south-park-that-audience-is-going-to-fall-asleep-in/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [When you can't draw chameleons and you can't draw blenders, it's a bad idea to write strips where chameleons become blenders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/when-you-can-t-draw-chameleons-and-you-can-t-draw-blenders-it-s-a-bad/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [Thomas, my 15-year-old, is effectively my editor, I've always trusted his voice, more than anybody, on the strip for years. He has one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/thomas-my-15-year-old-is-effectively-my-editor-i-ve-always-trusted/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [I think it might surprise the average person how angry people can get over the comics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-think-it-might-surprise-the-average-person-how-angry-people-can-get/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [You can't just count on becoming a syndicated cartoonist. I actually tried to calculate the odds once, and the best I could come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/you-can-t-just-count-on-becoming-a-syndicated-cartoonist-i-actually/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [A stand-up comedian faces the audiences and gets their immediate feedback. I hide behind the comic strip, and unless people write to me, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/a-stand-up-comedian-faces-the-audiences-and-gets-their-immediate/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [“I know that if I am to move forward like the professional that I am, I must first see the past with mature eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-know-that-if-i-am-to-move-forward-like-the-professional-that-i-am-i/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [“Perhaps it is a secret yearning of all Hallmark employees to use the phrase 'you big fat pain in the butt' in an anniversary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/perhaps-it-is-a-secret-yearning-of-all-hallmark-employees-to-use-the/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [It seems so absurd to get really mad with a cartoonist over a comic strip. It's sort of like getting in a fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/it-seems-so-absurd-to-get-really-mad-with-a-cartoonist-over-a-comic/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [I know I can always draw, but I actually love the writing the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/i-know-i-can-always-draw-but-i-actually-love-the-writing-the-most/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) [Explore all 72 Stephan Pastis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write for three or four hours and then hopefully I'll have something. Then I draw for the rest of the afternoon... 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