"The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club?"
About this Quote
The list of distractions is the punchline and the confession. “Interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses” escalates from professional obligation to artisanal procrastination to pastoral self-care, all of it conveniently urgent. Pournelle knows that avoidance is most seductive when it masquerades as preparation. Sharpening pencils feels like work; trimming roses feels like a life. Both are safer than producing sentences that can be judged.
Then he takes a swipe at “a writer’s club,” not because community is useless, but because it can become an alibi. The subtext is that many writing ecosystems reward the performance of being a writer (talking shop, networking, polishing identity) more than the lonely act of drafting. As a journalist by trade, Pournelle is also speaking from a deadline-driven world where the blank page is not a philosophical problem; it’s tomorrow’s copy. The intent is practical, almost managerial: stop bargaining with yourself, sit down, and ship.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Pournelle, Jerry. (2026, January 16). The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club? FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-hard-part-of-writing-at-all-is-sitting-your-91616/
Chicago Style
Pournelle, Jerry. "The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club?" FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-hard-part-of-writing-at-all-is-sitting-your-91616/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing it. There's always something better to do, like I've got an interview, sharpening the pencils, trimming the roses. There's always something better to do. Going to a writer's club?" FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-hard-part-of-writing-at-all-is-sitting-your-91616/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
