--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Q: Where and when do you do your writing?…" description: "\"“Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small room with no natural light will do. As for when, I have no particular schedules... afternoons a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png" --- # Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small… ![“Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small room with no natural light will do. As for when, I have no particular schedules... afternoons are best, but I'm too lethargic for any real regime. When I'm in the flow of something I can do a regular 9 to 5; when I don't know where I'm going…” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png) > ““Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small room with no natural light will do. As for when, I have no particular schedules... afternoons are best, but I'm too lethargic for any real regime. When I'm in the flow of something I can do a regular 9 to 5; when I don't know where I'm going with an idea, I'm lucky if I do two hours of productive work. There is nothing more off-putting to a would-be novelist to hear about how so-and-so wakes up at four in the a.m, walks the dog, drinks three liters of black coffee and then writes 3,000 words a day, or that some other asshole only works half an hour every two weeks, does fifty press-ups and stands on his head before and after the "creative moment." I remember reading that kind of stuff in profiles like this and becoming convinced everything I was doing was wrong. What's the American phrase? If it ain't broke...”” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques the myth of rigid writing schedules, emphasizing personal rhythm and the futility of comparing creative habits. **In simple terms:** Creative work thrives on personal rhythm, not strict schedules. Key Takeaway Find your own writing rhythm. Themes creativity productivity individualism Mood thoughtful encouraging Type advice reflective When to use this quote - novelists - freelance writers - students Key Concepts myth of the disciplined writer self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits support your flow? - How can you honor your own pace? A Different Perspective Rigid schedules can stifle creativity and cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black coffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-coffee/) [Interview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interview/) [Natural light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-light/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [She drinks pints of coffee and writes little observations and ideas for stories with her best fountain pen on the linen-white pages of expensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-drinks-pints-of-coffee-and-writes-little-observations-and-ideas/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“When starting out in a job or role for the first time there is often a belief (both from the individual and sometimes also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-taylor/when-starting-out-in-a-job-or-role-for-the-first-time-there-is-often/) [Peter Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-taylor/) > [“During the afternoons the only thing that seems to hold my interest is baking. I go through my recipe books. Soft-centered biscuits, cakes slathered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tunnicliffe/during-the-afternoons-the-only-thing-that-seems-to-hold-my-interest/) [Hannah Tunnicliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tunnicliffe/) > [I don't think of writing my poems for China or for the world. I mainly think of a small audience of friends and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bei-dao/i-don-t-think-of-writing-my-poems-for-china-or-for-the-world-i-mainly/) [Bei Dao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bei-dao/) > [I discovered a long time ago that writing of the small things of the day, the trivial matters of the heart, the inconsequential but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-discovered-a-long-time-ago-that-writing-of-the-small-things-of-the/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I think especially in academia, we are coached to go the route of paying to submit our writing to small publications, like the presses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-think-especially-in-academia-we-are-coached-to-go-the-route-of/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [Not explicitly, no. Compared to this enormous, relentless evolutionary activity in the built environment, writing is small potatoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/not-explicitly-no-compared-to-this-enormous-relentless-evolutionary/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [I quite like being removed from the industry stuff so that when we're not on tour and we're writing, we're in a small room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mayberry/i-quite-like-being-removed-from-the-industry-stuff-so-that-when-we-re/) [Lauren Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mayberry/) > [“The conclusion to be drawn is that I am happiest writing in small rooms. They make me feel comfortable and secure. And it took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/the-conclusion-to-be-drawn-is-that-i-am-happiest-writing-in-small/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [I think what happens is you write how you grew up. And I was born on the prairie, and so everything is kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-maclachlan/i-think-what-happens-is-you-write-how-you-grew-up-and-i-was-born-on/) [Patricia MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-maclachlan/) > [I began like all composers, writing for small groups. Chamber groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-del-tredici/i-began-like-all-composers-writing-for-small-groups-chamber-groups/) [David Del Tredici](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-del-tredici/) > [I would perhaps like to go back to writing small books about obscure people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-would-perhaps-like-to-go-back-to-writing-small-books-about-obscure/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [As footballers, we have time on our hands. Yes, we work very hard but we also have spare afternoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joleon-lescott/as-footballers-we-have-time-on-our-hands-yes-we-work-very-hard-but-we/) [Joleon Lescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joleon-lescott/) > [“I love afternoons like that, like when we talk about things like metempsychosis, when we learn so much, and