--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If anything in your life is more…" description: "\"If anything in your life is more important than writing - anything at all - you should walk away now while you still can. Forewarned is forearmed. For ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/terry-brooks-3252_breathe_if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-importa_248818.png" --- # If anything in your life is more important than writing… ![“If anything in your life is more important than writing - anything at all - you should walk away now while you still can. Forewarned is forearmed. For those who cannot or will not walk away, you need only to remember this. Writing is life. Breathe deeply of it.” quote by Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/terry-brooks-3252_breathe_if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-importa_248818.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/terry-brooks-3252_breathe_if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-importa_248818.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/terry-brooks-3252_breathe_if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-importa_248818.png) > “If anything in your life is more important than writing - anything at all - you should walk away now while you still can. Forewarned is forearmed. For those who cannot or will not walk away, you need only to remember this. Writing is life. Breathe deeply of it.” [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If writing is your top priority, you must be ready to abandon other pursuits now, using preparation as a safeguard; otherwise, accept the inevitability of staying. **In simple terms:** Prioritize writing above all, or accept staying stuck. Key Takeaway Choose writing or accept your current path. Themes prioritization commitment career choice Mood determined urgent Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career crossroads - creative blocks - life planning - risk assessment Key Concepts writing life balance decision making Questions to Reflect On - What would you sacrifice for writing? - How do you assess when to walk away? A Different Perspective Not all can afford to quit; external constraints matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Forewarned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forewarned/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-writing-419115/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-writing/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-life/) [Writing Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-walk-574655/) ## Related quotes > [Lester del Rey told me repeatedly that the first and most important part of writing fiction is just to think about the story. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/lester-del-rey-told-me-repeatedly-that-the-first-and-most-important/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [There are times when the best writing you can do is to go for a walk or drive, a long drive is ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-are-times-when-the-best-writing-you-can-do-is-to-go-for-a-walk/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If you're stuck with writing, go for a walk. You're sure to get past that block as you take in the outside world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-buckmaster/if-you-re-stuck-with-writing-go-for-a-walk-you-re-sure-to-get-past/) [Peter Buckmaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-buckmaster/) > [Everything I do is because of writing. If I go for a walk, it's because I'm thinking of writing. I go look at flowers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/everything-i-do-is-because-of-writing-if-i-go-for-a-walk-it-s-because/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“On writing... "It’s a walk into the darkest corners of my imagination where my nightmares fester until something living and breathing escapes onto the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-taylor/on-writing-it-s-a-walk-into-the-darkest-corners-of-my-imagination/) [J.E. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-taylor/) > [Sleep on your writing; take a walk over it; scrutinize it of a morning; review it of an afternoon; digest it after a meal;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/sleep-on-your-writing-take-a-walk-over-it-scrutinize-it-of-a-morning/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [Prepare, and be forewarned in time. If thou hast tried and failed, O dauntless fighter, yet lose not courage: fight on, and to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/prepare-and-be-forewarned-in-time-if-thou-hast-tried-and-failed-o/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [This silent cry is of ecstasy for what has been done, and of despair at being forestalled, and being thus forewarned, that neither This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-porter/this-silent-cry-is-of-ecstasy-for-what-has-been-done-and-of-despair/) [Hal Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-porter/) > [An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path. But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will turn aside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/an-inadvertent-step-may-crush-the-snail-that-crawls-at-evening-in-the/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [We must be forewarned that only rarely does a text easily lend itself to the reader's curiosity... the reading of a text is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/we-must-be-forewarned-that-only-rarely-does-a-text-easily-lend-itself/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I believe in the pure Surrealist joy of the man who, forewarned that all others before him have failed, refused to admit defeat, sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-believe-in-the-pure-surrealist-joy-of-the-man-who-forewarned-that/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Be forewarned,' the vamp said, 'if I learn that there's anything romantic happening here, I'm sending him packing...less a few body parts.' Kylie's mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/be-forewarned-the-vamp-said-if-i-learn-that-there-s-anything-romantic/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [“They say to be forewarned is to be for armed! so to think ahead one must fight with his pen!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyathurai-aingaratheepan/they-say-to-be-forewarned-is-to-be-for-armed-so-to-think-ahead-one/) [Iyathurai Aingaratheepan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyathurai-aingaratheepan/) > [“For there enters an element of Comedy (in the full sense of that great word) whenever we watch the death or passing of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/for-there-enters-an-element-of-comedy-in-the-full-sense-of-that-great/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [It so often happened to me that someone who shared my opinion kept the larger share for himself that I am now forewarned and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/it-so-often-happened-to-me-that-someone-who-shared-my-opinion-kept/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## More by Terry Brooks > [“a kaleidoscopic, fragmented rush of images that exploded out of memory. They careened into her like an avalanche and swept her away,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/a-kaleidoscopic-fragmented-rush-of-images-that-exploded-out-of-memory/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“You spend so much time wondering who you are, don't you think? You flounder about, searching for your identity, when most of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/you-spend-so-much-time-wondering-who-you-are-don-t-you-think-you/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“Writers need their writing; they need their imaginary worlds in order to find piece in, or make sense of, the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/writers-need-their-writing-they-need-their-imaginary-worlds-in-order/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [THE NAME OF THE WIND marks the debut of a writer we would all do well to watch. Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-name-of-the-wind-marks-the-debut-of-a-writer-we-would-all-do-well/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We are constantly being put to the test by trying circumstances and difficult people and problems not necessarily of our own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-are-constantly-being-put-to-the-test-by-trying-circumstances-and/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [The Golden Compass is one of the best fantasy / adventure stories that I have read. This is a book no one should miss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-golden-compass-is-one-of-the-best-fantasy-adventure-stories-that/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [I am incomplete without my work. I am so closely bound to it, so much identified by it, that without it I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/i-am-incomplete-without-my-work-i-am-so-closely-bound-to-it-so-much/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We must nurture and love, if life is to have any real meaning. But First we must find a way to survive against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-must-nurture-and-love-if-life-is-to-have-any-real-meaning-but/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [When she cried, he would say, "there is nothing wrong with crying. Your feelings tell you who are. They tell what is important. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-she-cried-he-would-say-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-crying-your/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Fiction writing is a twenty-four-hou r-a-day occupation. You never leave your work behind. It is always with you, and to some extent, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/fiction-writing-is-a-twenty-four-hou-r-a-day-occupation-you-never/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [It's better to die in pursuit of your dreams than to live a life without hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/it-s-better-to-die-in-pursuit-of-your-dreams-than-to-live-a-life/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-you-do-not-hear-music-in-your-words-you-have-put-too-much-thought/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If I have the means, I have the responsibility to employ them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-i-have-the-means-i-have-the-responsibility-to-employ-them/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“but when you’re dying you don’t have much time for common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/but-when-you-re-dying-you-don-t-have-much-time-for-common-sense/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) [Explore all 133 Terry Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## More Breathe quotes > [“Well come and stand a little bit closer, breathe in and get a bit higher. You'll ever know what hit you when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savage-garden/well-come-and-stand-a-little-bit-closer-breathe-in-and-get-a-bit/) [Savage Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savage-garden/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [“Live your dreams. Breathe your dreams. Never give up on your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/live-your-dreams-breathe-your-dreams-never-give-up-on-your-dreams/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. 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