--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is what drives a young writer out of…" description: "\"“This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this feeling that nothing is being said.”\" — William Saroyan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg" --- # This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this… ![“This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this feeling that nothing is being said.” quote by William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg) > ““This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this feeling that nothing is being said.”” [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer feels frustrated when ideas remain unexpressed, causing inner turmoil. **In simple terms:** Unspoken ideas cause writer frustration. Key Takeaway Find ways to articulate thoughts. Themes creativity expression frustration Mood reflective melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing sessions - brainstorming - journaling - creative workshops Key Concepts inner conflict artistic drive Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn silent thoughts into words? - What blocks your expression? A Different Perspective Ideas may stay hidden without effort to share. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Young writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-writers/) ## Related quotes > [I think the path for a young writer might be one that says, "I have to accept myself, this is what I am. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-the-path-for-a-young-writer-might-be-one-that-says-i-have-to/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [When a young writer deliberately tries to create an effect, the result is often a little self-conscious and overdone. But why is it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-calkins/when-a-young-writer-deliberately-tries-to-create-an-effect-the-result/) [Lucy Calkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-calkins/) > [Then you have people coming up like Malcolm Bradbury, a relatively young writer who deals with the academic scene and deals with it, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/then-you-have-people-coming-up-like-malcolm-bradbury-a-relatively/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [On the day when a young writer corrects his first proof-sheet he is as proud as a schoolboy who has just got his first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/on-the-day-when-a-young-writer-corrects-his-first-proof-sheet-he-is/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Of course at that point I had no idea that the adventure was only beginning and that the struggle and the rejections were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/of-course-at-that-point-i-had-no-idea-that-the-adventure-was-only/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [What first stuns the young writer emerging from college is that there is no clear-cut road for him to travel on. He must chop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-gooch/what-first-stuns-the-young-writer-emerging-from-college-is-that-there/) Brad Gooch > [My main strength as a young writer was that I had no fear of making mistakes. I knew I would and I knew I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/my-main-strength-as-a-young-writer-was-that-i-had-no-fear-of-making/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [The writer learns to write, in the last resort, only by writing. He must get words onto paper even if he is dissatisfied with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/the-writer-learns-to-write-in-the-last-resort-only-by-writing-he-must/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [When I was a kid and a young man I read everything. When I was about 23, I was incredibly lucky in that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/when-i-was-a-kid-and-a-young-man-i-read-everything-when-i-was-about/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When people ask, "Is there any advice you'd give a young writer?," I say write short stories. They afford lots of failure. Pastiche is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/when-people-ask-is-there-any-advice-you-d-give-a-young-writer-i-say/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [When a young writer comes up to me with an ambitious idea for a 20-book series, I usually tell him to maybe try something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/when-a-young-writer-comes-up-to-me-with-an-ambitious-idea-for-a-20/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Best masters for the young writer and speaker are the fault- finding brothers and sisters at home who will not spare him, but willpick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/best-masters-for-the-young-writer-and-speaker-are-the-fault-finding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every young writer, I imagine, has their first intellectual magazine, whose essays and articles are devoured all the more greedily for being slightly over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/every-young-writer-i-imagine-has-their-first-intellectual-magazine/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Well, when I was a young writer the people we read were Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Sartre, Camus, Celine, Malraux. And to begin with, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/well-when-i-was-a-young-writer-the-people-we-read-were-hemingway/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [I am not and will never again be a young writer, a young homeowner, a young teacher. I was never a young wife. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-am-not-and-will-never-again-be-a-young-writer-a-young-homeowner-a/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) ## More by William Saroyan > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [The basic truth of all things, as nearly as we may ever dream of determining and knowing this truth, is form, that which is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-basic-truth-of-all-things-as-nearly-as-we-may-ever-dream-of/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This is a hell of a night. I don't want to leave it just to go to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-a-hell-of-a-night-i-don-t-want-to-leave-it-just-to-go-to-sleep/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Americans still believe they are cut out to be successful-in everything: love, love-making, luck, luck-giving, money-making, sense-making, cancer-avoiding, clothes-wearing, car-driving, and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/americans-still-believe-they-are-cut-out-to-be-successful-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I can't decide for you whether or not you have got to write, but if anything in the world, war, or pestilence, or famine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-can-t-decide-for-you-whether-or-not-you-have-got-to-write-but-if/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [He paints for the blind, and we are the blind, and he lets us see for sure what we saw long ago but weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/he-paints-for-the-blind-and-we-are-the-blind-and-he-lets-us-see-for/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-am-interested-in-madness-i-believe-it-is-the-biggest-thing-in-the/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Two years ago your father died, Ulysses. But as long as we are alive, as long as we are together, as long as two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/two-years-ago-your-father-died-ulysses-but-as-long-as-we-are-alive-as/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Cowards are nice, they're interesting, they're gentle, they wouldn't think of shooting down people in a parade from a tower. They want to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/cowards-are-nice-they-re-interesting-they-re-gentle-they-wouldn-t/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [In the time of your life, live - so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/in-the-time-of-your-life-live-so-that-in-that-good-time-there-shall/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [San Francisco is a world to explore. It is a place where the heart can go on a delightful adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/san-francisco-is-a-world-to-explore-it-is-a-place-where-the-heart-can/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Even after you've won fame and fortune, every time you write you've got to write, there's no shortcut, you have to start your career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/even-after-you-ve-won-fame-and-fortune-every-time-you-write-you-ve/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose history is ended, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-should-like-to-see-any-power-of-the-world-destroy-this-race-this/) [WILLIAM SAROYAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [There could be no extreme vanity in my recognition of myself, if in fact there could be any at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/there-could-be-no-extreme-vanity-in-my-recognition-of-myself-if-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This sense of being out of time has driven thousands of people from their homes into moving-picture theaters where new universes appear before them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-sense-of-being-out-of-time-has-driven-thousands-of-people-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) [Explore all 207 William Saroyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this feeling that nothing is being said.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Saroyan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-of-his-head-this-feeling-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-of-his-head-this-feeling-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/william-saroyan-1743_books_this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-o_2768527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is what drives a young writer out of his head, this feeling that nothing is being said.” — William Saroyan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Saroyan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is what drives a young...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-of-his-head-this-feeling-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-what-drives-a-young-writer-out-of-his-head-this-feeling-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```