explore so much, and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/i-love-afternoons-like-that-like-when-we-talk-about-things-like/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [“Her legs swing complete afternoons away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-eisenstadt/her-legs-swing-complete-afternoons-away/) Jill Eisenstadt ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. Everyone gets what’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/either-everything-is-sacred-or-nothing-is-and-if-he-starts-burning/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [My feeling is, having lived in different classes, that people want equality of opportunity... that's the thing that makes me despair: the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/my-feeling-is-having-lived-in-different-classes-that-people-want/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/in-short-it-was-precisely-the-kind-of-friendship-and-englishman-makes/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Some of us are happy with our African hair, thank you very much. I don't want some poor Indian girl's hair. And I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-of-us-are-happy-with-our-african-hair-thank-you-very-much-i-don/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Afternoons quotes > [“Her legs swing complete afternoons away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-eisenstadt/her-legs-swing-complete-afternoons-away/) Jill Eisenstadt > [“I love afternoons like that, like when we talk about things like metempsychosis, when we learn so much, and explore so much, and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/i-love-afternoons-like-that-like-when-we-talk-about-things-like/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [As footballers, we have time on our hands. Yes, we work very hard but we also have spare afternoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joleon-lescott/as-footballers-we-have-time-on-our-hands-yes-we-work-very-hard-but-we/) [Joleon Lescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joleon-lescott/) > [I am spending delightful afternoons in my garden, watching everything living around me. As I grow older, I feel everything departing, and I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/i-am-spending-delightful-afternoons-in-my-garden-watching-everything/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Then there were long, lazy summer afternoons when there was nothing to do but read. And dream. And watch the town go by to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/then-there-were-long-lazy-summer-afternoons-when-there-was-nothing-to/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [“You know those afternoons," he asks, drawing a shaking breath, "where you’re just going along, doing fine, and then afternoon comes and it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/you-know-those-afternoons-he-asks-drawing-a-shaking-breath-where-you/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-i-have-known-them-all-already-known-them-all-have-known-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“often pointed out that bright mornings brought on wet afternoons, and that you can't expect good times to last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/often-pointed-out-that-bright-mornings-brought-on-wet-afternoons-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Afternoons are hard. Mornings are pure evil from the pits of hell, which is why I don't do them anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/afternoons-are-hard-mornings-are-pure-evil-from-the-pits-of-hell/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Coffee in the morning, cocaine afternoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-browne/coffee-in-the-morning-cocaine-afternoons/) [Jackson Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-browne/) > [Mornings and afternoons are my family time and I'm lucky that I can drop the kids off at school, I don't have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/mornings-and-afternoons-are-my-family-time-and-i-m-lucky-that-i-can/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [Such tenderness, those afternoons and evenings, saying blackberry, blackberry, blackberry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/such-tenderness-those-afternoons-and-evenings-saying-blackberry/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“Fall in love with the energy of the mornings trace your fingers along the lull of the afternoons take the spirit of the evenings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/fall-in-love-with-the-energy-of-the-mornings-trace-your-fingers-along/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [Occasionally, in the afternoons, I catch a movie, watch football, go to Sunday brunch, or visit with family and friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/occasionally-in-the-afternoons-i-catch-a-movie-watch-football-go-to/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) > [Practical! On Wednesday afternoons I could be practically anything. What's up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williams/practical-on-wednesday-afternoons-i-could-be-practically-anything/) [Kit Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williams/) Browse all 48 Afternoons quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small room with no natural light will do. As for when, I have no particular schedules... afternoons are best, but I'm too lethargic for any real regime. When I'm in the flow of something I can do a regular 9 to 5; when I don't know where I'm going with an idea, I'm lucky if I do two hours of productive work. There is nothing more off-putting to a would-be novelist to hear about how so-and-so wakes up at four in the a.m, walks the dog, drinks three liters of black coffee and then writes 3,000 words a day, or that some other asshole only works half an hour every two weeks, does fifty press-ups and stands on his head before and after the \"creative moment.\" I remember reading that kind of stuff in profiles like this and becoming convinced everything I was doing was wrong. What's the American phrase? If it ain't broke...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing-a-any-small-room-with-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoons" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing-a-any-small-room-with-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/959/zadie-smith-584_afternoons_q-where-and-when-do-you-do-your-writing_1967963.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Q: Where and when do you do your writing? A: Any small room with no natural light will do. 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