Do the books that writers don't write matter? It's easy to…
““Do the books that writers don't write matter? It's easy to forget them, to assume that the apocryphal bibliography must contain nothing but bad ideas, justly abandoned projects, embarrassing first thoughts. It needn't be so: first thoughts are often best, cheeringly rehabilitated by third thoughts after they've been loured at by seconds. Besides, an idea isn't always abandoned because it fails some quality control test. The imagination doesn't crop annually like a reliable fruit tree. The writer has to gather whatever's there: sometimes too much, sometimes too little, sometimes nothing at all. And in the years of glut there is always a slatted wooden tray in some cool, dark attic, which the writer nervously visits from time to time””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Unwritten or abandoned works may hold valuable early ideas that later revisions can improve.
In simple terms: Early drafts can be valuable despite being discarded.
Key Takeaway
Revisit and refine old ideas.
Themes
creativity
writing
revision
ideas
Mood
inquisitive
analytical
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- authoring
- research
- product development
Key Concepts
drafting
abandonment
creative process
iteration
Questions to Reflect On
- What old ideas could you revive?
- How do you decide when to discard a draft?
A Different Perspective
Ideas may be incomplete or flawed initially.