Never not writing

A lot of writers and other artists have a bit of Thurber in them.

Even when you’re not writing, you’re writing.

I said this recently to a writer-friend who had not been doing much writing lately. My remark was an attempt to help my friend feel better, but I’m not sure it landed as I had hoped. But I’ve thought a lot about that brief exchange, and it prompted me to elaborate on that idea.

The exchange also brought to mind this quip from author, humorist, and cartoonist James Thurber.

I never quite know when I’m not writing. Sometimes my wife comes up to me at a party and says, “Dammit, Thurber, stop writing.” She usually catches me in the middle of a paragraph.

From Conversations with James Thurber, edited by Thomas Fensch
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