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About this quote

What does it mean?
Solitude is essential for writers; without a genuine need for it, one should not pursue writing.
In plain terms
Writers need to enjoy being alone.
What can you take from it?
Embrace solitude to succeed in writing.

Where it applies

  • career choices
  • creative work
  • self-assessment

Putting it to work

  • evaluate your need for alone time
  • commit to solitary work

Questions to consider

  • Do you seek solitude for creativity?
  • Is writing suitable for you if you dislike being alone?

Another view

Some successful writers thrive in social environments.

More from Will Self

  1. There can be no more thrilling idea of intimacy that connecting with someone through the agency of the written word. Here we meet, on the page, naked and unado…

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  2. I think of writing as a sculptural medium. You are not building things. You are removing things, chipping away at language to reveal a living form.

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  3. The eminence cerise, the bolster behind the throne.

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