--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Telling a writer to relax is like telling…" description: "\"Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.\" — William Zinsser" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/william-zinsser-2796_hernias_telling-a-writer-to-relax-is-like-tellin_1288543.png" --- # Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax… ![“Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.” quote by William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/william-zinsser-2796_hernias_telling-a-writer-to-relax-is-like-tellin_1288543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/william-zinsser-2796_hernias_telling-a-writer-to-relax-is-like-tellin_1288543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/william-zinsser-2796_hernias_telling-a-writer-to-relax-is-like-tellin_1288543.png) > “Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.” [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Telling a writer to relax is absurd because writing is inherently pressured and demanding. **In simple terms:** Relaxing a writer is like calming a prodded hernia. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the tension in creative work. Themes writing stress creativity expectations pressure Mood thoughtful supportive realistic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - author workshops - deadline management - creative retreats Key Concepts creative process mental health performance anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How can writers manage pressure constructively? - What supports help maintain creative flow? A Different Perspective Relaxation may ignore legitimate stressors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hernias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hernias/) [Man Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-relax-1612978/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax/) [Relax Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax-like-520666/) [Relax Prodded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax-prodded-4189384/) [Telling Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-writer-4189385/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-relax-4189383/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The most advanced medical brains in the universe have yet to discover a way for a man to relax himself, and looking at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-gross/the-most-advanced-medical-brains-in-the-universe-have-yet-to-discover/) [Milt Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milt-gross/) > [I think the best thing I can do is to be a distraction. 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As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-preacher-was-operated-on-for-a-hernia-as-this-was-about-the-time-of/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [I told my kids, "Someday, you'll have kids of your own." One of them said, "So will you."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-told-my-kids-someday-you-ll-have-kids-of-your-own-one-of-them-said/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [By exercising your stomach muscles, you wring out the body, you don't catch colds, you don't get cancer, you don't get hernias. Do animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/by-exercising-your-stomach-muscles-you-wring-out-the-body-you-don-t/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [My boy is a mean kid. 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Eventually you'll find your own voice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/never-hesitate-to-imitate-another-writer-every-person-learning-a/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/abraham-lincoln-and-winston-churchill-rode-to-glory-on-the-back-of/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writing-organizes-and-clarifies-our-thoughts-writing-is-how-we-think/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/rewriting-is-the-essence-of-writing-well-where-the-game-is-won-or-lost/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clear-thinking-becomes-clear-writing-one-can-t-exist-without-the-other/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/i-almost-always-urge-people-to-write-in-the-first-person-writing-is/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/don-t-be-kind-of-bold-be-bold/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/journalism-is-writing-that-first-appears-in-any-periodic-journal/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) [Explore all 150 William Zinsser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## More Hernias quotes > [A comic should suffer as much over a single line as a man with a hernia would in picking up a heavy barbell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/a-comic-should-suffer-as-much-over-a-single-line-as-a-man-with-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [My boy is a mean kid. 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As this was about the time of the first world war he was given ether. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-preacher-was-operated-on-for-a-hernia-as-this-was-about-the-time-of/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [Not only weight loss surgery is unnecessary but also it deprives human being a normal life. People after surgery would never be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/not-only-weight-loss-surgery-is-unnecessary-but-also-it-deprives/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [If any of you get hernias in this tug-of-war against the Army, I'll pay to get them fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-haebel/if-any-of-you-get-hernias-in-this-tug-of-war-against-the-army-i-ll/) [Robert E. 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Behind closed doors, Eazy-E was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kokane/the-difference-between-eazy-e-the-artist-and-eric-wright-the-human/) [Kokane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kokane/) > [After age twelve, birthdays should be as private as hernia surgery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/after-age-twelve-birthdays-should-be-as-private-as-hernia-surgery/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [I've gotten hernias from drummers when they drop tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-ve-gotten-hernias-from-drummers-when-they-drop-tempo/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [My kids scotch tape worms to the sidewalk and watch the birds get hernias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-kids-scotch-tape-worms-to-the-sidewalk-and-watch-the-birds-get/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Computers are scary. 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