--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I began to write when I was seven, and I…" description: "\"I began to write when I was seven, and I have been writing off and on ever since. It is still off and on. You can say that when I am on, when I know I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/william-golding-1233_book_i-began-to-write-when-i-was-seven-and-i_947775.png" --- # I began to write when I was seven, and I have been writing… ![“I began to write when I was seven, and I have been writing off and on ever since. It is still off and on. You can say that when I am on, when I know I have a book which I am going to write, then I write two thousand words a day. That's so many pages longhand.” quote by William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/william-golding-1233_book_i-began-to-write-when-i-was-seven-and-i_947775.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/william-golding-1233_book_i-began-to-write-when-i-was-seven-and-i_947775.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/william-golding-1233_book_i-began-to-write-when-i-was-seven-and-i_947775.png) > “I began to write when I was seven, and I have been writing off and on ever since. It is still off and on. You can say that when I am on, when I know I have a book which I am going to write, then I write two thousand words a day. That's so many pages longhand.” [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is a sporadic habit that flares up intensely when inspiration strikes, producing large output in short bursts. **In simple terms:** Writing happens in bursts of inspiration. Key Takeaway Embrace your writing rhythms. Themes creativity discipline productivity Mood reflective thoughtful Type creative personal When to use this quote - authoring novels - blogging - journaling - academic writing Key Concepts writing process creative flow habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your most productive writing periods? - How can you sustain momentum after a burst? A Different Perspective Inconsistent writing can hinder long‑term projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The music of language became extremely important to me, and obvious to me. 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I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/when-i-first-began-to-write-fiction-i-didn-t-think-i-was-a-comic/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [My books have done extremely well, I know. But I don't honestly feel much different from when I began to write. I still think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/my-books-have-done-extremely-well-i-know-but-i-don-t-honestly-feel/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I was a writer first, and knew I'd be a storyteller at age seven. But since my parents are very practical, they urged me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/i-was-a-writer-first-and-knew-i-d-be-a-storyteller-at-age-seven-but/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [The main characters for 'The Seer and the Sword' made an appearance one night and then haunted me for over five years before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-hanley/the-main-characters-for-the-seer-and-the-sword-made-an-appearance-one/) [Victoria Hanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-hanley/) > [ “He began to write his thoughts and observations concerning the day's events \[...\] It helped him better understand everything he had seen and done… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/he-began-to-write-his-thoughts-and-observations-concerning-the-day-s/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [I began to write short pieces when I was living in a room too small to write a novel in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-cartwright/i-began-to-write-short-pieces-when-i-was-living-in-a-room-too-small/) [Angela Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-cartwright/) > [I began to write because I was too shy to talk, and too lonely not to send messages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mchugh/i-began-to-write-because-i-was-too-shy-to-talk-and-too-lonely-not-to/) [Heather McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mchugh/) > [“Taking out the journal she’d packed, and intending to make some preproduction notes on The Women, Sidda began to write instead about the Ya-Yas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/taking-out-the-journal-she-d-packed-and-intending-to-make-some/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. 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When I traveled, I would take along with me my folder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-fair-maiden-existed-in-notes-and-sketches-for-perhaps-a-year-when-i/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More by William Golding > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Sucks to your ass-mar!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/sucks-to-your-ass-mar/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/ralph-wept-for-the-end-of-innocence-the-darkness-of-man-s-heart-and/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“Once more, amid the breeze, the shouting, the slanting sunlight on the high mountain, was shed that glamour, that strange invisible light of friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/once-more-amid-the-breeze-the-shouting-the-slanting-sunlight-on-the/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“There ought to be some mode of life where all love is good, where one love can't compete with another but adds to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/there-ought-to-be-some-mode-of-life-where-all-love-is-good-where-one/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/his-mind-was-crowded-with-memories-memories-of-the-knowledge-that-had/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“I stood, in shame and confusion, seeing for the first time despite my anger a different picture of Evie in her life-long struggle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-stood-in-shame-and-confusion-seeing-for-the-first-time-despite-my/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [When you take a child who's hollering like hell, sit him on your knee, and say "once upon a time", you stop him hollering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/when-you-take-a-child-who-s-hollering-like-hell-sit-him-on-your-knee/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I am here; and here is nowhere in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-am-here-and-here-is-nowhere-in-particular/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-beast-was-harmless-and-horrible-and-the-news-must-reach-the/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/he-tried-to-convey-the-compulsion-to-track-down-and-kill-that-was/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I'm scared of him," said Piggy, "and that's why I know him. If you're scared of someone you hate him but you can't stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-m-scared-of-him-said-piggy-and-that-s-why-i-know-him-if-you-re/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-trouble-was-if-you-were-a-chief-you-had-to-think-you-had-to-be/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“But nobody else understands about the fire. If someone threw you a rope when you were drowning. If a doctor said take this because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/but-nobody-else-understands-about-the-fire-if-someone-threw-you-a/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [“I think women are foolish to pretend that they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-think-women-are-foolish-to-pretend-that-they-are-equal-to-men-they/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) [Explore all 263 William Golding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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