--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A story demanded to be written, and that…" description: "\"A story demanded to be written, and that is why I have not answered your letter before: a wrong-headed story, that would come blundering like a moth on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_able_a-story-demanded-to-be-written-and-that_1821169.jpg" --- # A story demanded to be written, and that is why I have not… ![“A story demanded to be written, and that is why I have not answered your letter before: a wrong-headed story, that would come blundering like a moth on my window, and stare in with small red eyes, and I the last writer in the world to manage such a subject. One should have more self-control. One…” quote by Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_able_a-story-demanded-to-be-written-and-that_1821169.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_able_a-story-demanded-to-be-written-and-that_1821169.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_able_a-story-demanded-to-be-written-and-that_1821169.jpg) > “A story demanded to be written, and that is why I have not answered your letter before: a wrong-headed story, that would come blundering like a moth on my window, and stare in with small red eyes, and I the last writer in the world to manage such a subject. One should have more self-control. One should be able to say, Go away. You have come to the wrong inkstand, there is nothing for you here. But I am so weakminded that I cannot even say, Come next week.” [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels compelled to write a story but lacks the confidence to reject a request, leading to self‑criticism and indecision. **In simple terms:** I can’t say no, so I’m stuck. Key Takeaway Accept limits and set boundaries. Themes self‑doubt creativity boundaries Mood frustrated reflective Type advice literary When to use this quote - writing a novel - responding to requests - managing creative pressure Key Concepts authorial anxiety self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance duty and self‑care? - What would happen if you said “no”? A Different Perspective The writer may be over‑critical, hindering progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Demanded Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demanded-written-2195095/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Going away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-away/) [Inkstand Weakminded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inkstand-weakminded-2195096/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Letter Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter-wrong-2195097/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Moths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moths/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-week/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Red eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-eye/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-control/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Demanded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-demanded-1642792/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Wrong Headed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-headed-2195098/) ## Related quotes > [I delete my whole password after typing one letter wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-delete-my-whole-password-after-typing-one-letter-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [the times we worked harder to make the day stand out. our story demanded that we change and so we did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-times-we-worked-harder-to-make-the-day-stand-out-our-story/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I wanted to write a story that demanded the viewer's attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kneale/i-wanted-to-write-a-story-that-demanded-the-viewer-s-attention/) [Nigel Kneale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kneale/) > [I sleep 75 percent of all plane trips I take. I love red-eyes from West to East. I take Ambien to make sure I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-dilfer/i-sleep-75-percent-of-all-plane-trips-i-take-i-love-red-eyes-from/) [Trent Dilfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-dilfer/) > [We'll bury our mothers and fathers - shuttling our children off for sleepovers, jumping on red-eyes, telling eachother stories that hurt to hear, about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-corrigan/we-ll-bury-our-mothers-and-fathers-shuttling-our-children-off-for/) [Kelly Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-corrigan/) > [I have world class photographic red-eye pretty much all the time. As a general rule, if it's taken with a flash, I look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-have-world-class-photographic-red-eye-pretty-much-all-the-time-as-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You know I never used to be a bad flyer, but I did start to have a fear of flying after I shot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/you-know-i-never-used-to-be-a-bad-flyer-but-i-did-start-to-have-a/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [I think the reason why 'Red Eye' is popular is because we question the common assumptions that you find elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-think-the-reason-why-red-eye-is-popular-is-because-we-question-the/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [The idea of suggesting that Hannibal Lecter - in the book, he has a sixth finger and red eyes, and so there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/the-idea-of-suggesting-that-hannibal-lecter-in-the-book-he-has-a/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [Why bad things happen to good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [I think we all understand disappointing yourself. Especially in the acting profession, which is probably similar to a political career, even the most stable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/i-think-we-all-understand-disappointing-yourself-especially-in-the/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [Al's red eyes slid past me to Pierce. "Play?" he said, his voice dripping with interest. "Gordian Nathaniel Pierce's quirks are legendary. Why do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/al-s-red-eyes-slid-past-me-to-pierce-play-he-said-his-voice-dripping/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I dived for it, caught it three inches above the cement, and found myself face-to-face with the salamander. Ruby-red eyes regarded me with mild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-dived-for-it-caught-it-three-inches-above-the-cement-and-found/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I knew if I continued to look around it would be difficult for me to contain my own emotions. So I turned away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon-2/i-knew-if-i-continued-to-look-around-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to/) [Richard M Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon-2/) ## More by Sylvia Townsend Warner > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Happiness is an immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/happiness-is-an-immunity/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Spring is strictly sentimental, self-regarding; but I burn more careless in the autumn bonfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/spring-is-strictly-sentimental-self-regarding-but-i-burn-more/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [“It is,” answered Laura with almost violent agreement. “If you are a were-wolf, and very likely you may be, for lots of people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/it-is-answered-laura-with-almost-violent-agreement-if-you-are-a-were/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I have an idea that conscience impedes quite as many merits as faults, is a sort of alloy, a nickel which may prevent silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-have-an-idea-that-conscience-impedes-quite-as-many-merits-as-faults/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [There is a period in one's life - perhaps not longer than six months - when one lives in two worlds at once ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/there-is-a-period-in-one-s-life-perhaps-not-longer-than-six-months/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Love is the only real patriation, and without one's dear one sits in a dreary and boring exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/love-is-the-only-real-patriation-and-without-one-s-dear-one-sits-in-a/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [when the German propaganda tries to be winsome it is like a clown with homicidal mania - ludicrous and terrifying both at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/when-the-german-propaganda-tries-to-be-winsome-it-is-like-a-clown/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/it-is-best-as-one-grows-older-to-strip-oneself-of-possessions-to-shed/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Elizabeth ... had the prerogative of the rich that she could be generous with large sums and niggardly over small ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/elizabeth-had-the-prerogative-of-the-rich-that-she-could-be-generous/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Inflation is the senility of democracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/inflation-is-the-senility-of-democracies/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Total grief is like a minefield. No knowing when one will touch the tripwire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/total-grief-is-like-a-minefield-no-knowing-when-one-will-touch-the/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never love anything without messing it around! We couldn’t even love a tree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/how-dreadful-it-is-that-because-of-our-wills-we-can-never-love/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) [Explore all 95 Sylvia Townsend Warner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. 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To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A story demanded to be written, and that is why I have not answered your letter before: a wrong-headed story, that would come blundering like a moth on my window, and stare in with small red eyes, and I the last writer in the world to manage such a subject. One should have more self-control. One should be able to say, Go away. 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