--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You should spend more time with your…" description: "\"You should spend more time with your families; write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/stephen-colbert-503_administration_you-should-spend-more-time-with-your-fam_989003.png" --- # You should spend more time with your families; write that… ![“You should spend more time with your families; write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know - fiction.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/stephen-colbert-503_administration_you-should-spend-more-time-with-your-fam_989003.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/stephen-colbert-503_administration_you-should-spend-more-time-with-your-fam_989003.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/stephen-colbert-503_administration_you-should-spend-more-time-with-your-fam_989003.png) > “You should spend more time with your families; write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know - fiction.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing personal relationships with creative ambitions is essential; neglecting family for work can diminish fulfillment, while pursuing passion projects enriches life. **In simple terms:** Family and creativity both matter; find balance. Key Takeaway Prioritize family, then schedule creative time. Themes balance family creativity ambition fulfillment Mood reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - family gatherings - writing sessions - project planning - self‑care routines Key Concepts time management personal growth creative discipline Questions to Reflect On - How can you protect family time while writing? - What small step can start your novel? A Different Perspective Over‑committing to one can harm the other; balance is hard to maintain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Administration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Families Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families-write-2012476/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless/) [Fearless Reporter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless-reporter-2012475/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Know Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-fiction-1509486/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [More time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-time/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Our family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-family/) [Reporters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporters/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-write/) [Write Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-novel/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to write a novel where the meaning is in the story and characters and the subliminal, in the shades and nuances. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-peretti/i-wanted-to-write-a-novel-where-the-meaning-is-in-the-story-and/) [Frank Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-peretti/) > [I wanted to write a novel. At 12 I knew, I am a writer. I said it to nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bichsel/i-wanted-to-write-a-novel-at-12-i-knew-i-am-a-writer-i-said-it-to/) [Peter Bichsel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bichsel/) > [I know how fiction matters to me, because if I want to express myself, I have to make up a story. Some people call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-know-how-fiction-matters-to-me-because-if-i-want-to-express-myself/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [You know, as fiction writers, if our instincts are off, we can't pay our bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-know-as-fiction-writers-if-our-instincts-are-off-we-can-t-pay-our/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I've been writing long enough to know that fiction, as a rhetorical mode, works very differently from expository writing. If an author has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-ve-been-writing-long-enough-to-know-that-fiction-as-a-rhetorical/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [“And also they’re just good escapist fun," Vivian said firmly, and Gill subsided beside her, giving an apologetic smile. "To read about these horrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavie-tidhar/and-also-they-re-just-good-escapist-fun-vivian-said-firmly-and-gill/) [Lavie Tidhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavie-tidhar/) > [Fiction is one of the few experiences where loneliness can be both confronted and relieved. Drugs, movies where stuff blows up, loud parties -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/fiction-is-one-of-the-few-experiences-where-loneliness-can-be-both-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I did go through graduate school and I like to do research, to create something that has a certain objective solidity. The same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-did-go-through-graduate-school-and-i-like-to-do-research-to-create/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Hemingway suggested you write the truest sentence you know. I say write the falsest one you don’t know. This is fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/hemingway-suggested-you-write-the-truest-sentence-you-know-i-say/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the roughest trade of all in writing. You do not have the reference, the old important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-know-that-fiction-prose-rather-is-possibly-the-roughest-trade-of/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The exquisite truth is to believe in something that maybe you know is a fiction, but you believe in it willingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-benigni/the-exquisite-truth-is-to-believe-in-something-that-maybe-you-know-is/) [Roberto Benigni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-benigni/) > [The most common thing that real reporters say to me is, "I wish I could say what you say." What I don't understand is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/the-most-common-thing-that-real-reporters-say-to-me-is-i-wish-i-could/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-can-t-understand-why-a-person-will-take-a-year-or-two-to-write-a/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. 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Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Administration quotes > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you want to serve in a Trump administration, you're going to serve this country, not yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-spicer/if-you-want-to-serve-in-a-trump-administration-you-re-going-to-serve/) [Sean Spicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-spicer/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [What was unique about me being in City Hall during the Giuliani Administration, I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lhota/what-was-unique-about-me-being-in-city-hall-during-the-giuliani/) [Joe Lhota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lhota/) > [The Trump administration launched the cruise missile strikes in Syria, an act of war, without a U.N. resolution or Congressional authorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-trump-administration-launched-the-cruise-missile-strikes-in-syria/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The only way I'll ever run a marathon is if I'm involved in the administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/the-only-way-i-ll-ever-run-a-marathon-is-if-i-m-involved-in-the/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [Obama spent the first two years of his administration practicing political unilateral disarmament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/obama-spent-the-first-two-years-of-his-administration-practicing/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [The actions of the University in my case make it abundantly clear that the Administration's rhetoric about Harvard's desire to attract and retain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/the-actions-of-the-university-in-my-case-make-it-abundantly-clear/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year - plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-hastings/in-mid-may-the-house-of-representatives-approved-the-full-amount-of/) [Doc Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-hastings/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. 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For years Congress has required biometric entry-exit visa tracking systems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-will-finally-complete-the-biometric-entry-exit-visa-tracking/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) [Browse all 1,855 Administration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You should spend more time with your families; write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. 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