--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all these years, I definitely…" description: "\"After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/tom-stoppard-437_after_after-all-these-years-i-definitely-assoc_35595.png" --- # After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen… ![“After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/tom-stoppard-437_after_after-all-these-years-i-definitely-assoc_35595.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/tom-stoppard-437_after_after-all-these-years-i-definitely-assoc_35595.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cc/tom-stoppard-437_after_after-all-these-years-i-definitely-assoc_35595.png) > “After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor links writing to smoking, suggesting both are habitual, tactile acts that occupy the mind and body, often paired in creative spaces. **In simple terms:** Writing and smoking are intertwined habits. Key Takeaway Physical tools shape creative routines. Themes creativity habit ritual sensory association environment Mood reflective nostalgic introspective Type observation analogy When to use this quote - author drafting a script - artist sketching in a studio - student taking notes in a café - writer brainstorming ideas - person reflecting on past habits Key Concepts writing smoking hand‑eye coordination psychology of habit Practical Applications - designing writer-friendly workspaces - studying habit formation in creative professions Questions to Reflect On - How do physical objects influence mental focus? - Can breaking one habit affect the other? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashtray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashtray/) ## Related quotes > [I smoke too much whether it's going well or badly. After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-smoke-too-much-whether-it-s-going-well-or-badly-after-all-these/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Nature herself seems, I say, to take the pen out of his hand, and to write for him with her own bare, sheer, penetrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-herself-seems-i-say-to-take-the-pen-out-of-his-hand-and-to/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“I keep a pen in my hand so that I can underline anything that strikes me as particularly interesting or well written—it’s a quirk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-wright/i-keep-a-pen-in-my-hand-so-that-i-can-underline-anything-that-strikes/) [Kim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-wright/) > [She had an unequalled gift, especially pen in hand, of squeezing big mistakes into small opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-an-unequalled-gift-especially-pen-in-hand-of-squeezing-big/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I hear better with a pen in my hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-judd/i-hear-better-with-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Alan Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-judd/) > [Keeping the pen out of your hand as much as possible is the best way to write a song, in my estimation. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/keeping-the-pen-out-of-your-hand-as-much-as-possible-is-the-best-way/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [“The empty page before me now, the pen is in my hand…" ~Kansas”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-andrefski/the-empty-page-before-me-now-the-pen-is-in-my-hand-kansas/) Jodie Andrefski > [But when I took up my pen, my hand made big, jerky letters like those of a child, and the lines sloped down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/but-when-i-took-up-my-pen-my-hand-made-big-jerky-letters-like-those/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“With a pen in my hand I am fearless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-thompson/with-a-pen-in-my-hand-i-am-fearless/) [Adrienne Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-thompson/) > [Writers feel like a middleman, standing with pen in hand over the page. 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After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? 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I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [When I was 20, the idea of having a play on anywhere was just beyond my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/when-i-was-20-the-idea-of-having-a-play-on-anywhere-was-just-beyond/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More After quotes > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. 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