--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give…" description: "\"Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class of students about writing. When he got there he asked the class, Do you people want to be wri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/tom-t-hall-13734_class_sinclair-lewis-was-asked-one-time-to-giv_181733.jpg" --- # Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class… ![“Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class of students about writing. When he got there he asked the class, Do you people want to be writers?and they all said yes. Then Lewis said, Why the hell aren't you at home writing?” quote by Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/tom-t-hall-13734_class_sinclair-lewis-was-asked-one-time-to-giv_181733.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/tom-t-hall-13734_class_sinclair-lewis-was-asked-one-time-to-giv_181733.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/tom-t-hall-13734_class_sinclair-lewis-was-asked-one-time-to-giv_181733.jpg) > “Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class of students about writing. When he got there he asked the class, Do you people want to be writers?and they all said yes. Then Lewis said, Why the hell aren't you at home writing?” [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A challenge to writers to stop procrastinating and start creating, emphasizing personal responsibility for the work. **In simple terms:** Writers must write, not just want to. Key Takeaway Begin writing now, without excuses. Themes creativity discipline motivation self‑efficacy Mood motivational direct Type inspirational challenge When to use this quote - daily writing - writing workshops - personal projects Key Concepts procrastination creative process habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What stops you from writing? - How can you make writing a habit? A Different Perspective Excuses can mask deeper fear of failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Songwriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriting/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ When he \[Joe Lewis\] was asked upon his retirement about his long career, Joe sweetly summed it up in just ten words. 'I did… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/when-he-joe-lewis-was-asked-upon-his-retirement-about-his-long-career/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“I think it was C.S. 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That is why it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/despite-all-the-cynical-things-writers-have-said-about-writing-for/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I feel most at home when I am writing a poem—because in that instant, I am everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-handal/i-feel-most-at-home-when-i-am-writing-a-poem-because-in-that-instant/) Nathalie Handal > [If I am just home and writing, I become very strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/if-i-am-just-home-and-writing-i-become-very-strange/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [I have so many books to write now. So I'll write from home. Sometimes I'm writing in the office too, in my cubicle. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/i-have-so-many-books-to-write-now-so-i-ll-write-from-home-sometimes-i/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) ## More by Tom T. Hall > [A song is a poem set to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/a-song-is-a-poem-set-to-music/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [A monkey was the President, though maybe not the first. And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/a-monkey-was-the-president-though-maybe-not-the-first-and-there-was/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I've been polite and I've always shown up. Somebody asked me if I had any advice for young people entering the business. I said:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-ve-been-polite-and-i-ve-always-shown-up-somebody-asked-me-if-i-had/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [It used to be that youd have a song recorded by a major country artist and if it was a hit, you could buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/it-used-to-be-that-youd-have-a-song-recorded-by-a-major-country/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [“Ain't but three things in this world worth a solitary dime/ But old dogs, children, and watermelon wine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/ain-t-but-three-things-in-this-world-worth-a-solitary-dime-but-old/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I have my own religion. I'm sort of one-quarter Baptist, one-quarter Catholic, one-quarter Jewish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-have-my-own-religion-i-m-sort-of-one-quarter-baptist-one-quarter/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [Songwriting is as much a craft as a talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/songwriting-is-as-much-a-craft-as-a-talent/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I think the nature of songwriters is that they are philosophers, and philosophers have a bent towards poetry and songwriting, so I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-think-the-nature-of-songwriters-is-that-they-are-philosophers-and/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [ When I first got to Nashville, somebody said that \[Kris Kristofferson and I\] were the only two people who could describe Dolly Parton without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/when-i-first-got-to-nashville-somebody-said-that-kris-kristofferson/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [Faulkner was almost oriental. I never got into Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/faulkner-was-almost-oriental-i-never-got-into-faulkner/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I have had hundreds of people work for me over the years, and I don't think I ever fired anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-have-had-hundreds-of-people-work-for-me-over-the-years-and-i-don-t/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I knew a lot of chords, but they weren't the chords that came with the melody that came with the idea I had for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-knew-a-lot-of-chords-but-they-weren-t-the-chords-that-came-with-the/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [When you retire, it's a place in life, a part of the journey. You just don't quit work; you develop an attitude where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/when-you-retire-it-s-a-place-in-life-a-part-of-the-journey-you-just/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [If Barbara Walters was interviewing me, I'd figure her career was as dead as mine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/if-barbara-walters-was-interviewing-me-i-d-figure-her-career-was-as/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I never hid out. I was never big enough a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/i-never-hid-out-i-was-never-big-enough-a-star/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) [Explore all 49 Tom T. Hall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) ## More Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. 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