--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you write books, you go on one page at…" description: "\"“If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn from all we know and all we fear. We study catalogues, watch football games, choose Sprint o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg" --- # If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn… ![“If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn from all we know and all we fear. We study catalogues, watch football games, choose Sprint over AT&T. We count the birds in the sky and will not turn from the window when we hear the footsteps behind as something comes up the hall; we say…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg) > ““If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn from all we know and all we fear. We study catalogues, watch football games, choose Sprint over AT&T. We count the birds in the sky and will not turn from the window when we hear the footsteps behind as something comes up the hall; we say yes, I agree that clouds often look like other things - fish and unicorns and men on horseback - but they are really only clouds. Even when the lightning flashes inside them we say they are only clouds and turn our attention to the next meal, the next pain, the next breath, the next page. This is how we go on.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our lives progress in small, incremental steps, often distracted by trivialities while avoiding deeper truths. **In simple terms:** Life moves forward one page at a time, with distractions. Key Takeaway Embrace focus and confront underlying fears. Themes focus distraction progress fear mindfulness Mood contemplative reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - daily routines - mental health - creative work Key Concepts incrementalism cognitive avoidance attention management Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take toward a deeper truth? - How do you recognize and reduce distractions? A Different Perspective Distractions can prevent meaningful insight and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ball game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-game/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Breath Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath-page-1338149/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-turn-3825228/) [Football games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-games/) [Say Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-clouds-310354/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Write Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“This is how we go on: one day at a time, one meal at a time, one pain at a time, one breath at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-is-how-we-go-on-one-day-at-a-time-one-meal-at-a-time-one-pain-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“...and we turn our attention to the next meal, the next pain, the next breath, the next page. This is how we go on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/and-we-turn-our-attention-to-the-next-meal-the-next-pain-the-next/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I want to watch the clouds turn into rain, make all my pain go away. Flee black skies forever, and just drift into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bognar/i-want-to-watch-the-clouds-turn-into-rain-make-all-my-pain-go-away/) [Jenna Bognar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bognar/) > [What shall I say about poetry? What shall I say about those clouds, or about the sky? Look; look at them; look at it!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/what-shall-i-say-about-poetry-what-shall-i-say-about-those-clouds-or/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [ “Even when lightning flashes inside them \[clouds\], we say they are only clouds and turn our attention to the next meal, next pain, next… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/even-when-lightning-flashes-inside-them-clouds-we-say-they-are-only/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [We're here to win football games, so whatever that means, whatever that takes, that's what we're going to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-mccaffrey/we-re-here-to-win-football-games-so-whatever-that-means-whatever-that/) [Christian McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-mccaffrey/) > [I'm about winning football games and playing hard. That's all I care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-agholor/i-m-about-winning-football-games-and-playing-hard-that-s-all-i-care/) [Nelson Agholor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-agholor/) > [I don't like going to football games. I like watching them on television. When you go to a game, it's hard to focus. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-don-t-like-going-to-football-games-i-like-watching-them-on/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I don’t see the problem with footballers taking their shirts off after scoring a goal? They enjoy it and the young ladies enjoy it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-holloway/i-don-t-see-the-problem-with-footballers-taking-their-shirts-off/) [Ian Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-holloway/) > [My job is to go out there and play football. My job is to go out there and win football games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/my-job-is-to-go-out-there-and-play-football-my-job-is-to-go-out-there/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) > [I want to win football games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cruz/i-want-to-win-football-games/) [Victor Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cruz/) > [You don't boo at a Kemp rally. You boo at football games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/you-don-t-boo-at-a-kemp-rally-you-boo-at-football-games/) [Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/) > [I'm not super social, don't really go to parties, or basketball games, or football games very often, the big social occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-phinney/i-m-not-super-social-don-t-really-go-to-parties-or-basketball-games/) [Taylor Phinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-phinney/) > [And I could see this boy doing his homework and thinking about my sister naked. And I could see them holding hands at football…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/and-i-could-see-this-boy-doing-his-homework-and-thinking-about-my/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I don't know how we could use it to improve the job that umpires do, ... The human element in sport has always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bud-selig/i-don-t-know-how-we-could-use-it-to-improve-the-job-that-umpires-do/) [Bud Selig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bud-selig/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Ball game quotes > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Consider developing your whole self with the same raw focus and intensity that you develop a particular skill set. Get focused. Go out, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/consider-developing-your-whole-self-with-the-same-raw-focus-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [I'm about winning football games and playing hard. That's all I care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-agholor/i-m-about-winning-football-games-and-playing-hard-that-s-all-i-care/) [Nelson Agholor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-agholor/) > [I don't like going to football games. I like watching them on television. When you go to a game, it's hard to focus. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-don-t-like-going-to-football-games-i-like-watching-them-on/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [Kids are pretty resilient. You don't have to be at every volleyball game. We can't guilt ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-burns/kids-are-pretty-resilient-you-don-t-have-to-be-at-every-volleyball/) [Ursula Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-burns/) > [You might be a redneck if... your high school basketball game got rained out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-your-high-school-basketball-game-got-rained/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [My folks, I don't think my mom or my dad ever missed a little league game or a football game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/my-folks-i-don-t-think-my-mom-or-my-dad-ever-missed-a-little-league/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) > [“That's all I need," I say. "Well...I need the lamp. And the astray. And the remote control. And the paddleball game. And you, Dean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/that-s-all-i-need-i-say-well-i-need-the-lamp-and-the-astray-and-the/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth - that means the boys. And after you've been a boy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-this-baseball-game-of-ours-comes-up-from-the-youth-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-manage-a-project-without-project-management-is-like-trying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We'll do anything it takes to win a basketball game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lowry/we-ll-do-anything-it-takes-to-win-a-basketball-game/) [Kyle Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lowry/) > [When I am working it is up early and coffee and 15 hours of being on the set. When I am not working, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-astin/when-i-am-working-it-is-up-early-and-coffee-and-15-hours-of-being-on/) [Mackenzie Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-astin/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) [Browse all 849 Ball game quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-game/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn from all we know and all we fear. We study catalogues, watch football games, choose Sprint over AT&T. We count the birds in the sky and will not turn from the window when we hear the footsteps behind as something comes up the hall; we say yes, I agree that clouds often look like other things - fish and unicorns and men on horseback - but they are really only clouds. Even when the lightning flashes inside them we say they are only clouds and turn our attention to the next meal, the next pain, the next breath, the next page. This is how we go on.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at-a-time-we-turn-from-all-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ball game" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at-a-time-we-turn-from-all-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/stephen-king-13_ball-game_if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at_701152.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you write books, you go on one page at a time. We turn from all we know and all we fear. We study…” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If you write books, you go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at-a-time-we-turn-from-all-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-write-books-you-go-on-one-page-at-a-time-we-turn-from-all-we/#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 } } ] } ```